Moving up with triathlons

More and more Filipinos are making sure they get the most out of life, and are trying to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

You can see that almost every weekend, there’s a running event, and if you dissect people’s running habits, you will notice that the longer distances now have the most number of participants.

But it doesn’t stop there, a huge number have chosen to “move up” and challenge themselves further by joining triathlons.

So, it was no surprise that this year’s K-Swiss Subic Bay International Triathlon was very well attended, not just by the elite age groupers, but also by those looking for more of a challenge.

Neil Catiil dished out the form that made him the star of Philippine triathlon the past years to rule the junior category.

The 25-year-old displayed a balance attack to spoil the challenge coming from national duathlon member August Benedicto in the race organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and supported by K-Swiss, Century Tuna, Speedo, David’s Salon, Travelers Hotel, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines, Gatorade, and Standard Insurance.

Former top female duathlon athlete Monica Torres relied on her strong performance in the bike and run leg to dominate the distaff side that attracted 24 lady triathletes.

The pair will be rewarded with an all-expense-paid trip to compete in the Hong Kong ITU Triathlon Asian Cup slated later this year.

A total of 550 triathletes took part in the second and final day of the race that was also supported by Harbor Point Ayala Malls, SM City Olongapo, Fitness First and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Other winners in the different age group categories were Eduardo Pertierra (male 18-19); Mervin Santiago and Kim Kilgroe (male/female 20-24); Jeff Valdez and Sandra Araullo-Gonzales (male/female 30-34); Michelle Villanueva (female 35-39); Mark Ellis and Doray Ellis (male/female 40-44); Abel Alon Alon and Celma Hitalia (male/female 45-49); Rune Stroem (male 50-54); Alvin Alindogan (male 55-59); and Virgilio Balaba (male 60 and over).

Over 40 Elite male and female triathletes from Australia, China, Ireland, Jordan, Japan, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Macau, New  Zealand and Morocco also competed in the event, with Japanese triathletes Yuichi Hosoda and Mariko Adachi retaining their titles.