John Leerams Chicano gears up for a fierce battle against some of the region’s top racers as he banners the local cast in the men’s Asian Elite category of the first Black Arrow Express 5150 set tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 4) in Subic.
Chicano clocked 2:03:06 in topping the division in last year’s 5150 event, also in the country’s premier triathlon capital, with the national team mainstay confident of pulling off another romp with a better time in the Olympic distance of 1.5k swim, 40K-bike and 10K run.
Also vying in the Asian Elite are August Benedicto, Raymond Torii, Jorry Ycong, Paul Jumamil and Leonard Rondina, all eyeing a podium finish in one of the events featured in Black Arrow Express’ first triathlon organized and produced by Sunrise Events, Inc.
Chicano, who also scored a rare 5150 three-peat in 2013, actually placed fourth in the overall ranking last year, even besting the times of a number of bets in the men’s pro side topped by Sam Betten of Australia.
The event, backed by venue hosts Subic Bay and ACEA Subic Bay and major sponsors David’s Salon, Pioneer Insurance and Wicked Active Gear, has also drawn participants from Great Britain, Japan, France, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Guatemala, India, Italy, New Zealand, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Portugal and Vietnam.
Betten, meanwhile, goes for a fourth straight 5150 crown but expects a tougher challenge this time from compatriots Mitch Robins and Dan Brown, Jakub Langhammer of the Czech Republic and American Tim Linn.
Dimity Lee Duke, who snapped a pair of heartbreakers with a big victory last year, is also in for a rough outing against Guam’s Manami Iijima and Leanne Szeto of Hong Kong in the women’s pro side.
Keen competition is also seen in various age categories and relay events for male, female and mixed put up to encourage more athletes to take up the ever-growing tri-sport. For details, visit www.blackarrowexpress.5150philippines.com.
Also on tap is the Sunrise Sprint, a shorter distance series featuring a 750m swim, 20k bike, and 5k run that also serves as training ground for future 5150 or Ironman 70.3 bidders.
Meanwhile, Subic braces for a fiesta-like atmosphere today (Saturday) with a slew of activities lined up for the BAE 5150 weekend, including the Expo Open, the bike check-in, the timing chip collection, the pro, race and media briefing.
Gun starts for tomorrow’s event are at 6:27 a.m. (male pro and male Asian Elite) and 6:30 a.m. (female pro and female Asian Elite) while a rolling gun start for the other categories is set at 6:35 a.m.
Backing the event are TYR (official swim cap), GU (official energy gel), Active Network (official registration partner), marketing partners Alaska, AlcoPlus, Cetaphil, DeVant, Nuun, PLDT Subictel, Smart, Sanicare, Regent, Storck and Timex and media partners Hyper HD, Cignal, The Philippine Star, AsiaTri.com and Finisher Pix.