Tri United kicks off long distance marathon

MANILA, Philippines - Long distance triathlon officially starts next month with the staging of the TRI UNITED at the Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel in Lian, Batangas.

Organized by Raul Cuevas of Bike King in cooperation with MBRH, the event will be held on July 17 with the 300 maximum number of triathletes already reached.

“We would have wanted more participants but because of the limitation of the race course, we decided to set the maximum number of 300 triathletes to ensure the safety of the participants,” said Cuevas.

Supported by UNILAB Active Health, TIMEX, K-Swiss, Bike King and Pocari Sweat, the event will be held at the punishing 2-kilometer swim, 60-k bike and 15-k run distance with the Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel, the original venue when triathlon was slowly making its presence felt in the country.

At stake in the event, which also drew the support of the third District of Bohol, Crystal Clear Water, Orbea Bicycle, Corratec Bicycles, Corima Racing Wheels, Knog, Aboitiz Power and Polar Insulated Bottles are medals for the top three finishers in the individual male and female overall, age groups as well as in the team competitions.

Medals will also be given to the male and female triathletes with the best swim, bike and run split said Cuevas, also a TRAP director who has tapped The Philippine STAR, Summit Media, Women’s Health, Men’s Health and Runner’s World as media partners.

Sandra Araullo-Gonzales, who won silver medals in the 2005 Philippine and 2007 Thailand SEA Games, leads top female triathletes as she races under the banner of Bike King.

 Other prominent women triathletes seeing action are Joyette Jopson of David’s Salon, Tricia Conception of Polo Tri and Lorhiz Echavez of Reborn.

Former national coach Peter Gonzales (Bike King), Celnan Jopson (Polo Tri) and Patrick Joson (Fitness First) lead familiar names in the men’s division.

Triathlon Association of the Island of Negros (TRAIN) which hosted the triathlon event in the Philippine National Games, will also compete with JP Benedicto, JJ Coscolluela, James Dinsay and Alvin Edrosalam representing the association.

Herbalife, Clear Sabak Tri Team, Globe Tri, Pocart Team Life, Reborn, South Tri Army Navy, Starting Line, Subgu Tri, Team Hammer Revicon, Team Life, TIMEX TMM, Tri Clark, Tri Dynamite, Tri Mac, 24.7, Century Tuna Tri Hard, DMCI, Endure, Heritage Tri Team, Hygienix Tri Team, Pinoy Sports Idols, PMI, Quest 825 Tri, Second Wind Filinvest, TRANTADOS, TRIBE and TRI-MNDA are other teams entered in this one-day competition.