Scott DeRue, CEO of Ironman Group, in his element in the wilderness near Park City, Utah.
Photographer: Nikki Smith for Bloomberg BusinessweekThe Ironman CEO Wants to Turn the Race Organizer Into a Lifestyle Brand
If you can swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a marathon back to back, then Scott DeRue think you’ll like what he’s selling.
Scott DeRue is one of only 500 or so people ever to summit the highest peak on each continent. He has also finished the Gobi March, a punishing 155-mile footrace in Mongolia. But despite his athletic accomplishments, he hasn’t yet completed a consecutive 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run—an Ironman triathlon, the namesake race of the company DeRue leads. He’s been “more focused on the mountains,” he explains, a bit sheepishly. Next year, he promises, he’ll pull it off.
Since its first 15-person event in Waikiki, in Honolulu, in 1978, Ironman has grown into a globally recognized brand. Last year, 200,000-plus brave souls registered to compete in an Ironman race—either the full Ironman or half Ironman—with double-digit growth recorded in several participant groups, including among under-30-year-olds and women. The US had the most athletes racing, followed by the UK, France, Germany and Australia. Ironman triathletes are intense, with the brand’s “M-dot” rumored to be among the world’s most tattooed logos.