The Cream of Rev3’s Halves Become Ironman 70.3s
Ironman just announced it has acquired three events that were the anchors of the Revolution3 triathlon series. Rev3 Williamsburg (Virginia), Quassy (Connecticut, image below), and Maine are all now Ironman events, and will henceforth be Ironman 70.3 Williamsburg, Connecticut and Maine respectively. The Maine event was already an Ironman-branded event, but was operated by Rev3 under a license from Ironman. As of now all events are Ironman-owned.
Ironman 70.3 Virginia will be contested on May 11, 2019, Connecticut will take place on June 2, 2019, and Maine on August 25. All will be open for registration on September 25 upcoming.
Rev3 began 10 years ago as a family friendly series focused on the athlete experience. A heavy focus on supporting the elite athletes meant $100,000 purses which meant difficult pathways to profitability. Episodes along the way included a non-productive partnership with Challenge, a revamping of the prize purse, races as far West as Portland, Oregon, and a Southern outreach that included races in Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, and a race in the Dominican Republic.
James Cunnama, Hillary Biscay, Chris McDonald, Meredith Kessler, Richie Cunningham, and Andrew Starykowicz all were Rev3 staples. The brand also debuted Rev3 Rush, a supersprint format (swim start shown below).
Revolution3 will remain in business, focusing on short course tri and running events. Its founder, Charlie Patten, will exit the company but the president and longtime operations head, Eric Opdyke, will remain and will assume ownership. Its service business, ATP Productions, will continue to offer equipment rental, event management and production to other customers, which will include help on the production side for the events Ironman just purchased.
