Organizers of the Penong’s 5150 Davao have allayed concerns over the tidal flow in the swim course, clearing the way for the staging of the 1.5 km-swim, 40 km-bike and 10 km run event over the Olympic-style layout on Sept. 4 in Tagum City.
The opening swim leg, originally set to start and end at the triangular clockwise course at Hijo Resorts Davao beach, will now be a counter-clockwise route starting at the Banana Beach, also at Hijo Resorts, featuring a 270-meter stretch with participants turning left to the 630-meter part of the course before heading to the final turn for the last 600 meters. They will then exit the boat ramp and enter transition at the tennis courts.
“It was super low tide for the past couple of weeks in the original swim area, so we have to modify the swim course,” said Princess Galura, general manager of the organizing The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc.
Twice postponed due to pandemic the past two years, the Penong’s 5150 made its way to the triathlon calendar in 2019 but concerns over the quality of water in the swim stage forced the organizers to cancel the opening leg, reducing it to a duathlon format (run-bike-run).
But with the swim course all cleared, it’s finally a go for the second 5150 triathlon in two months following the successful staging of Sun Life 5150 Bohol.
“We are just making sure that everything is okay and in conformity with international standards,” added Galura.
The 40km bike race will start upon exiting Hijo Resorts towards the main highway and heading to Daang Maharlika to Tagum City. It is a two-loop course ending at the Lanikai Hiro Estate Resort while the closing 10k run part, also made up of two loops, will start as they exit the transition area and head south inside the Hijo Resorts property across the bridge with the finish line set at the baseball field.
Meanwhile, registration is ongoing until race week. For details, log on to penong’s.5150philippines.com or follow us on social media accounts: Penongs5150Davao with Hashtags (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter): #Penongs5150 and #5150Davao.
The event, backed by Chad Regis, president of the sponsoring Penong’s Barbecue Seafood and Grill, along with Powerball/ Go for Gold’s Jeremy Go, Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib, Hijo Resorts Davao president Rosanna Tuazon and Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy, has drawn close to 500 entries, majority of which are building up to reach IRONMAN level.
Joining the locals in the hunt for individual honors in various age group divisions, including the overall championship, are bidders from France, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Greece, France, Qatar and the US.
Other titles up for grabs are the relay all male, relay all female and relay mixed categories.
Also on tap in the event, supported by Lightwater, Finis, Rudy Project Sante (Barley), Manila Bulletin and Tempo, is the Sunrise Sprint to be disputed over the 750m-swim, 20km-bike and 5km-run course.