“The greatest thing about [the Ironman 70.3 series] is that it gives virtually any serious triathlete the opportunity to compete in an Ironman-branded event, side by side with the greatest athletes in the world.”
Top Photo: The Vineman Ironman 70.3 by Jerry Meshulam

At 28, Caroline Gregory is attempting to make her mark in the legal field. Still in her first year practicing civil defense litigation for a San Diego firm, Gregory routinely logs 50- to 55-hour workweeks. She maintains a social life aside from her career, dating and occasionally meeting friends for happy hour - and she's a triathlete.

As a long-distance triathlete with two Ironman races under her belt, Gregory, though, is not consumed by the sport. Since she already has a full plate with her job and social schedule, she prefers racing the half-Ironman distance and has completed at least 10. She plans to knock off another four or five this year.

"As someone younger - just starting out in my career - training for the half still allows a social life, which is important to me," says Gregory, who lives in Del Mar, Calif. "Once you start getting into the Ironman distance, you pretty much eat, sleep, train and work."

Citing another advantage the half boasts over the Ironman, she adds, "You can go out and hammer on the bike and survive the run. If you hammer the bike in an Ironman, you will not survive the run."

Gregory swam competitively in her youth, specializing in the 500- and 1650-yard freestyle. She also rowed at the University of Michigan.

"For me, I've always been an endurance athlete," says the attorney. "I used to get in trouble with my coaches and trainers for working out too much in practice. I find that the half-Ironman distance allows me to work out the amount I want, and it's normal."

Gregory epitomizes a growing trend in the sport: The half-Ironman distance is busting at the seams - in particular, the World Triathlon Corporation's (WTC) 70.3 series. The WTC, which owns the Ironman brand, licensed six half-Ironman races in 2004. This year, that figure has swelled to 30. By 2010, WTC events director Steve Meckfessel expects that figure to mushroom to 40.

There are multiple factors why triathletes are logging on to the Internet and shelling out $275 to swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and then top it off with a 13.1-mile run.

Among the reasons:
• It's a significant accomplishment, yet, as Gregory demonstrates,
not one that requires triathletes to shut down the rest of
their lives.
• Triathlon is now a "cache" sport, says Robert Vigorito, race
director for the Eagleman Ironman 70.3 in Cambridge, Maryland.
No question, its popularity is soaring at the grassroots level.
In 2004, USA Triathlon counted 40,299 members. This year, those
numbers have soared to 104,000.
• Triathletes can race more often. Most age-group triathletes can
do one, maybe two, Ironman races a year. At the 70.3 distance,
they can race four or five times a year.
• There has been an increase in participation among women in
the sport. "When I came into the sport, probably 18 percent of
the participants (at the race) were women. Now we're pushing 40
percent," says Mike Greer, race director for the Ironman 70.3
Buffalo Springs Lake in Lubbock, Texas, who created the event
in 1990.
• Old-timers as well as novices are now vying for entries into
half-Ironman races. With veteran triathletes wanting 70.3 events to
prepare themselves for Ironmans and the influx of newbies
gradually increasing their distance, the two are converging right
smack into the half Ironman.

The Vineman Ironman 70.3 in Sonoma County, Calif., offers a perfect example of why there is such a fascination with the distance among triathletes. With events selling out sooner (often within a day after online registration opens), race director Russ Pugh maintains a waiting list. In the last couple of years, Pugh says 600-700 people per year have requested refunds, primarily due to unforeseen personal conflicts or injury. To date, every one of these spots has been filled from the waiting list, Pugh says.

"I think the waiting list gives people a sense of hope," he adds.

Terry Davis, race director of the long-standing Wildflower Triathlon at Lake San Antonio in Monterey County, Calif., calls the half-Ironman "the perfect distance."

"I just think the physics of man's body allows you to go that distance," he says. "A lot of things happen when you go beyond that distance. It seems you have more long-term injuries and more nutritional problems. Even if you think you know everything, when you're [competing] at the Ironman distance, your body does things you can't compensate for."

The WTC certainly saw the demand for more half-Ironman races when it created the 70.3 series. Since 2006, the series has grown from 18 events to 22 a year later to 30 this year.

"The greatest thing about [the Ironman 70.3 series] is that it gives virtually any serious triathlete the opportunity to compete in an Ironman-branded event, side by side with the greatest athletes in the world," says Pugh. The "doability" of the distance combined with the opportunity to compete at this sport's highest level among the best age-groupers and professionals is what's exciting for most people, he adds.

The popularity of the Ironman 70.3 series knows no boundaries. This year's eight new events are split between four domestic and four international races. The new sites: Boise, Idaho; Providence, R.I.; Austin, Texas; Lawrence, Kan.; China; Chile; South Africa; and Muskoka, Ontario, Canada.

he Providence race is a perfect illustration of how popular the 70.3 has become. Already, the Timberman 70.3 is in place just two hours away in Gilford, N.H. Nonetheless, the Providence event is nearing a sellout.

"We're trying to keep up with the demand, yet manage it smartly," says WTC's Meckfessel.
Greer also points out that years ago there was only one half Ironman in Texas. Now, there are 12.

"People just want to race it," says Greer.

People like Dan Berman of Santa Rosa, Calif. Berman, 55, is in his 21st season racing triathlons. He has raced the Ironman distance seven times but has lost track of his half-Ironman count.

"Probably 30," says Berman.

Berman works as the culinary director for upscale independent grocery stores. Despite a hectic work schedule, he says of the half, "It takes a lot of dedication but you can do it on a reasonable amount of training as opposed to a full Ironman. The full is kind of selfish."

Yet the 70.3 is challenging enough that it merits bragging around the office lunchroom.

"Most people can't fathom what it means to do a half," says Berman. "I oversee 90 employees. I don't think any of them could do just one of the (70.3) disciplines (swim, bike or run), let alone all three put together."