Less than a month before Rockford’s Ironman triathlon, volunteers still needed

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — With less than a month remaining until Ironman Rockford, a 70-mile triathlon race, organizers say they are still in need of volunteers to help with the event.

The inaugural event is a 70.3-mile half-distance triathlon that comprises swimming, cycling, and running. The swimming leg of the Rockford race will take place in the Rock River, officials said.

The running portion was originally going to take place on Madison Street, but due to construction, a new plan was used to utilize Water Street.

“We’re going to come through the Sports Factory parking lot. We are going to have to turn left on State Street. We’re going to go up Water Street. They’re going to do a little turnaround in the Riverview Icehouse, and then they’ll come back and they are going to cross to the west side of the river on the (Jefferson) pedestrian street bridge,” said Lindsey

Ironman was founded by Judy and John Collins, who competed in the 1974 Mission Bay Triathlon in San Diego. The event inspired the couple to create a similar race for endurance athletes, leading to what in 1978 became the Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon. Ironman races are now held worldwide.

The race is scheduled for Sunday, June 22, 2025.

The organizer’s biggest worry now is finding enough volunteers.

I’d say I have a healthy level of anxiety about it. I know that more volunteers will come. It’s really picked up over the last couple of weeks. I think people are starting to hear more about it. There’s been more of a push on social about it. It’s we’ll get there, as I like to say,” said Chris

Currently, there are about half as many enlisted volunteers needed to run an event the size of Ironman.

“We’ve got about 650 to 670 unique volunteers at this point. We could use a few hundred more. I think, generally speaking, for an event like this, we need about 1,200 volunteers,”

“What we’re trying to do is create an environment that makes the athletes want to come back and do this race over and over again. We want to put our best foot forward so the athletes feel well supported. They get to stay hydrated, they’re well-fed, they’re taken care of. So we’d always love to have more volunteers,”

Volunteers are needed for race day, and registration can be found here or by emailing im70.3illinois@ironmanvolunteers.com.