Camsur tests best of the breed

PILI, Camarines Sur, Philippines  – Some of the best and the brightest Ironmen gather today to clash for honors in the second edition of the Cobra Energy 70.3 Ironman Philippines at the Camsur WaterSports Complex in this quaint city 800 kilometers south of Manila.

Unless it stops raining, the record 841 participants including the toughest of the breed should have no problem threading through the race consisting of 1.2 miles of swimming, 58.6 miles of biking and 13.2 miles of running.

New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone is back to defend the title he won last year by edging Ironman champion Chris McCormack of Australia and fellow Kiwi Cameron Brown.

“If this kind of weather continues, we’ll have a great race,” said Bozzone in the press conference staged two days before the main event.

It also helps that McCormack, who checked in 53 seconds behind the eventual winner last year, will not be returning, leaving Brown, whose time of 3:52.31 was good for No. 3, as the biggest threat to Bozzone’s title-retention bid.

UK’s Paul Amey, Australia’s Justin Cole, Rachel Paxton and Leon Griffin, Hong Kong’s Erich Felbabel, the US’s Lance Watson and Michelle Jones and Canada’s Magali Tisseyre are the other top pros.

Nonoy Jopson, last year’s top Filipino finisher, leads the locals’ bid in this event that has lured the best Ironmen and women who will try to extend the limit of human endurance in three back-breaking events.

The swim part will traverse the Lago del Ray of the CWC – a state-of-the-art water structure built three years ago out of a vast, untended rice field.

Participants will then weave through 25 barangays of the province including the Nato Port, which boasts of the breathtaking backdrop of the majestic Mt. Isarof, for the bike part before conquering the rolling hills of Maycathon and San Antonio for the run part of the race.

Cobra Energy Drink, Alaska, CWC and Villafuerte, Globe Telecoms, the Department of Tourism, Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines, Century Tuna, Power Bar, David Salon, Dusit Thani Manila, Oakley, Timex, Purdential Guarantee, K-Swiss and Gatorade are the sponsors with The Philippine STAR, ABS-CBN Publishing and Multi-sports as media partners.

The champion will pocket $6,000 while the next two finishers will get home $4,000 and $2,000, respectively. The top Filipino placers get P50,000, P30,000 and P20,000.

The organizers have made sure all participants would be safe after adding eight expert divers to check the underwater of the Lago del Ray, putting a lifeguard every 200 meters and placing warning signs in every corner of the race course.

There would also be a sprinkler system every five kilometers to freshen up the participants.