Ironman 70.3 Philippines Cebu has been on my list of “to do races” ever since I read Bevan’s glowing race reports. And he got it right! This is a great race, and I will go out on a limb and say that it is the best race in Asia. It beats Phuket on just about everything, except for Phuket’s legendary after race party and good Thai food. But as an overall experience and race, Cebu wins hands down.
My main target for this year is to qualify for the 2016 70.3 World Championships that will be held on the Sunshine Coast of Australia in September next year. It's my home town, so I was super motivated to get there. Cebu is one of the qualifying races with 40 slots, so I had another good reason to go there.
The good:
Only a 4.5 hour direct flight from Narita. Then 15 minutes to the hotels by taxi.
\A choice of beach front hotels for all budgets. I stayed at the Vista Mar Resort for the first two nights. Beach front, two swimming pools (one a 25m lap pool) and simple, clean and comfortable rooms. But the food was only so-so. Moved over to the upscale Crimson Resort for the final 4 nights. It was one of the official race hotels and included in the race package are airport transfers, buffet breakie and shuttle bus transfers to and from the race venue (the Shangri-La Hotel) which was 15 minutes away. Recommended, but the Shang is more convenient as the entire race revolves about it. Next best would be the Movenpick Hotel which is only a few hundred meters away from the Shang. Staying at one of the official hotels makes it all very easy.
The race pack was the biggest and best that I have ever received at a race. Even had a roll of toilet paper in case you were caught short. The bag is loud and colourful but I like it. And you even get two t-shirts; well the second one is for finishers which you have to pick up after the race.
They thought of absolutely everything, even a bog roll.
Fanatic support out on course. How many people lined the first 5 or so kilometres of the bike course? 20,000? 50,000? And most of them screaming at the top of their lungs. Well the teenage girls were. And there were mobs of spectators along most of the bike and the run. Maybe 100,000 plus all up along the entire course. Even received some marriage proposals on the run course. And not just from girls. Lots of lady boys out watching, so I blew them kisses to keep them interested. Felt like a rock star!
You have to love ear splitting screaming.
Great, very well stocked aid stations. Especially on the run where cold drinks, sponges, ice and ice water were critical to get through the heat.
The entire race and experience.
The entire race and experience.
The bad:
A small problem on race day. The shuttle bus from my hotel got stuck in traffic, so we all climbed out and made a mad rush through the crowds. Only made it to transition at 05:35 before it closed at 06:00. It was a mad rush to get set up in time.
A small problem on race day. The shuttle bus from my hotel got stuck in traffic, so we all climbed out and made a mad rush through the crowds. Only made it to transition at 05:35 before it closed at 06:00. It was a mad rush to get set up in time.
The location of the pasta party and the post race lunch. It was open air with no shade. It was a bummer that it rained on the night of the pasta party as we missed what looked to be a very colourful opening ceremony. So we grabbed some food and retired to the lobby bar of the Shang and had a couple of beers. The it was stinking hot and sunny when we finished. The only shade was where tents where the buffet tables were set up, so we sat under one the grass. But the hotel food was pretty good; maybe the best I have ever had after a race.
The race:
The race:
RACE SUMMARY
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Swim
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00:37:35 2nd
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Bike
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02:41:22 2nd
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Run
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02:00:01 2nd
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Overall
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05:25:02
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DIV RANK: 2
OVERALL RANK: 122
Swim:
This was the first time that I have raced under the new “rolling start” rule that IM has now introduced. You self-seed into corrals based on your expected finishing time. I opted for the second corral, 31 to 35 minutes. Then we started in groups of five every five seconds. In hindsight I should have went for the sub 30 min group. Not that I could have swum that time, but to swim with faster swimmers and to try and latch onto a pack to draft. I’d only swum 50 meters when I saw some people already swimming slowly and others already hanging on to the ropes and buoys. I couldn’t find any fast feet for the entire swim and only remember two people swimming past me; but they were way too fast and I had to let them go. And when I turned the final corner for the swim to the exit, I could feel a current. Not very strong at the time, but it was there. It soon turned into a “raging tidal wave” which cased all sorts of havoc to the slower swimmers. The cut off was set at 70 mins, but at that time 350 or so were still in the water and barely able to swim forward, so they had to extend it another 10 mins. Still 100 people missed the swim cut off. It was a freak tide and will not happen again next year.
It was a non-wetsuit swim and I was not as fast as I expected, but my Garmin had it has 2,100m. The consensus afterwards was that it was long. So maybe my effort was on par after all.
What the rolling start looked like at Cebu. Five racers, every five seconds.
Bike:
Mainly flat but with one major bridge that needed to be climbed on the way out and back. Some of the road surface was very rough; we are spoilt here in Japan with well maintained roads. The main section was a M shaped course and most was wide and straight. There was even one longish tunnel to ride through and a couple of ramps and bridges to break it up.
I went okay on the first lap, rode conservatively and only uber biker Stefano passed me. Toyed with the idea of trying to keep up with him but he soon turned into a speck in the distance. I passed scores of Filipinos on flash, expensive bikes. That felt really good. But the second lap was a different story. Wanted to put the hammer down and push it to T2, but for some reason I had nothing to offer and my breathing became laboured. Lost a chunk of time and maybe 30 or so places on the second lap. More on this later.
Eat my dust local dude. He got pinged for drafting off me a few kilometres down the road.
Run:
The run was two laps. Most was under tree cover but the turn-a-round area at the end of the cape was exposed. It was brutally hot, but the aid stations were great as I mentioned earlier. I struggled big time. Could not breathe properly and I just didn't feel good. Bevan gave me a much needed boost when he shouted out to me "John Hill is not here". Hill is an Aussie multiple world champion over distances from OD to IM and was a shoo in for the one WC slot on offer for my AG. Didn't have time to check if he was there or not when I was setting up before the race. With him not being there I suddenly felt that I had a chance. But then there was Ernesto... I could see Ernesto running strong and charging through the field and gaining on me. Due to the rolling start I had no idea how far ahead I was. At the last turn around I thought I had about a 1.5km lead with 5km to go. Would that be enough? And as I had not seen anyone else in my AG in front of me out on the course, I thought I was leading (I was). Had to stop at all of the aid stations for ice, sponges, pour ice cold water over my head and to drink which also slowed me down.
While I was on the first lap and up near the turn a round, the girls in the crowd started to go really crazy. Screaming at the top of their lungs and jumping up and down with excitement. At first I thought it was aimed at me as I look great in my tri-suit; but I soon realised that they were cheering at the young, good looking Filipino guy who was just ahead of me. When I ran past him I asked him "are you famous or something"? He said "yes, sort of". Turns out he was the Filipino-Italian movie and TV star and singer Gianmatteo Guidicelli. Damn it, I thought it was me!
I am sure I looked better than this bloke.
Finish:
Was not feeling great, but I pushed to the line as hard as I could. Just thought it was the heat. Crossed the line and then saw something that I had not seen before. Ice baths and cold beers! Hopped into one and cracked open a beer with Bevan. Then I looked up and saw that Ernesto had finished as well. Thought that it was touch and go if he had caught me or not. It turned out that he had, and he took the win in our AG by 49 seconds. So close! Well done Ernesto! His run was great.
Overall I was disappointed with my time. Was expecting to go about 5:10 to 5:15 due to the heat. My run cost me, should have run no more than 1:50. But I think I have a decent excuse. The night after the race I experienced a stabbing pain in the left side of my chest over my heart. When I got back to Tokyo I was diagnosed with a bacterial lung infection and was put on a 8 day course of antibiotics and told to take 5 days of work. So this may explain why I had trouble breathing and was not able to push as hard as I wanted to. All clear now and I am back to full health.
Finished 2nd my my AG. It turned out that Ernesto was the best person possible to finish second to. He had to rush off to the airport just after he finished to fly out to the Maldives for a meeting. (poor Ernesto) So I got the one WC slot in our AG at the roll down. Mission accomplished!
Congrats to Stefano, Paul and Shin for also winning slots. The race is now on for more TiT members to grab slots and to join us on the Sunshine Coast next year. I can provide inside tourist info, sightseeing and even a beach-side BBQ or two. And maybe even some kangaroos and koalas to see.
What can be better than an ice bath and cold beer with Bevan at the finish line?
Team Namban. With the speedy Stefano. Ernesto is in the back ground.
Overall I was disappointed with my time. Was expecting to go about 5:10 to 5:15 due to the heat. My run cost me, should have run no more than 1:50. But I think I have a decent excuse. The night after the race I experienced a stabbing pain in the left side of my chest over my heart. When I got back to Tokyo I was diagnosed with a bacterial lung infection and was put on a 8 day course of antibiotics and told to take 5 days of work. So this may explain why I had trouble breathing and was not able to push as hard as I wanted to. All clear now and I am back to full health.
Finished 2nd my my AG. It turned out that Ernesto was the best person possible to finish second to. He had to rush off to the airport just after he finished to fly out to the Maldives for a meeting. (poor Ernesto) So I got the one WC slot in our AG at the roll down. Mission accomplished!
Congrats to Stefano, Paul and Shin for also winning slots. The race is now on for more TiT members to grab slots and to join us on the Sunshine Coast next year. I can provide inside tourist info, sightseeing and even a beach-side BBQ or two. And maybe even some kangaroos and koalas to see.
The boys from TiTs who won slots. With Stefano, Paul and Shin.
You don't get a lot for your AU$500 entry fee for the WC. Better than nothing. Trophy is at the back.
Next year, Cebu will be the 2016 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship race. 2015 sold out in about 3 hours, so I expect next year to sell out even faster. So fast fingers on the computer will be needed when the registration opens on October 1st. Be super quick to enter if you want to do this race!
I will enter again next year as it is such a great race and location. A couple of days on the beach or by the pool after the race is a great way to recover. And the diving is supposed to be very good.
Already have my race kit picked out for Cebu next year.
And here is a good review of the course. I agree with pretty much everything, except for the condition of the roads on the bike course. Some sections were very rough.
And for those thinking trying to make the 2016 70.3 Worlds, this will wet your appetite!
Keren
