In a statement on its website, Ironman announced it has discontinued the Ironman North Carolina 140.6-mile triathlon, though the half-triathlon distance of 70.3 miles will be contested next October. The Ironman organization bought the race, formerly known at Beach 2 Battleship, in December 2015. The swimming portion of the race has traditionally been contested in Wrightsville Beach, which also hosts the transition to bicycles, where athletes then continue the course into Wilmington and Brunswick County before finishing at the Battleship North Carolina.
The 2016 Ironman North Carolina was shortened this year after flooding from Hurricane Matthew made it impossible to complete the full bicycle leg of the race.
The statement on the Ironman website said:
“After careful consideration, IRONMAN North Carolina will not continue for 2017; we will put all efforts into making IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina a top-notch late season race for athletes. We appreciate the efforts and support of the city as well as our volunteers, partners, and everyone else involved in putting on the dual-event this past year and look forward to continued support for the future IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina event that will continue. We appreciate our athletes’ dedication and understand the disappointment that some will have in not being able to race a full-distance event in that location. We encourage those athletes to consider IRONMAN Maryland, IRONMAN Louisville and IRONMAN Florida.”
There is an error in your article. The full distance (140.6 miles) has been discontinued. The half (70.3) has not, as evidenced by the statement you excerpt.
The first sentence of your article is incorrect – Ironman 70.3 North Carolina WILL continue, as the organization has decided to cancel the full (140.6) distance to focus on the half instead. Please remove “70.3 mile” from the first sentence, thanks.