The battle has been a long time coming, but now get ready for the main event.
You may know it as Ironman vs. Competitor, but it's really a battle of the titan financial firms: Falconhead Capital (Competitor Group) vs. Providence Equity Partners (Ironman/WTC).
Ironman threw the first punch today when it announced via slowtwitch.com that it plans to launch a new triathlon bi-monthly magazine called Lava.
Why Lava and not Ironman?
Because, according to slowtwitch's Dan Empfield:
"there already is one. It's a bodybuilding publication, in print since 1936. Lava Magazine's title is a tacit acknowledgment that the Ironman World Championships will not leave the Big Island for the foreseeable future"
The new magazine will be published by the former publisher of Triathlete Magazine, John Duke. You may recall that Duke formally headed up all of the print publications owned by the Competitor Group including Inside Triathlon and Velo News and of course Triathlete Magazine.
But with all due respect to our print friends this is not a battle of magazines. This is a battle for the hearts, minds, and especially wallets of triathletes.
To the casual observer it would seem that Ironman has the upper hand.
The long time leader in the world of long distance triathlon racing, Ironman has recently added the successful 70.3 race series to its portfolio.
It also controls the halo race of triathlon: The Kona Ironman World Championships, and it has the advantage of selling out almost every iron distance race in just hours.
But don't count Competitor out just yet.
The Competitor Group has been on a buying spree gobbling up marathons and half marathons like a Biggest Loser cast member on the last day before checking into the fitness ranch.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll race series is now run in many of America's biggest cities, and the races keep just keep growing like mushrooms after a soaking rain.
We can't help but wonder how long before the Rock ‘n’ Roll brand will get stamped on a triathlon.
There's also the demographics advantage.
While triathletes may number in the hundreds of thousands in the United States, runners number in the millions. From a triathlon centric point of view Ironman rules the roost in terms of brand identity, but from the much bigger (at least demographically speaking) runner's point of Rock ‘n’ Roll is a much better known brand.
And to add insult to injury, from a general public point of view, Ironman is synonymous with Robert Downey Jr.
So who will clobber who when the dust settles?
It does really matter because in the short and long term this swim, bike and run(ble) is good for the average amatuer triathlete.
It means that at long last Ironman has a worthy competitor (literally and figuratively) which portends more racing options for all of us.
For too long, in our opinion, Ironman has dictate the rules which has lead to such issues as questionable customer service in some cases, a draconian refund policy, and an attitude that can sometimes verges on our way or the highway.
The biggest beneficiary of this somewhat monopolistic iron distance racing market place has been Xterra. The small but well run brand and racing series continues to build market share by providing the customer a great racing experience.
This is not to say that Ironman does not run a good race. They do. They just do it their own way at a price set by what the market will bear.
Perhaps with more competition that market will bear a lower price?
At the end of the day Ironman vs. Competitor means more magazines, more races, and more and better choices for amatuer triathletes.
We say...let the battle begin.
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