Back to the Future? IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie and IRONMAN Australia to Both Take Place on May 1, 2016

2011 was the last time we had the Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie on the same day as Ironman Australia. There were mixed reactions from the athletes that raced that day. There were two separate finish lines and the shorter race was held within the longer race.

One of the positives for the 70.3 age group triathletes was that a lot of the faster guys and girls raced the Ironman which meant many of us came away with career best placings over this distance. I for one was happy about it!

IRONMAN announced today that the 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie triathlon will take place concurrently with the 2016 IRONMAN Australia triathlon. These two iconic Australian events will be held on May 1, 2016 in Port Macquarie, New South Wales.

“We are excited about bringing these two historic events together,” said IRONMAN Asia-Pacific CEO Geoff Meyer. “As the fourth oldest IRONMAN event in the world, IRONMAN Australia has an atmosphere all of its own and the addition of IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie on the same date is one that will create an amazing race day experience for our athletes and their family and friends.”

IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie will be an age group athlete race offering 30 qualifying slots and will be the second last qualifying race on home soil for the 2016 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship taking place September 4, 2016 in Australia’s Sunshine Coast in Mooloolaba, Queensland.