All systems go for Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Over 500 triathlon enthusiasts are expected to journey to Camarines Sur for the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines, the country’s first bold attempt to stage a world-class competition using the prestigious World Triathlon Corp. (WTC) brand.

The race itself is set on Aug. 23 but organizers are offering visitors a full five-day schedule, starting Aug. 20, to enjoy the amenities of the Cam-Sur Water Sports Complex and the warm hospitality of the local hosts headed by Gov. L-Ray Villafuerte.

According to project director Princess Galura, bringing the Ironman event to the Philippines is a dream come true.

“For the past two years, Mr. (Fred) Uytengsu has been trying to obtain the rights to stage an Ironman event in our country,” reveals Galura. “Finally, he got it done and we’ve been preparing for this competition since last year.”

Finding a viable site for the 70.3-mile competition (consisting of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56-mile bike and a 13.1 mile run) was crucial.

“We surveyed a lot of possible sites, including Subic, Davao and Cebu but Naga was an easy choice,” notes Galura who was handpicked by Uytengsu to manage the project because of her extensive experience as an event organizer, particularly in sports. “Gov. Villafuerte’s goal is to make Camarines Sur the adventure sports capital of the Philippines. He has an international wakeboard park and a water sports complex with villas, cabanas, a tiki room, two lakes, a clubhouse and a hotel. It’s perfect as a Woodstock of triathlon.”

Mapping out the course for the competition was the next step. With Gov. Villafuerte’s all-out support, roads were paved and asphalted to guarantee a smooth bike ride on the route towards Nato Port and back. The run will go through small barrios and barangays, providing a touch of local color to the event which is drawing participants from at least 23 countries.

“This is a logistical challenge, not a logistical nightmare,” says Galura. “We’ve been planning this for over a year and now, we’re ready to mount an event that will put the Philippines in the world triathlon map.”

Galura says the work has entailed negotiating extra flights from airlines, augmenting Naga City’s fleet of four taxis to an armada of coasters, buses and jeepneys, mobilizing local folk to line the race course waving flaglets and cheering the participants and contracting Melo’s and Florabel’s as food caterers.

“We’re looking at every detail to make this an unqualified success,” adds Galura. “This effort is for our country. If we do a good job, the impact on our tourism industry will be major. The main benefit is we will be able to showcase a sports tourism destination in our country. We will also invite our visitors to check out our other hotspots like Boracay, Cebu, Davao and Bohol. Of course, there is also the benefit of promoting physical fitness and well-being.”

Galura says the participants will be treated to breath-taking sights as they negotiate the race course. The swim will be in a beautiful man-made lake with filtered fresh water pumped in every day. The bike will cover a scenic route with a view of Mt. Isarog, rolling terrain and the ocean. The run will track the tree-lined national highway passing through quaint, small towns and wonderful provincial scenery.

Galura says Sunrise Events, the project organizer, has blocked off five Naga hotels and a hotel in Manila to billet the visitors coming in for the competition.

The entry list shows 389 individuals and 45 relay teams of three participants broken down into the corporate (five), all-male (16), all-female (three) and mixed (11) categories. There are seven age-group levels – 19-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49 and 50-and-up. The 35-39 age group has the most entries, 77, with the 50-and-above checking in at 23. About 70 percent of the competitors comes from the 30-44 bracket.

In terms of country participation, the Philippines has 270 entries, the US 17, Australia 10, England 10, Japan 8, New Zealand 5 and Canada 5. Other countries represented are China, Austria, Slovakia, Mexico, Belgium, Norway, Venezuela, South Africa, France, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, Spain, Korea, and Mongolia.

The entry fee is $200 for an individual and $300 for the relay team. Prize money of $25,000 is up for grabs. In the professional category, the first placers for men and women earn $6,000 each, second placers $4,000 and third placers $2,000. Additionally, the top Filipino male and female finishers pocket P50,000 apiece.

Galura says three Ironman “titans” are flying over and their presence alone guarantees a high quality of participation. The giants are South Africa-born Terenzo Bozzone of New Zealand (the 24-year-old topped the 2008 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida, with a record time of 3:40:10), 2007 Ironman Hawaii world champion Chris McCormack of Australia and eight-time New Zealand Ironman titleholder and 2006 European Ironman champion Cameron Brown of New Zealand.

Other pros in the Camarines Sur cast are seven-time World Cup champion Tim Marr, Ironman Australia runner-up Pete Jacobs, Devan Leach, 11-time Ironman Hawaii Women’s world champion Lisa Bentley, Gina Kerb, Charlotte Paul and two-time World Championships duathlon silver medalist Lucy Smith.

Among the Filipinos, the top triathletes are Arland Macasieb, Nonoy Jopson, Alvin Alindogan, August Benedicto and Monica Torres. Macasieb claimed a bronze in men’s triathlon and Benedicto, a bronze in men’s duathlon at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok. Torres and Benedicto are in the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) national pool of six duathletes.

Other participants are former PBA cager Dickie Bachmann, TV host Drew Arellano, Sen. Pia Cayetano, investment banker Ed Francisco, entrepreneur Miguel Lopez, training and development director Anthony Pangilinan, communications consultant Leica Carpo, socialite Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Uytengsu and business executive Fernando Zobel.

Uytengsu, the prime mover of the event, says his aim is to create a memorable experience for the triathletes. “While the Philippines has not been a major destination for triathlon, we do offer a beautiful country with some of the most hospitable people in the world,” he says. “We would like to develop this event and create the concept of ‘sports tourism.’ Aside from the race, we hope to make this event interesting in many other regards. We will be offering a pre-race camp by Lance Watson and hopefully, have a couple of professional triathletes to assist. We also want to encourage triathletes and their families to see other parts of this beautiful country. We will be developing a few tour packages to make the trip even more memorable.”

Uytengsu says the event is well-timed for the pros and age-groupers booked for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii or the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida as it will be the last big race before tapering towards either competition.