Oct. 9, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR), a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules worldwide, today announced its Chairman and CEO, Roger G. Little, has qualified for and will race in his twelfth Ironman World Championship Triathlon tomorrow, October 10, 2009 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Event activities begin at 5:00 a.m. HT (11:00 a.m. ET) and the age-group triathlon competition begins at 7:00 a.m. HT.

This Championship is considered one of the world’s most grueling events. It consists of a 2.4-mile open ocean swim followed by a 112-mile bike race and finishes with a 26.2-mile marathon. The event, held on the big island of Hawaii, is known for its heat, humidity and strong trade winds, which blow constantly while biking through the challenging lava-covered terrain.

For the first time, Mr. Little will wear a MyAthlete™ real-time athlete tracking device. The two-ounce waterproof gadget is designed for the toughest marathon, triathlon, multi-sport and adventure race and is about the size of a matchbox car. It allows anyone with a computer or web-enabled cell phone or handheld device to track the location, speed, distance, and elevation of Mr. Little in real-time through the course of this Ironman World Championship Triathlon competition.

It’s race time, where is Mr. Little?

To watch live coverage of the event, track Mr. Little during his race, or to get his results, visit: http://spirecorp.com/company/roger-little/index.php

About Spire Corporation

Spire Corporation is a global solar company providing turnkey production lines and capital equipment to manufacture PV modules worldwide. Spire Semiconductor provides processing technology for Spire’s silicon solar cell manufacturing lines and produces and sells custom gallium arsenide cells for solar concentrator systems. For corporate or product information, contact Spire Corporation, “The Turnkey Solar Factory Company,” at 781-275-6000, or visit www.spirecorp.com.

Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research and services, as well as other factors described in the Company's Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.