Wacky Baniqued, the most prominent star to have come out of the IronKids program, steps up his drive for multi-sport honors in a higher level as he banners the cast in the Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint spicing up the Alveo 5150 Subic Bay triathlon on Sunday (Oct. 23).
Now 20, the Team TNST spearhead from San Pedro, Laguna seeks to sweep both the overall and age-group titles in the short-distance event, which features 750m open-water swim, 20km bike ride, and a 5km run at Subic Bay Boardwalk.
Dubbed as S2, the sub-category to the centerpiece Alveo 5150 is aimed at providing a venue for those making a comeback in the ever-growing sport and at the same time provide quality triathlon experience on an Olympic-style course setup.
It is also designed for beginners wanting to race without having to worry about long periods of training and those seeking to immerse themselves into triathlon.
“The Go for Gold Sunrise Sprint symbolizes strength and hope – hope for everyone that things will get better and time to draw strength from each other as we heal around the world,” said Go for Gold PH founder Jeremy Go.
For Alveo 5150 details, log on to www.ironman.com. For the Sunrise Sprint, log on to www.goforgold.sunrisesprint.com
The IronKids, meanwhile, ushers in the triathlon weekend on Saturday with the future of local tri-sport clashing for top honors in their version of the swim-bike-run race set at various distances.
Tipped to crowd Baniqued for the overall championship are Dash Ramirez, Jyrehn Sales, Lawrence Uy, Michael Balasbas and Jacob Tan, who are all competing in the 15-19 category and Jerome Sales (20-24), while Lucienne Aragones, Erika Burgos, Michelle Cabaron, Tiffany Cabero, Dondi de Vera, Kira Ellis, Ashley Payumo, Maurelle Salas, Katrina Salazar and Marianne Suico gear up for a showdown in the distaff side of the event organized by the IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc.
Other titles to be disputed in Alveo 5150, sponsored by SBMA, Finis, Rudy Project, Sante Barley, Lalamove, Active, Manila Bulletin and Tempo, are the men’s and women’s relay and the mixed relay.
The Sunrise Sprint wave start is set at 8 a.m. for the male side and 8:05 a.m. for the women’s.
The 750-m counterclockwise swim starts at Subic Bay Boardwalk with participants heading out for 300 meters before turning left for 150 meters then making another left for the last 300 meters all the way to transition.
The 20km single-loop bike course starts at Dewey Ave. heading to Burgos St with bidders to turn right to Rizal Highway then right to Argonaut Highway and to the first turnaround at NCT Road at KM 10 then back to Argonaut and Rizal Highway en route to transition in Dewey Ave.
The closing 2-loop 5im run fires off at Dewey then will turn left to Waterfront Road for the first turnaround at KM 1.25 then back to Dewey for the second turnaround at KM 2.5. Back out for the second loop, participants go for the third turnaround at KM 3.75 then back to Dewey all the way to the finish line at Espiritu St.
The swim cutoff is 30 minutes after the final swim wave crosses the start line while the bike and run cutoffs are two and three hours after the final swim wave crosses the timing mat, respectively.