Athleta to Sponsor Iron Girl

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Athleta, the Sonoma County based women's sports and active apparel brand, has signed on as the new title sponsor for Iron Girl. With 13 events nationwide, ranging from 10K/5K to half-marathon, duathlon and triathlon, the Athleta Iron Girl Event Series empowers females of all ages to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110126/NY36521LOGO)

"The Iron Girl Series provides a forum for women to come together through sport, doing something good for her alongside friends and other female athletes," said Tess Roering, VP of Marketing for Athleta. "A desire to be challenged athletically while bonding with and supporting others embodies the Athleta woman, making Iron Girl an ideal partner for us."

"Iron Girl is proud to partner with Athleta, a leading brand for women, designed by women," said Judy Molnar, Vice President of Iron Girl. "It is a natural fit, as Athleta shares the common goal of encouraging participation through events while providing the apparel to support a woman's active lifestyle."

The Athleta Iron Girl Series provides participants the opportunity to reach their personal fitness goals and event amenities such as: a post-race catered Breakfast Cafe, shirts sized for women, personalized race bibs, custom finisher medals, post-race giveaways and much more.

For more information on Athleta and Iron Girl, visit www.athleta.com and www.irongirl.com, respectively.

The 2011 Athleta Iron Girl National Event Series consists of:

• April 10     Athleta Iron Girl Clearwater, Fla. – Half-Marathon and 5K Run/Walk
• April 30     Athleta Iron Girl Lake Las Vegas, Nev. – Triathlon (800-meter swim, 24K bike, 5K run)
• May 15     Athleta Iron Girl Atlanta, Ga. – Triathlon (1/3-mile swim, 18-mile bike, 3-mile run)
• May 22     Athleta Iron Girl New Orleans, La. – Triathlon (1/4-mile swim, 12-mile bike, 3.1-mile run)
• June 26    Athleta Iron Girl Portland, Ore. – Triathlon (600-meter swim, 22K bike, 5K run)
• July 31      Athleta Iron Girl Racine, Wisc. – Triathlon (400-meter swim, 22K bike, 5K run)
• Aug. 7       Athleta Iron Girl Syracuse, N.Y. – Triathlon (600-meter swim, 30K bike, 5K run)
• Aug. 21     Athleta Iron Girl Columbia, Md. – Triathlon (.62-mile swim, 17.5-mile bike, 3.4-mile run)
• Aug. 27     Athleta Iron Girl Boulder, Colo. – Triathlon (1/4-mile swim, 17.2-mile bike, 3.1-mile run)
• Sept. 11    Athleta Iron Girl Seattle, Wash. (Run/Walk)
• Sept. 18    Athleta Iron Girl Lake Tahoe South Shore, Calif. – Triathlon (400-meter swim, 24K bike, 5K run)        
• Sept. 25    Athleta Iron Girl Bloomington, Minn. – Duathlon (2-mile run, 22-mile bike, 2-mile run)
• Nov. 6       Athleta Iron Girl Del Mar, Calif. (10K and 5K Run/Walk)

About Athleta

Athleta was founded in 1998 with the mission of providing women athletes with apparel for different sports and fitness activities. The company has become one of the premier brands in the rapidly growing women's sports and active apparel markets. Athleta offers high quality, stylish, and functional apparel, footwear and accessories, 90 percent of which is proprietary branded, across a wide variety of sports and fitness activities, including a high component of crossover apparel as well as casual wear. Athleta sells its products through catalogs and its website, www.athleta.com. The company is headquartered in Petaluma, CA, and has nearly 200 employees. Athleta was acquired by Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) in September 2008 and is part of the Gap Inc. Direct division.  

About Iron Girl

Launched in 2004 with just two races, the Iron Girl Series has grown to include 13 events nationwide, varying in distance from 5K to duathlon and triathlon. Iron Girl recently introduced its first half-marathon with plans to expand on the distance in 2012. With the mission of empowering women toward a healthy lifestyle, Iron Girl has celebrated finishers ranging in age from five to 89 years old with an average age of 35.  Visit www.irongirl.com, a site filled with training tips, guest columnists and nutrition information, and www.irongirlshop.com, an online store that offers products and accessories to match the active lifestyle of women.

SOURCE Athleta