KAILUA-KONA, Hawai`i (Wednesday, October 10) – Race week for the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship continued today in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i and with it, the plethora of activities and events that countdown to the world’s most iconic single-day endurance event taking place on Saturday, Oct. 12. Here is the daily Pau Hana, a Hawaiian phrase meaning “end of the workday,” recapping highlights from the last 24 hours.   Thanks to IRONMAN’s partners, world championship athletes as well as their friends and families will have the opportunity to try out world class products leading up to race day. With nearly a dozen premier partners represented on the island, athletes are encouraged to see the variety of products and amenities available, ranging from nutritional supplements to training materials. In their first year as a title partner at the IRONMAN World Championship, Vega will be front and center for athletes throughout the week. They will have sampling throughout IRONMAN Village, and their “Vegamobile” will be located at different spots for spectators to try out their recovery smoothies. Below are a few other sponsors and the benefits they will be bringing:  

• Addaday will debut their new co-branded IRONMAN massage chair and provide the “Best Seats in Kona”, right across from the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. Throughout the week, spectators will have the opportunity to test the chairs and enter a raffle to win a seat in the chair on race day for up to an hour.
• HOKA ONE ONE, in partnership with the IRONMAN merchandise team, will be selling their co-branded IRONMAN KONA MACH 2 shoe along with their Kona inspired Carbon X shoes. They will also have demo runs at their pop-up shop throughout the week to test the all-new Carbon X released earlier this fall.
• Gatorade Endurance will be performing sweat testing all week long at their IRONMAN Village location, and have had mobile hydration stations set up around Kona to help athletes on their training efforts. They will also be presenting sponsor of “IRONMAN: Quest for Kona fueled by Gatorade Endurance”
• GU Energy will be promoting their TerraCycle initiative that collects used single serve nutrition wrappers and send them back to the U.S. for recycling, and in-turn, all proceeds will be donated to the IRONMAN Foundation for their recycling efforts.
• Master Spas will be demonstrating their new swim spa located in the IRONMAN Village. Three-time IRONMAN World Champion Mirinda Carfrae and 2014 IRONMAN World Championship runner-up Ben Hoffman will be making appearances throughout the week.
• Red Bull will host an exclusive branded aid station in The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority; providing energy when athletes need it most. The finish line area will feature two members of the Red Bull Wings Team.
• ROKA, the official swim partner of IRONMAN, has been demonstrating their goggles and swimskins all week, and will award the fastest swimmer of each age group with a $50 discount on their products.
• Santini, the official cycling and triathlon apparel, will be providing Italian coffee in expo to anyone who buys Santini gear in the merch store. They will also host a short fashion show during IRONMAN Village stage time.
• Ventum, the official global bike partner of IRONMAN, hosted its Annual Ventum Group Ride in partnership with Vega. The group rolled out early Wednesday morning heading eight miles out to the Kona airport where riders had the option to turn around and head back to the expo or continue their ride down for a pre-race ride down a portion of the IRONMAN World Championship Ventum bike course on Queen Ka’ahumanu..

  IRONMAN `Ohana Hour on IRONMAN Now   IRONMAN `Ohana Hour, a daily update show on IRONMAN Now brings the viewer to the shores of Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i leading into the 2019 Vega IRONMAN World Championship. Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on IRONMAN Now Facebook page, hosts Greg Welch, Michael Lovato and Matt Lieto will bring live interviews with professional and age-group triathletes prior the big race on Saturday.   Take a trip out to the The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority and see what the athletes will be experiencing on race day or take walk down famous Ali`i Drive showing the race week atmosphere in Kailua-Kona.   Each daily show is available on the IRONMAN Now page for viewers to re-watch any episode throughout the week.   HOKA ONE ONE Women For Tri Athlete Panel   One of IRONMAN’s premier partners, HOKA ONE ONE – the Official Running Shoe of the IRONMAN North America and IRONMAN Europe Series – hosted an athlete panel at noon on Wednesday to celebrate Women Who Fly in conjunction with the Women For Tri initiative, a program of the IRONMAN Foundation. Launched in 2015, Women For Tri works to increase female participation at all levels of triathlon. The initiative seeks to identify and lessen any barriers female athletes may cross when engaging triathlons and encouraging them across all platforms of athletics. Since its inception in 2015, Women For Tri has awarded over $300,000 in grants to triathlon clubs supporting female participation initiatives. Wednesday’s panel included three powerful women from around endurance sports industry: Wendy Yang, President of HOKA ONE ONE; Sika Henry, a two-time IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship finisher and proponent for diversity in triathlon; Julie Moss, IRONMAN Hall of Famer and 1982 IRONMAN World Championship runner-up who famously crawled the final 15 feet of the race after collapsing. Prior to the panel, there was a Women For Tri meet-up from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the IRONMAN Foundation Booth. Athletes gathered, took photos and the first 50 females in attendance received special gifts.   Looking Ahead to Tomorrows Pau Hana   The Vega IRONMAN World Championship’s week of events continued tonight with the induction of the 2019 IRONMAN Hall of Fame class, featuring IRONMAN World Champion’s Tim DeBoom and Michellie Jones, along with IRONMAN contributors Kenneth Gasque and Jan War. Tomorrow, the day kicks off at 7:30 a.m. HST with the Kona Underpants Run, a tradition to help raise money for various local charities. Following that, media are invited to attend the professional athlete press conference at 11:00 a.m., featuring over a dozen of the top professional athletes who will be competing on Saturday. Shortly thereafter, IRONMAN will host a follow up press conference at 2:00 p.m. at the IRONMAN Village that will include some of this year’s incredible athletes and their stories to the start line – mother-daughter duo Beth and Liza James, after two decades of trying, Dai Masui will finally start the IRONMAN World Championship, music manager and Chairman of MusiCares Michael McDonald, double amputee Roderick Sewell, IRONMĀORI co-founder Wayne Skipworth, as well as breast cancer survivor and business executive Lisa Tecklenburg. The Vega IRONMAN World Championship Media Center reopens Thursday, Oct. 10 at 9 a.m. in King Kamehameha Hotel Ballroom 1. Media can check in until 4 p.m.