The organizers of the Ironman series of triathlons and other endurance races have purchased Wilmington’s Beach2Battleship races from the YMCA of Wilmington, resulting in a name change for the race, though sponsorship rights and the October event schedule will remain. The race will now also serve as a qualifying race for the international Ironman race that takes place every year in Hawaii.
The new full and half-triathlons races will drop the Beach2Battleship name and now be called the “PPD Ironman North Carolina presented by New Hanover Regional Medical Center.” The half-triathlon will be called the “PPD Ironman 70.3 North Carolina presented by New Hanover Regional Medical Center.” The races will be held on Oct. 22, 2016, with registration beginning on Dec. 18, 2015.
The 2016 Ironman North Carolina race will offer participants up to 30 age-group slots in the 2017 Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. This year’s race had nearly 2,000 participants.
“When the idea was conceived in 2007, our hope was to create an event which would attract triathletes from around the country. The results have been an amazing win for our community and the YMCA,” Wilmington Family YMCA CEO Dick Jones said. “This event so warmly embraced by the community has helped us fund programs and services each year to hundreds of families and children with needs throughout the greater Wilmington area. I would like to thank PPD and the New Hanover Regional Medical Center for their continued partnership and support of the races. Our decision to team with IRONMAN will enable even more athletes to experience these two great events and our wonderful community, while continuing to give back to our local communities.”
The event will continue its unique “point-to-point-to-point-to-point” course map, the organizers said, with a finish at the USS North Carolina. The event was recognized as one of the top long distance triathlons by Triathlete Magazine in 2010.
“PPD Beach2Battleship has been an incredibly successful independent event since its inaugural race in 2008,” said Andrew Messick, Ironman CEO. “The acquisition of these races furthers our commitment to the Southeastern U.S. and we look forward to growing these two great events.”
The annual event, which saw its ninth running this year, has traditionally gotten its start in Wrightsville Beach. For the full course that was contested on Oct. 17, 2015, the athletes started just south of the U.S. Coast Guard Station at 7:30 a.m. and swam 2.4 miles north to Seapath Yacht Club. There, they retrieved their bicycles from the transition area in Wrightsville Beach Park and rode 112 miles through Pender, Sampson and Bladen counties, finishing in downtown Wilmington. They concluded the race with a 26.2 mile marathon that ends at the Battleship North Carolina. Athletes can also compete in the “70.3” race, which contests these legs in half of the distance.
In 2014, a 68-year-old man from Sewanee, Ga., died during the swim portion of the race after rescuers were unable to revive him. It has been the most serious incident to occur during the race’s history.
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