The sixth annual PPD Beach2Battleship Triathlon, wrapped up another successful outing this past weekend. With a record number of participants, and ideal race conditions, this year’s event is regarded by the organisers as the most successful in its history.
The event, which benefits the Wilmington Family YMCA, and is produced by Set Up Events, sold out in record time in 2013 and saw more than 2,250 athletes from 42 US states joining with 19 international racers to compete in half and long distance triathlons on Saturday 26 October.
The 140.6 mile long distance event included a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. The half/middle distance event included a 1.3 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run.
Amongst the race field were the PPD Heroes, who have overcome serious illness, and who race to raise public awareness about the importance of clinical trials for the development of critical medical treatments. The 2013 PPD Heroes included: Laura Hull, Vic Kinnunen, Kristen Adelman, Garrett and Eric Miller, Meg Roberts and Emily Schaller.
“We’re incredibly proud of the outstanding achievements from all of our participants in this year’s PPD Beach2Battleship,” said Dick Jones, CEO of the Wilmington Family YMCA. “Just getting to the starting line is a great accomplishment for so many athletes, seeing them complete this event on race day is truly inspirational.”
He continued, “Our gratitude goes out to the communities of Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach and the surrounding counties for their support of PPD Beach2Battleship, to our friends in the media for their recognition of this event, and of course to our sponsors for their tremendous support. It’s hard to imagine topping the 2013 edition of the event, but we know our seventh PPD Beach2Battleship will be even bigger.”
Registration for the 2014 PPD Beach2Battleship opens on 1 November 2013 at Beach2Battleship.com.
The PPD Beach2Battleship Triathlon has been ranked among the top five long distance triathlons in the world by Triathlete magazine. More than 2,250 athletes, including international competitors and triathletes from 42 US states participated this year, helping to generate more than US$4 million in local economic impact.
Title sponsor PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services. PPD’s clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations.
With offices in 46 countries and more than 12,500 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their R&D investments.
The Wilmington Family YMCA serves more than 8,000 people each year, including 2,000 children under the age of 18. Through a variety of programs and services focused on the holistic development of children and youth, and family strengthening, YMCAs unite men, women and children of all ages, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels.
The Wilmington Family YMCA has proudly served the local community for nearly 125 years by building healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
Set Up Events, one of the US nation’s largest producers of triathlons, is a full-service production, registration and timing company for participatory sports, triathlon and running events. In 2013, Set Up Events will produce more than 150 triathlons in eight states, totalling more than 64,000 registrations.
www.Beach2Battleship.com
www.ppdi.com
www.wilmingtonfamilyymca.org
www.SetUpEvents.com
