A UK-based campaign launched to boost the number of women taking part in next year’s IRONMAN 70.3 Bolton has received backing from a senior official at the M-dot brand who says such passion is key to attracting more females to the sport.
IRONMAN’s Chief Marketing Officer, Marieka Barnard, hailed the efforts of age-group athletes Pippa Spencer and Kellie Branagan after the friends launched a community group for women who have been discouraged from tackling multisport events due to their ‘male-dominated aura’.
While reiterating that the task of increasing women’s participation remained a ‘major focus’ for IRONMAN, she confirmed that significant measures had already been introduced, with further initiatives planned to make triathlon a more gender-balanced and inclusive sport.
The number of women continues to rise
The number of women taking part in triathlon continues to rise, with IRONMAN announcing earlier this year that its 2025 participation figures showed a 9% overall increase in female entries, including a remarkable 44% jump among women aged 25 to 29.
Based in the north of England, the ForTheGirls support network, set up by Pippa and Kellie, has already attracted strong interest from potential recruits, while their campaign to help IRONMAN 70.3 Bolton achieve a 50:50 gender split also seems to be having an impact.
Barnard joined IRONMAN in 2011 as marketing coordinator and now heads up global marketing for the brand. In her current role since 2023, she is also part of the group’s executive leadership team, of which half are women.
“We’re grateful for passionate advocates like Kellie and Pippa, alongside many other women around the world, who are helping to inspire, welcome and support more women into triathlon,” she said. “Growing female participation is a shared effort, and we’re encouraged by many of the positive signs we’re seeing across our events this year, including at IRONMAN 70.3 Bolton, where female registrations are currently tracking ahead of last year.
Women need to feel they belong
“Increasing women’s participation is a major focus for IRONMAN and something we have been investing significant time and resources into behind the scenes.
“Over the past few years, we’ve undertaken extensive research, surveyed thousands of female endurance athletes and spent considerable time listening to women both inside and outside our community to better understand the opportunities, barriers and experiences that shape their journey into the sport.
“That work has reinforced something we strongly believe: if we want to see more women on start lines, we need to create environments where women feel represented, supported and that they belong.”
Such continued efforts by race organisers, the Professional Triathlon Organisation and groups such as Women in Tri and SheRaces are making a difference, but Pippa and Kellie still believe more needs to be done to make the sport truly accessible.
Progress made – more still to be done
One of the key reasons they launched ForTheGirls was to turn what is regarded as the ‘silent camaraderie’ felt by so many women on race start lines into a ‘louder and bigger’ support network that looks to make the male-dominated sport less daunting.
Having made progress, IRONMAN says it is now using the findings from its research to improve the experience of female athletes.
“That insight is already informing changes across the athlete experience,” said Barnard. “We are continuing to roll out a range of women-focused improvements across our events, including women-only toilets and changing facilities in transition; access to feminine hygiene products onsite; dedicated lactation spaces for breastfeeding athletes; and greater female representation across key operational roles at our events.
“While we acknowledge there is still plenty more to do, our ambition is to continue raising the standard for women racing across the IRONMAN portfolio.
‘Continuing to invest in new initiatives’
“We also recognise that participation is about more than race day. Community, connection and seeing people like ForTheGirls in the sport are incredibly powerful motivators.
“That’s why we’re continuing to invest in new initiatives designed to help women feel supported throughout their entire journey into triathlon, not just on race weekend. We’re excited about what’s ahead and look forward to sharing more in the near future.”
You can follow the ForTheGirls community on their Instagram page HERE and contact them via email by writing to tri.forthegirls@gmail.com.
