My best triathlon race this year
Last June 24th, the inaugural Century Tuna 5150 Triathlon was held at Subic Bay Freeport Zone to much fanfare in the multisport community. Created by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), the same company behind the Ironman brand, 5150 is the WTC's standard distance triathlon (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run for a combined distance of 51.50 kilometers, hence the name). The lure of participating in this inaugural event was too strong to resist so I signed up with barely a month to go before race day.
Century Tuna 5150 Philippines was organized by Sunrise Events, which also brought Ironman 70.3 and X-Terra to Philippine shores. The race isn't the first triathlon to be held in Subic Bay but this one definitely raised the bar for standard distance racing.
While I can't say that this was the perfect race (there never is one anyway), it stood out as the best triathlon race for me to date. The race itself as well as the pre and post-race experience all together made for an unforgettable race that was both beginner-friendly and challenging even for hardened veterans. From the registration process to the beer at the finish line, they left no stone unturned in putting together one amazing race.
Here's a short list of what made this my best race experience this year (and a few details about my race experience as well).
Hassle-free, paperless registration. The only way to register for the race was through 5150philippines.com. No paper forms to submit or keep except for the deposit slip if you opt to pay via bank deposit. But even that is just scanned and emailed to the organizers . A simple yet effective way to minimize waste.
Constant e-mail updates. Participants get so many emails from the organizers that you'd have to be a hermit not to know what's happening. Every detail from the race schedule, shuttle arrangements and expo were sent to all participants well before race weekend.
The expo. Participants couldn't pick up their race kits without going through the 5150 race expo. Brilliant strategy, if you ask me! Race participants are suckers for caps, visors, shirts, jerseys, shorts, you name it! Of course, I'd want to get a souvenir! Aside from race memorabilia, the place was overflowing with freebies, discounts and race essentials from the race sponsors. But I was doing this race on a budget so I left my wallet in the car and decided to wait for the Finisher's shirt.
Shuttle service. Getting around on race day would have been a challenge for athletes travelling on their own because Subic Bay is just huge. The organizers provided a free shuttle service to take care of this.
The washing machine in gentle cycle. Because of the melee that happens in a swim start, it is often referred to as the "washing machine." Unlike any other triathlon in the Philippines, 5150 featured a point-to-point swim in open water PLUS a water start so we had to tread for 10 minutes before gun start. It was challenging to say the least but it seemed less violent than a beach entry, where you run into the water and start swimming (someone can dive or swim on top of you). There was more elbow room in this swim start, probably because most participants had never done a water start before and didn't want to bring their race to an end even before the gun went off!
An abundance of marshals. This was one race with no shortage of course marshals. As an athlete, I get peace of mind knowing there are people watching out for our safety from the swim start all the way to the finish line. The fact that they volunteered their time and energy to do so made it even cooler.
That b*tch of a bike course. The 40 kilometer bike course had a little of everything and then some. It is the only triathlon in the country that combines an airport runway for sprint-like speeds with more than 10 kilometers of leg-burning climbs. Timex came up with the Airport Bike Challenge for the triathletes who could clock the fastest split from T1 to the end of the airport leg. A lot of riders threw caution to the wind and hammered it early in the bike leg in a bid to get that prize. A few of them paid the price on the climbs for going all out too early. All in all, it was a bike course that was all about strategy. As for myself, I was doing well until I suffered a flat tire at the top of the Corregidor climb. After 10 minutes or so, I had repaired my tire and was back on the bike, trying to catch up with the riders that passed me while I was stuck by the roadside.
Fore, runners! Another triathlon first, 5150's run course took us through the Subic Bay golf course. The scenery on the out and back course didn't make the pain and cramps go away but it was refreshing to be running in some place different for a change.
Happy ending! After collecting our finishers' medals and shirts, we made our way to the recovery tent where we were treated to a free massage from David's Salon. After my massage, I spotted good friends Kim Atienza and Ige Lopez having the best recovery drink ever invented--ice cold beer. All while sitting in a pool filled with ice cold water. It took little to convince me to join them (they had me at the beer!) and boy, was that the best ending to a race ever!
Century Tuna 5150 Philippines, I would say, has rewritten how standard distance triathlons should be. By bringing another international event to the Philippines, the organizers did an awesome job of making it easier for those new to the sport to get their feet wet in triathlon. The prospect of doing a triathlon is daunting for many but the standard distance is manageable enough for newbies to finish. But 5150 even challenged tri veterans with this course. This is one race that is staying on my race list for 2013.
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
