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IRONMAN VR World Tour Culminates with a Trip to Oceania for IRONMAN VR33 Taupō and IRONMAN VR Global Triclub Championship

November 18, 2020

- Three IRONMAN VR training workouts inspired by the Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand swim course, Cairns Airport IRONMAN Cairns bike course and IRONMAN Western Australia run course as a lead up to virtual race weekend highlighting IRONMAN VR33 Taupō running from Nov. 19 - 22 - More than 123,000 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 Oceania
  • 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 had 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 has challenged 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 VR33 Taupō

The IRONMAN VR World Tour reaches its final stop this week with IRONMAN VR33 Taupō in New Zealand. Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand is an iconic race on the IRONMAN calendar with athletes from around the world heading to the pristine setting of Taupō each year. Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand, the longest running IRONMAN outside of Hawai`i, the Taupō community has embraced this event making it one not to miss.

IRONMAN VR33 Taupō will see athletes finish the IRONMAN VR World Tour with an IRONMAN 70.3 half distance event. TriClub’s will also be competing in the IRONMAN VR Global TriClub Championship.

  • Three formats are available for IRONMAN VR33 Taupō and participants can opt to complete a swim/bike/run (Swim 1.93km, Bike 90km, Run 21km) or run/bike/run (Run 5km, Bike 90km, Run 21km) in an 8.5 hour window or take part in a 7-day event (Swim 1.93km or Run 5km, Bike 90km, Run 21km) 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.
  • The top 3 TriClubs with the highest number of points for the week will make the podium. TriClub members on the IRONMAN VR platform earn points every time they train with a connected device. Additional details about the IRONMAN VR Global TriClub Championship can be found HERE.

Weekly Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 15

  • 9:00 p.m. ET (Monday 12:00 a.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR Oceania Training Workouts Open
  • 9:00 p.m. ET (Monday 12:00 a.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR33 Taupō 7-day Opens

Thursday, Nov. 19

  • 5:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR33 8.5 Hour Swim/Bike/Run Taupō Opens
  • 5:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR33 8.5 Hour Run/Bike/Run Taupō Opens

Friday, Nov. 20

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

Sunday, Nov. 22

  • 6:59 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. GMT) – IRONMAN VR33 Taupō 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 Oceania:

  • Swim (60 min.) – Inspired by Nutri-Grain IRONMAN New Zealand which takes place on the crystal clear waters of Lake Taupō, this swim workout hones the advanced skills of passing other swimmers in the water, a technique that takes timing, strength and speed.
  • Bike (50 min.) – Inspired by Cairns Airport IRONMAN Cairns and it’s stunning bike course along the Queensland coastline where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef, this workout is lighter this week to help develop patience and preparation as athletes head into the weekend’s IRONMAN 70.3 VR.
  • Run (40 min.) – Inspired by IRONMAN Western Australia and its flat run course along the Busselton coast, the workout serves as a taper for athletes targeting the longer distance race this weekend.

IRONMAN VR32 South Africa

Facts & Figures

  • In total, over 5,455 participants participated in IRONMAN VR32
  • Athletes represented 48 states and 115 countries, regions, and territories
  • Over 1,409 IRONMAN TriClub members signed up for IRONMAN VR32

IRONMAN Virtual Club What to Know:

  • The IRONMAN Virtual Club platform has reached more than 123,000 members since the inception of the platform
  • More than 17,500 TriClub members are registered on the IRONMAN Virtual Club platform
  • To date, 113 athletes have completed all 32 IRONMAN VR races. Over the past 32 weeks of racing, these athletes have completed at least 472km of running and 1,581km 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

Rock This Town®, a program of the IRONMAN Foundation® is sponsoring a Rock This Town Turkey Trot on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Club. Runners are encouraged to run a 5K or more between US Thanksgiving on November 26 and Giving Tuesday on December 1.  To date over 2,700 runners have registered. For every runner that takes part, the IRONMAN Foundation will donate $1 to Feeding America for those facing hunger this holiday season. The IRONMAN Foundation continues to respond to the devastating impact of COVID-19 in race communities around the globe. 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 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.