Published September 3, 2009 12:24PM
As president of Premier Event Management, Bill Burke will produce next year’s Ironman 70.3 Series World Triathlon Corp. regional qualifier race in Syracuse. He spoke with The Post-Standard of Syracuse.
What’s going to happen here next year, around Sept. 19?
Well, you’re going to have somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 athletes, and somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 spectators who travel with them. They’ll come to Syracuse. It’s one of 35 events of this type in the world, the only one in the New York, Pennsylvania, Eastern Canada and New Jersey area.
How many volunteers will you need to cover the bike and running routes?
We’re probably looking at somewhere between 400 and 500 volunteers.
Any idea of how many local competitors will sign up?
Well, we produce a lot of big events — the New York City Triathalon, the Ironman New Orleans, Ironman Augusta — and I’d think that if you’ve got 3,000 athletes, 500 will come from Central New York. The others will come from around the United States and all over the world.