Thai actor does the ‘turtle’ to survive 113-km triathlon

THAI actor Yavapolkul Navin Tar reaches the finish line of the 113-km triathlon at 5 hours and 14 minutes at the CamSur Watersports Complex in Pili, Camarines Sur.

Thai actor and singer Yavapolkul Navin Tar had no problem doing a “turtle” instead of speeding like a “rabbit” to survive the 113-kilometer triathlon held in Pili town in Camarines Sur province.

Tar, 35, said he felt a better person when he finished the grueling race in a sweltering weather even if he was two hours away from the first place runner, placing fourth in his age category.

“In this triathlon, I was a turtle. I told myself to just focus and push on. (I) pushed myself and I made it,” Tar explained.

Requiring more endurance than speed to finish the race, the triathlon required racers to complete a 1.9-kilometer swim, 90-km bicycle ride and 21-km run from the CamSur Watersports Complex in Pili to the contiguous neighboring towns of Baao, Bula and Ocampo, and ending in Iriga City.

It was the second triathlon for Tar in the Philippines, the first held at Subic Free Port in the first week of June.

For the race in Camarines Sur, held on June 14, Tar competed in his age group (35-40) and finished the challenge in 5 hours, 14 minutes and 33 seconds.

Australian Brad Kahlefeldt, who finished the race first, clocked 3 hours, 56 minutes and 33 seconds.

There were 700 participants in the triathlon who were grouped into 24 categories, which included male pro, SEA-Elite, male Fil-Elite, male relay and male age groups from 18-60 plus.

The male categories have corresponding female categories. Team competition within the triathlon was mixed relay.

Running the treadmill as a form of exercise in a gym back in Thailand led Tar to get interested in marathon races. He then went on to join bicycle races and, finally, he began to take part in swimming competitions. After achieving feats in these three events, he started racing in triathlons in Thailand.

PARTICIPANTS compete in the triathlon held at the CamSur Watersports Complex in Pili, Camarines Sur on June 14. COURTESY OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF CAMARINES SUR

Inner strength

As he went on along the race, Tar said he was inspired by the support of the people—young and old—who cheered the racers along the way.

But to finish the race, Tar said he mostly relied on his “inner strength” since there was hardly anyone in the crowd who knew him and could cheer him on, unlike in his home country where he is a celebrity.

“Back in Thailand a lot of people know me. It’s a great thing to get the energy from people cheering me on. I harness that energy,” he said.

Tar was described in various news reports from Bangkok as a popular teen idol and singer in the 1990s. He then left Thailand for the United States, where he earned a doctorate in economics from the University of California at Davis. He returned to Bangkok in 2010 weighing 100 kilos (220 pounds) and that was when he decided to hit the gym.

Currently, Tar is a lecturer at Kasetsart University, described as a top-ranked public university in Bangkok; operates his own restaurant, Aston, also in Bangkok; and had acted on television dramas.

Adventure destination

Camarines Sur Gov. Miguel Luis Villafuerte, who organized the triathlon, said he was elated by the success of the race, the biggest event under his administration, which, he said, took a year to prepare, in partnership with the new triathlon brand “Challenge.”

The 26-year-old governor said the participation of international triathletes like Tar in the CamSur “Challenge” race was intended to further cement the province’s brand as the top adventure destination in the country.

Camarines Sur had hosted triathlon-brand Ironman in 2009, 2010 and 2011 under the administration of Gov. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, the incumbent governor’s father.

In those three Ironman triathlons, international triathletes were always present, aside from local celebrities like Piolo Pascual.

Like his father, the younger Villafuerte said he pursues tourism as his centerpiece program with activities that promote and draw tourists to the province for the adventure that it offers.

“CamSur, Come South,” the tourism program of the elder Villafuerte in his nine-year administration from 2004-2013, branded Camarines Sur as “CamSur” and earned popularity among local and international extreme sports enthusiasts.

It was in 2006 when CamSur became known to local and international tourists with the successful promotion of the watersports facility and the exotic islets of the town Caramoan, which became a favorite location of television reality show “Survivor.”

Camarines Sur has remained the top tourist destination in the Bicol region that includes the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Masbate and Catanduanes.

Local and foreign tourist arrivals in Camarines Sur in 2014 was 1,861,010, or a 20.25-percent growth from the 2013 record of 1,547,678 tourist arrivals, according to recent data from the Department of Tourism.