TOP and serious triathletes from at least 47 countries test their skills and will in the first full Ironman event in the Philippines on Sunday, June 3, in Subic, Zambales.
Presented by Sunrise Events, Inc. and title–sponsored by Century Tuna, the first full-distance Ironman in the country is a step up from the Ironman 70.3 events commonly staged here in the last decade and hailed by organizers as indicative of how triathlon has exponential grown in the Philippines.
Some 1,200 participants are expected to compete in the various race categories with cash prizes and qualifying slots for the Ironman world championship in October awaiting the winners.
The Ironman will take racers through a 3.8-km. swim, 180-km. bike ride and 42.2-km. run on race day around Subic Bay in Zambales, considered as the “triathlon capital of the Philippines.”
Athletes will begin their quest with a one-loop ocean swim in the calm, pristine waters of Triboa Bay, starting and finishing at ACEA Resort, which will also play host to the first of the split transition areas.
Once onto their bikes, they will then head out of Subic Bay and onto the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway for a fast and flat two-loop ride which will bring riders back into the T2 at Remy Field in downtown Subic Bay.
The two-loop marathon run then will take in some of the best coastal views that the area has to offer as the athletes head home to the finish.
“Century Tuna is about promoting a healthy lifestyle and triathlon is one way we are going about it. Events like this have had commercial success for us as they have promoted Century Tuna not only here but also abroad. But part of this as well is having people experience doing the Ironman and crossing the finish line, which is really indescribable. And we hope through it as well we inspire Filipinos to pursue their own fitness journey,” said Greg Banzon, vice-president and general manager of Century Pacific Food, Inc. and himself a triathlete who has experienced doing the full distance, said of their involvement in the country’s first-ever full Ironman and triathlon in general.
Sunrise Events also touts the upcoming full Ironman event, more so since it coincides with the 10th anniversary of the first IronMan 70.3 event it staged in the country.
“Ten years ago, just doing the first race here I thought it was going to be a one-and-done… If you asked me then if we would be here talking about this event (full Ironman) I would say you are crazy. But we are happy to be crazy, We are happy to have dreamt big,” said Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Sunrise Events chairman and CEO. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
