{"id":74999,"date":"2025-08-27T10:17:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/?p=74999"},"modified":"2025-08-27T10:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:42:07","slug":"happy-valley-lands-2026-ironman-70-3-north-american-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/happy-valley-lands-2026-ironman-70-3-north-american-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Valley Lands 2026 Ironman 70.3 North American Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley triathlon has been selected to host the 2026 Ironman 70.3 North American Championship.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event, which will return to the central Pennsylvania destination on June 14, 2026, will offer a North American Championship title, an elevated professional prize purse and increased age group qualifying opportunities for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/ironman-world-championships-to-rotate-between-hawaii-and-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2026 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are thrilled to bring the Ironman 70.3 North American Championship race to State College and the Happy Valley Community to showcase this beautiful venue,\u201d said <strong>AJ Sills<\/strong>, Northeast Regional Director for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/tag\/ironman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ironman<\/a>. \u201cState College has been a phenomenal host since the event was launched in 2023, and we could not be prouder to see this event host some of the best athletes from around the world next June with this prestigious designation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<div class=\"article_sidebar\">\n<p><b>Related Stories<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/happy-valley-lands-2026-ironman-70-3-north-american-championship\/\">Happy Valley Lands 2026 Ironman 70.3 North American Championship<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/tarragona-to-host-2026-europe-triathlon-championships\/\">Tarragona to host 2026 Europe Triathlon Championships<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/new-mexico-hosts-inaugural-xterra-event-ruidoso-triathlon\/\">New Mexico Hosts Inaugural Xterra Event Ruidoso Triathlon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/milwaukee-and-usa-triathlon-continue-to-forge-bond\/\">Milwaukee and USA Triathlon Continue to Forge Bond<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/ironman-announces-first-ever-nebraska-event\/\">Ironman Announces Inaugural Nebraska Event<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The 2026 Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley North American Championship race will take athletes on a 1.2-mile swim in Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir at Bald Eagle State Park, a 56-mile bike ride through the hills of Centre and Clinton counties and a a 13.1-mile run on the campus of Penn State University including a finish line experience alongside Beaver Stadium, home to the Penn State Nittany Lions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBeing selected to host the Ironman 70.3 North American Championship race is a tremendous opportunity for Happy Valley,\u201d said <strong>Eric Engelbarts<\/strong>, executive director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/happyvalleysportsandentertainmentalliance.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Happy Valley Sports &amp; Entertainment Alliance<\/a>. \u201cThis event will bring thousands of athletes, families and fans to our region, creating a powerful economic impact for our local businesses while showcasing Happy Valley as a premier sports tourism destination. We are proud to continue building a reputation that puts our region on the global stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are thrilled that the Ironman 70.3 Series is returning to Happy Valley in a big way,\u201d said <strong>Fritz Smith<\/strong>, president and chief executive officer of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportstravelmagazine.com\/tag\/happy-valley-adventure-bureau\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau<\/a>. \u201cFrom a visitation perspective, hosting the North American Championship is of course wonderful news. But it means more than that. For the past three years, the community has fully embraced the event \u2013 from turning out in large numbers to volunteer or to simply cheer on these elite athletes. This announcement is equally fantastic news for residents, whom I am confident will be ready to show competitors and their families true Happy Valley hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley triathlon has been selected to host the 2026 Ironman 70.3 North American Championship. The event, which will return to the central Pennsylvania destination on June 14, 2026, will offer a North American Championship title, an elevated professional prize purse and increased age group qualifying opportunities for the 2026 Ironman [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":75000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2977,4339,3175],"tags":[18079,15364,12952,15361,646],"class_list":["post-74999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-recently-awarded","category-triathlon","tag-aj-sills","tag-eric-engelbarts","tag-fritz-smith","tag-happy-valley-sports-and-entertainment-alliance","tag-ironman"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/sportstravelmagazine.com\/happy-valley-lands-2026-ironman-70-3-north-american-championship\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Happy 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