This past September, World Triathlon Corporation, owner of Ironman announced Ironman 70.3, Boise. The inaugural event is to be held on Sunday, June 1, 2008. With the announcement come questions from regional athletes regarding Sunday events. Some athletes within the Intermountain West choose not to race on Sunday’s due to religious convictions.

While the number of athletes choosing not to race on Sundays may not “make or break” a race, the small group of faith honoring “tri geeks” is not afraid of letting their voices be heard.

“…yes I’m excited about a new Ironman event close to home, but yes I’m irked it’s on Sunday,” stated Leslie, a writer on the Desert Shark Triathlon Club forum. She continues by asking “…why the Half in California is on Saturday and Boise is not? Maybe they really haven’t noticed, but Spudman seems to do great on Saturday selling out, and I predict Vikingman will certainly sell out early next year.”

Serveral months after the Boise announcement came an announcement from North America Sports (NAS), the license holder to all but one of the Ironman events in North America. NAS unveiled a second Ironman Arizona in ’08, which will completely erase the April event in ‘09 and beyond. Ironman Arizona has exclusively been held on a Sunday despite the regional religious influence. Rumors of the move to the fall had been prevalent throughout the triathlon community for a year. Some athletes in the intermountain region had hoped a move would place the event on a Saturday. Ironman Arizona’s date was announced as Sunday, November 23, 2008.

Chris Bowerbank, one of the master minds behind Utah’s largest triathlon producer, TriUtah, shared his Ironman planning experience with readers of the Desert Shark forum. Bowerbank recalls working on the Ironman Utah planning committee for the event held on June 8, 2002 in Provo, Utah. “When Ironman North America awarded Utah a full Ironman event, they also initially wanted it on a Sunday. However, most of us on the planning committee knew the local demographics of Utah County, and it was HIGHLY doubtful they could get enough volunteers on a Sunday to staff even an Ironman event. They subsequently moved it to Saturday.”

TriHive spoke with Helen Manning, NAS communications director about how NAS chooses the day of an event. Manning stated NAS considers many different variables, including but not limited to historical weather data for the proposed area, how the event fits into the NAS event calendar and local calendar, what day will cause the least amount of disruption to the community, and support by the local department of transportation and police agencies. Manning further suggested that Sunday is generally the day with the least amount of traffic, thus is the most common race day on the NAS event schedule.

Traffic appears to have road blocked Ironman Arizona as a Saturday event. Sources close to Ironman Arizona have stated that for the 2005 event, organizing members hoped to have the race scheduled on a Saturday. The bike route became an obstacle committee members could not overcome as an important portion of the route travels through a major artery to the Tempe City dump. Having this high traffic road closed for even one Saturday in the year would not be acceptable to the community. This resulted in a Sunday event.

Manning suggested that athletes wanting to race NAS events are not shut out from their series of triathlons. Ironman Florida and California 70.3 events are recommended to athletes seeking an Ironman experience. Both events are sold out for ’08.

Other opportunities to race the distances are available through independent race directors. The Full Vineman is embarking on its 19^th year, and is the longest running Iron distance event in the U.S. And, some of the independent events have a proven track record of supporting athletes. Below are other Saturday options.

70.3 (Half Iron)

04/19/08 – Rage in the Sage (Las Vegas, Nevada)

6/07/08 – VikingMan (Burley, Idaho)

08/09/08 – Utah Half (Provo, Utah)

10/18/08 – PumpkinMan Triathlon (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Iron Distance

8/02/08 - Full Vineman (Santa Rosa, California)

09/13/08 – Grand Columbian (Grand Coulee, Washington)

09/20/08 – RedMan Triathlon (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Visit the TriHive calendar for a complete listing of regional triathlons.

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