Athleta, the women's activewear chain owned by The Gap Inc., has signed on as the new title sponsor for Iron Girl. The women's-series has  13 events nationwide, ranging from 10K/5K to half-marathon, duathlon and triathlon.

“The Iron Girl Series provides a forum for women to come together through sport, doing something good for her alongside friends and other female athletes,” said Tess Roering, VP of Marketing for Athleta. “A desire to be challenged athletically while bonding with and supporting others embodies the Athleta woman, making Iron Girl an ideal partner for us.”

“Iron Girl is proud to partner with Athleta, a leading brand for women, designed by women,” said Judy Molnar, Vice President of Iron Girl. “It is a natural fit, as Athleta shares the common goal of encouraging participation through events while providing the apparel to support a woman's active lifestyle.”

The Athleta Iron Girl Series provides participants the opportunity to reach their personal fitness goals and event amenities such as: a post-race catered Breakfast Cafe, shirts sized for women, personalized race bibs, custom finisher medals, post-race giveaways and much more.

The 2011 Athleta Iron Girl National Event Series consists of:

    * April 10     Athleta Iron Girl Clearwater, Fla.– Half-Marathon and 5K Run/Walk
    * April 30     Athleta Iron Girl Lake Las Vegas, Nev. – Triathlon (800-meter swim, 24K bike, 5K run)
    * May 15     Athleta Iron Girl Atlanta, Ga. – Triathlon (1/3-mile swim, 18-mile bike, 3-mile run)
    * May 22     Athleta Iron Girl New Orleans, La. – Triathlon (1/4-mile swim, 12-mile bike, 3.1-mile run)
    * June 26    Athleta Iron Girl Portland, Ore. – Triathlon (600-meter swim, 22K bike, 5K run)
    * July 31      Athleta Iron Girl Racine, Wisc. – Triathlon (400-meter swim, 22K bike, 5K run)
    * Aug. 7       Athleta Iron Girl Syracuse, N.Y. – Triathlon (600-meter swim, 30K bike, 5K run)
    * Aug. 21     Athleta Iron Girl Columbia, Md. – Triathlon (.62-mile swim, 17.5-mile bike, 3.4-mile run)
    * Aug. 27     Athleta Iron Girl Boulder, Colo. – Triathlon (1/4-mile swim, 17.2-mile bike, 3.1-mile run)
    * Sept. 11    Athleta Iron Girl Seattle, Wash. (Run/Walk)
    * Sept. 18    Athleta Iron Girl Lake Tahoe South Shore, Calif. – Triathlon (400-meter swim, 24K bike, 5K run)       
    * Sept. 25    Athleta Iron Girl Bloomington, Minn. – Duathlon (2-mile run, 22-mile bike, 2-mile run)
    * Nov. 6       Athleta Iron Girl Del Mar, Calif. (10K and 5K Run/Walk)

Athleta was founded in 1998 and focuses on the women's sports and active apparel markets. Approximately 90 percent of its products are proprietary branded, across a wide variety of sports and fitness activities, including a high component of crossover apparel as well as casual wear. The Petaluma, CA firm was acquired by Gap Inc. in September 2008 and is part of the Gap Inc. Direct division.