US health centre operator Life Time Fitness has signed a wide-ranging partnership with the Ironman triathlon series.
The agreement includes sponsorship elements and the exchange of three continuing events.
The Life Time Tri Soma triathlon will be rebranded as Ironman 70.3 Arizona and will take place on October 18, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. Life Time will acquire the Boulder Peak triathlon, which takes place on July 12 and will be rebranded as the Life Time Tri Boulder Peak.
Life Time Fitness will also be title sponsor of the Boulder Sprint triathlon, scheduled to take place in conjunction with Ironman 70.3 Boulder on June 13. In 2016, ownership of the Boulder Sprint will transfer to Life Time.
In addition, Life Time will sponsor 34 US Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races annually under a three-year deal that commences in 2015. The Life Time Tri Series will become the official US short-distance partner of the Ironman Age Group Ranking and All World Athlete Programs.
During the past five months, Ironman and Life Time have made a collective commitment to growing the sport of triathlon through an expanding relationship including Women For Tri, an advisory board aimed at welcoming more women into the sport, and Commit to Tri, a campaign aimed at motivating new and existing athletes to race triathlon in 2015.