Fourth Stop on IRONMAN VR World Tour Visits the Southern Coast of Africa Offering IRONMAN VR32 South Africa

November 11, 2020

- More than 122,000 members from around the globe have now registered on the IRONMAN Virtual Club platform continuing to prove #AnywhereIsPossible

IRONMAN^® VR World Tour™

• The IRONMAN VR World Tour: Spotlight on Africa
• The five-week long IRONMAN VR^® World Tour focusing on specific regions of the world kicked off Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 22.
• Participants have the unique opportunity to virtually travel to 20 stunning race locations around the globe (five through IRONMAN VR events and 15 through IRONMAN VR workouts) and enjoy elements of some of the most coveted races the sport has to offer.
• Each race week will challenge athletes to complete three optional workouts inspired by real-world IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 events and IRONMAN VR races in destinations such as Klagenfurt, Austria; Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA; Langkawi, Malaysia; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; and Taupō, New Zealand. 

IRONMAN VR32 South Africa

This weekend’s race takes athletes down to the southern coast of Africa, where sweeping ocean views, a rolling bike course, and a party-lined marathon brings participants back to the IRONMAN African Championship year after year. The IRONMAN VR32 South Africa will give athletes a taste of racing in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa where the world’s best athletes battled it out at the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3^® World Championship.

IRONMAN VR32 South Africa focuses on developing pacing strategies in shorter distances, helping you taper and prep for next week’s IRONMAN VR Oceania: IRONMAN VR33 Taupō.

• Two formats are available for IRONMAN VR32 South Africa and participants can opt to complete a swim/bike/run (Swim 1500m, Bike 20km, Run 5km) or run/bike/run (Run 1.5km, Bike 20km, Run 5km) and results will be split accordingly.
• Athletes can compete against their peers on the original racecourses powered by ROUVY with competition running from 6 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. GMT) on Thursday’s to 7:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT) on Sunday’s.

Weekly Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 8

• 9:00 p.m. ET (Monday 12:00 a.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR32 Training Workouts Open

Thursday, Nov. 12

• 5:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR32 South Africa Opens

Friday, Nov. 13

• 1:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR32 Training Workouts Concludes

Sunday, Nov. 15

• 6:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR32 South Africa Concludes

Training Workouts

Throughout the week, the IRONMAN VR World Tour will feature training workouts in the swim, bike, and run disciplines tied thematically to the region. See below for this week’s weekday workouts in Africa:

• Swim (2100m) – Inspired by IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa, this workout focuses on giving athletes an opportunity to practice starting strong and settling into race pace.
• Bike (60 min.) – Inspired by IRONMAN African Championship, this workout focuses on skills athletes will need, including cadence, body position, and timing needed to maintain speed on rolling courses.
• Run (45 min.) – Inspired by IRONMAN 70.3 Durban, the workout focuses on getting the athlete’s heart rate up and the fast twitch muscles firing. 

Looking Ahead

IRONMAN VR Oceania: IRONMAN VR33 Taupō (Nov. 16 – Nov. 22)

There won’t be a lot of time to pack those bags again for the long trip to Oceania for the final stop of the IRONMAN VR World Tour and the host of IRONMAN VR33 Taupō in New Zealand between November 16 and November 22. Taupō is Nature’s Ultimate Playground, with endless options for outdoor adventure. The people of New Zealand make this longstanding race a favorite with athletes year after year. Participants will be required to swim 1.93 km (1.2 miles), ride 90 km on ROUVY or outdoors, then run 21 km outdoors in 8.5 hours between 10 a.m. GMT on Thursday, Nov. 19 and 11:59 p.m. GMT on Sunday, Nov. 22.

• IRONMAN VR Oceania – November 16-22

IRONMAN VR31 Malaysia

Facts & Figures

• In total, over 4,500 participants participated in IRONMAN VR31
• Athletes represented 42 states and 109 countries, regions, and territories
• Over 1,200 IRONMAN TriClub members signed up for IRONMAN VR31 

IRONMAN Virtual Club What to Know:

• The IRONMAN Virtual Club platform has reached more than 122,000 members since the inception of the platform
• More than 17,000 TriClub members are registered on the IRONMAN Virtual Club platform

• To date, 114 athletes have completed all 32 IRONMAN VR races. Over the past 29 weeks of racing, these athletes have completed at least 465km of running and 1,561km of cycling 

Race Honorably Campaign

Through the Race Honorably campaign, IRONMAN’s goal is to provide an exceptional virtual racing experience with credible results that requires athletes to do their part by entering accurate data. Additional details can be found on the IRONMAN VC platform at www.ironmanvirtualclub.com. 

Finisher Bundles

IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series, including the IRONMAN VR World Tour offers athletes tangible IRONMAN VR Finisher Bundles and other IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series merchandise through www.ironmanstore.com/ironman-vr. 

IRONMAN Foundation – IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund

Last week, the IRONMAN Foundation returned to Panama City Beach for Visit Panama City Beach IRONMAN 70.3 Gulf Coast and Visit Panama City Beach IRONMAN Florida to support their TEAM IMF Athletes including Chris Nikic who became the first person with Down syndrome to complete a full-distance IRONMAN triathlon, as well as an IRONAID Food Drive. All non-perishable food items donated by event participants and supporters were distributed to Rebuild Bay County and the Gulf Beach Presbyterian Church. Next week, the IRONMAN Foundation will host food drives in conjunction with IRONMAN Arizona and Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon and ½ Marathon. Participants at both events are asked to drop off non-perishable food donations before or after check-In. Through the IRONMAN Foundation’s IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund grants, Operation IRONAID Nutrition, and Operation IRONAID Face Masks in partnership with Framebridge and supported by Good360, over 230 organizations have been supported since March. Applications for the fifth round of IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund grants are also being accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on December 15, 2020. For more information about IRONAID visit ironmanfoundation.org/ironaid/.

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About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^®, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance (www.advance.com), a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.