The purchase of the Competitor Group, known to consumers as the Rock N Roll Marathon series, was the brainchild of Tim Murphy and Tracy Sundlun way back in 1998 (neither are involved with the CGI group at this time), by IRONMAN is one of the largest aquisitions in our sport, next to the IRONMAN purchase by Wanda Group nearly two years ago.
The Rock N Roll Group started with the RNR San Diego Marathon, now in its 20th year this very weekend. Many thought Murphy and Sundlun (plus our dear friend, elite coordinator, the late Mike Long), were out of their minds. But early on, they caught the interest of the third running boom, with runners in charities in the U.S. and putting a marathon on their to do list (aka ‘Bucket List’). The group grew and grew. Murphy left with the purchase of the RNR series, which became the Competitor Group, combining races, sports marketing and media into their portfolio.
What does the purchase by IRONMAN mean? Well, some had considered either IRONMAN or their parent company, Wanda Group, as two interested parties in the CGI sale. It means the continuation of a global brand with IRONMAN. IRONMAN has been interested in the world of running, as they had five races of their own.
What does the purchase mean? It means that global business interests are quite bullish about the running culture and community, and that has to be seen as a good thing.
Acquisition of the owner of Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon extends IRONMAN’s excellence to athletes across their entire endurance life-cycle.
We are excited to announce today a strengthened position as the global leader in endurance sports with the acquisition of Competitor Group Holdings, Inc. (CGI). The combined entity further establishes IRONMAN as the leading Endurance Sports organization in the world.
“This is an important step in the growth IRONMAN has seen over the last decade,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer for IRONMAN. “As a globally-recognized endurance brand, the acquisition of the world’s largest running platform puts us in an exciting position for the future growth of running worldwide. The ability to help globalize the successful Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series brings about many opportunities to demonstrate our leadership in this industry.”
With their more than 30 world-class events including the flagship Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, CGI events see over 600,000 athletes each year. IRONMAN already owns or operates more than 20 running races worldwide, including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, ASB Auckland Marathon, Marathon Bordeaux and Across the Bay 10k.
“We are committed to providing our athletes with consistent, high-quality experiences across each of our events,” added Messick. “Our distinct expertise in event operations will allow us to ensure that athletes across the entire endurance life cycle are able to achieve their goals at any stage in their endurance journey-from 5K to IRONMAN.”
Combining the CGI portfolio with the strength of IRONMAN’s global capabilities creates a unique business model and a suite of owned intellectual property that is distinctive worldwide. In recent years, IRONMAN has moved into road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Majors Series, mountain bike races such as the Absa Cape Epic, and premier marathons.
“This is a game changing development for the future of CGI and a clear signal into the investment being made in the global running community,” said Josh Furlow, President of CGI. “IRONMAN is a tremendous organization with incredible brand strength and I look forward to working with Andrew to bring together two of the world’s greatest event producers collectively as one team.”
Since the debut of the of the signature Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series in 1998, CGI has continued to expand to key cities throughout the United States, covering 22 major markets in the United States and eight international races from the United Kingdom to China, creating the largest running series in the world. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series innovated the running industry by infusing the course with live bands, cheer teams, and creating a block-party atmosphere for participants and spectators. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the series with the Synchrony Financial Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon on June 3-4.
For a full listing of Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon events, visit runrocknroll.com.
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.
