It was announced today that the 2020 edition of IRONMAN® Santa Rosa triathlon will mark the end of the full-distance IRONMAN triathlon in Santa Rosa. While the full-distance IRONMAN triathlon will no longer be offered, the City of Santa Rosa will continue to be an important partner and play host to the IRONMAN® 70.3® Santa Rosa triathlon with the 2020 edition taking place on Saturday, May 9, 2020.
“IRONMAN is so very grateful for our established and powerful partnership with the world-class host community of Santa Rosa,” said Dave Christen, Regional Director for The IRONMAN Group. “The region surrounding Santa Rosa has seen much devastation due to wildfires since the beginning of our partnership. While Santa Rosa and the region are resilient and are open for business, our partnering agencies in the region just need a little breathing room to be able to better support the region and its residents. IRONMAN Santa Rosa has been such an amazing event hosted by a great community, but it is our mutual decision to move this IRONMAN triathlon to a new location in 2021. We look forward to continuing the long-standing tradition of local support and triathlon in Sonoma County and the continuation of IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa.”
The IRONMAN Foundation, the charitable arm of IRONMAN will continue to support the region by creating tangible impact in the local community through grant funding and volunteer initiatives. The annual Wildfire Recovery Project in conjunction with 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa will take place on Sunday, May 10. To learn more about the Santa Rosa initiative, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org/santarosa
The city of Santa Rosa has hosted the IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa triathlon since 2017 and has expanded its role as a host city to include the full-distance IRONMAN Santa Rosa triathlon beginning in 2016. During its four-year run, IRONMAN Santa Rosa saw great competition within the beauty of Sonoma County. Athletes and visitors from around the globe – either as competitors, supporters, or spectators – came to Santa Rosa and enjoyed the city’s refreshing weather and picturesque wine country views.
”Hosting two world-class events the size and scale of a full-distance IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon requires a significant level of resources and time on behalf of all our community partners,” said Peter Rumble, CEO of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber – the host partner for the events. “While the community has recovered and is truly open for business, we decided, jointly, to give our community partners some breathing room for the next few years, and focus all of our attention on making the IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon the best is the Country.”
This year’s IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa will take place on May 9, 2020, while the IRONMAN Santa Rosa will be held on July 25, 2020. Over 5,000 athletes are currently registered for these two 2020 events. Athletes will embark on their journey at Lake Sonoma before traveling throughout Sonoma County into the heart of California wine country winding through the Santa Rosa Creek Trail culminating with a spectacular finish on the north side of the Courthouse Square.
For more information, please visit www.ironman.com/im-santa-rosa for the IRONMAN event and www.ironman.com/im703-santa-rosa for the IRONMAN 70.3 event. Athlete inquiries may be directed to santarosa@ironman.com and santarosa70.3@ironman.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.