IronKids spices up CT Ironman 70.3

MANILA, Philippines – The future of triathlon takes the spotlight on Saturday, June 1, as close to 300 kids dispute top honors in various age categories in the Alaska Fortified IronKids at the WOW Recreation and Activity Center in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

This marks the third time that the local junior version of the Ironman will be held as a swim-run event following the Davao City and Vermosa, Cavite competitions with the Subic cast to feature the sport’s regular campaigners in the 6-to-14 years old bracket.

Fresh faces are also expected to hog the spotlight as they seek to upstage the fancied names in the event starting at 6 a.m.

The IronKids serves as a fitting appetizer to the Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay presented by Big Boss Cement which fires off Sunday with Seychelles’ Nick Baldwin setting out for back-to-back title feat in the country’s triathlon capital following his triumph in the first full Ironman last year.

Also lined up on Saturday is the Sun Life Bike Out and the Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay Expo at 9 a.m., the media conference at 3 p.m. and the Beliinda Granger race tips at 4 p.m., among others.

Launched a decade ago, the Alaska IronKids, then made up of a swim-bike-run event, has become one of the highlights of each Ironman competition. It is staged to promote a well-balanced lifestyle for kids and at the same time serves as venue for family bonding. It is also held to help kids develop the values of discipline, hard work, integrity and determination through a series of races.

The organizing Sunrise Events, Inc., however, decided to drop the bike leg from the usual 400m-swim, 9km-bike, and 3km event to lessen the competition’s barriers to entry of which purchasing a bike is a prime example.

Meanwhile, Baldwin gears up for a strong challenge from the likes of former 70.3 world champion Tim Reed and multi-titled Sam Betten along with fellow Australians Tim Van Berkel and Conor McKay with Colombia’s Rodrigo Acevedo and Oli Stenning of Great Britain as he seeks to make it two-in-row in Subic, this time on a shorter 1.9km swim-90km bike-21km run event.

For details, visit www.ironman703subicbay.com or the Facebook page Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay and @im703subicbay on Instagram and Twitter. Official event hashtags are #CenturyTunaIM703 #im703subicbay.

Backing the event are Big Boss Cement (presenting sponsor), venue host Subic Bay, bike leg racing partner NLEX SCTEX, Black Arrow (official courier and logistics partner) Hoka (official footwear), Gatorade, TYR, Gu, Lightwater, David’s Salon, Prudential Guarantee, ONE Cignal, the Philippine Star, Trilife, AsiaTri.com, Finisher Pix and Active.

Close to thousand triathletes will also battle it out for top honors in various divisions, including the Asian Elite and the 12 age group categories. It also features relay competitions for male, female and mixed teams.

Forty one countries are represented in what promises to be another challenging race on a practically new course with the race central now at Subic Bay Boardwalk.