Sunrise Events founder Wilfred Steven Uytengsu and Century Pacific Food Inc. vice president and general manager Greg Banzon. Photo by Randolph B. Leongson
As if the race isn’t grueling enough, the road is about to get tougher as Ironman—deemed as one of the most physically demanding sports in the world—brings its full distance race to the Philippines for the first time next year.
Sunrise Events founder Wilfred Steven Uytengsu and Century Pacific Food Inc. vice president and general manager Greg Banzon announced the staging of the 2018 Century Tuna Ironman Philippines in Subic Bay on June 3, 2018, commemorating a decade of hosting Ironman races in the country.
“The brand of Ironman is like having the holy grail for triathlon. We’ve been holding the Ironman 70.3 for the 10th year and it just continues to be fantastic,” said Uytengsu on Tuesday at the New World Hotel in Makati City.
“It’s the process of triathlon, it gravitates to the people because you really have to prepare for these races. It takes time, physically, mentally, and socially for these people to prepare for these races. So, (what’s) really significant for us is to be able to bring that full Ironman race to the Philippines,” Uytengsu said.
Banzon added: “Challenging yourself to push your physical and mental limits to the extreme will seem like a painful task. But you forget all of that once you cross the finish line and hear the announcer say that you’re an Ironman. It’s really indescribable.”
From the usual 70.3-kilometer race over the past years, the 2018 edition will see the track double its distance, extending the legs to 3.86-kilometer swim, 180.2-kilometer bike, and 42.2-kilometer run to further put to the test the participating athletes’ endurance.
The race will begin on Acea Beach, before traversing the roads of Subic and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), and finishing at the Subic Bay Convention Center.
As daunting as the task is, lofty prizes await the winners, with a total of $25,000 professional prize purse up for grabs, but more importantly, 30 age-group qualifying slots for the 2018 Ironman World Championship set to be staged in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Finishers will also have the opportunity to be a part of the rare club of full distance Ironman conquerors, a right only a hundredth of the population has accomplished.
Czech triathletes Ruedi Wild and Radka Kahlefeldt ruled the 2017 Ironman 70.3 race in Subic, with August Benedicto topping all local bets and finishing 19th overall. JPV