The Ironman Brand

Ironman started publishing its Lava Magazine in the summer of 2010, and is planning to go bi-monthly in 2011 and monthly in 2012. Covering the entirety of the triathlon sport, it will compete directly with Inside Triathlon and Triathlete Magazine, both now owned by the Competitor Group, as well as the nation's largest triathlete magazine, USA Triathlon's USA Triathlon Life. That's a lot of triathlon.

Because of the popularity of the sport and an increased participation in endurance activities, the Ironman brand has been able to keep itself apart from USA Triathlon, the official governing body of triathlon in the US. This often results in the two entities competing for sponsors and recognition, and this, in part, has led to the formation of Triathlon America, as announced in late October.

There's a write-up on Slowtwitch.com which explains that since USA Triathlon is owned by members and represents triathlon consumers, Triathlon America is needed to act as an industry standard to give businesses a voice. This is true, but it also reflects the trend among weekend athletes who would never dream of making the Olympics or even a world or national age-group competition, yet can't let go of the possibility of one day racing in Kona.

The Competitor Group, also a part of the Triathlon America organization, is also evolving with the industry. They're now primarily focused on their own events, which include their 17 big city Rock 'n' Roll Marathons, mostly purchased over the past few years by their Elite Racing division. They also promote their Muddy Buddy series (an off-road tandem run / bike relay,) and their TriRock series (basically a rock and roll triathlon.) They also own Velo News, geared for track, cyclecross, and other competitive cyclers, and Singletrack.com, which is designed for mountain bikers.

The Competitor Magazine, which has appeared in Portland and Seattle as Competitor NW, is now marketed primarily toward runners, and hopes to compete with Runners World. Competitor in this area will likewise be competing more directly withRacecenter Northwest, who shapes their content to promote their own (AA Sports) events, which are chiefly running and triathlon. Meanwhile, Seatlle-based Outdoors NW continues to cover the general outdoor recreational market since it evolved from Sports Etc back in 2004, having grown from a cycling publication into multi-sport.