st anthony s triathlon

I have never been able to do a triathlon. I can't even do one sport good much less put three together. I have to hold anyone doing this in high regard because the three sports they are going to do are going to test multiple strengths in certain areas.

A local company on the international sports stage for decades is changing the way triathletes measure success.

And it's being helped in part by a world championship held in its backyard.

The Ironman brand is most often associated with the legendary and grueling 140.6-mile triathlon born on Waikiki, Hawaii, 31 years ago. That race and the ensuing international series have emerged as a pinnacle for the sturdiest of endurance athletes, including many with local ties.

As its contests expanded to exotic race venues such as Malaysia, South Africa and Australia, Ironman quietly made Tarpon Springs its corporate headquarters. And it was in those offices that the company decided three years ago to rebrand a few existing races and establish the increasingly popular 70.3-mile series, which features a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.

Steve Meckfessel, Ironman's 70.3 events coordinator, says the distance is perfect for athletes who want the challenge of an endurance triathlon but can't afford the effort it takes to finish a 140.6-mile race.

"Ironman is so intense, only so many people can have the time and resources," he says.

Since the Ironman 70.3 series launched in 2006, the number of events has grown from 17 to 29, with locations as close as Orlando and as far-flung as Singapore. Three more events have been added to the 2009 calendar.

The most important component of the Ironman 70.3 series was the creation of the 70.3 World Championship, held in Clearwater Beach, says Ben Fertic, Ironman president and chief executive. The world championship will be held locally through at least 2010.

It gave the local company a chance to introduce its neighbors to a world-class sporting event featuring elite professional and top amateur endurance athletes who had qualified in earlier series races, he says. And a venue using the Gulf of Mexico and the roads around Clearwater attracted international athletes and their families in the slow season for local tourism.

Meckfessel says the best evidence of this "medium" or "long-course" distance success is how it continues to add to the number of participants in each of its Ironman races. Some, including May's Florida Ironman 70.3 in Orlando, fill up in a matter of hours, he says. There also are a number of other 70.3 distance races not affiliated with the Ironman series.

Recreational triathletes are intrigued by the long-course race, says Hannah Kelbaugh, a spectator at the recent world championship and a member of the Sarasota Sharks Triathlon Club. She says more and more of her fellow club members are training for 70.3 events that offer a bigger challenge than the short distances.

"You can just lay it all out there," says Kelbaugh, who cheered on five teammates who qualified for the world championship. "There's a lot of respect for the 70.3 distance."

The Ironman 70.3 success piggybacks on the massive growth of the overall triathlon community. USA Triathlon, a national triathlon organization not affiliated with Ironman, says its membership has exploded, going from 19,060 members in 1999 to 96,000 in 2007.

The most popular distance today is still far shorter than 70.3 miles; the international distance is made up of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run). St. Petersburg's renowned St. Anthony's triathlon features this distance, as do many other local races.

Fertic knows not every triathlete will compete at the longer distances. Ironman statistics show that the typical 70.3 athlete is a 37-year-old male, who makes about $161,000 a year. About 30 percent of competitors at the 70.3 distance are female.

Fertic suggests those interested in triathlons start at the shorter distances. All you need are goggles, running shoes and a bike you can borrow from a neighbor or friend. "There's always an entry point," he says.

Spencer Smith, a professional triathlete and two-time champion at both St. Anthony's and full-distance Ironman events, agrees. The shorter distances are fast and fantastic, but the endurance events respect older athletic bodies.

"Triathlons are a lifestyle," says Smith, a Palm Harbor resident. "It's not something you want to do and leave. ... It's something you get your claws into and you want to keep doing it."

IRONMAN

Long-distance triathlon series

140.6-mile race established in 1977 in Waikiki, Hawaii

70.3-mile series established in 2006, including world championship in Clearwater Beach

Ownership

September to present: World Endurance Holdings, a division of Providence Equity Partners. Headquarters in Tampa.

1989-2008: World Triathlon Corp., owned by ophthalmologist James P. Gills. Headquarters in Tarpon Springs.

By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune