The Province of Ilocos Norte will host the first ‘Olympic distance’ triathlon event dubbed as ‘Tri Ilocos Norte’ on March 30, Black Saturday.
It was announced by Provincial Tourism Officer Ianree Raquel, saying that it will boost the tourism industry of the province as the race will draw more than 200 participants from all over the country.
“We’ll build up a new character of the province in terms of sports and introduce it to the rest of the country and the world as an ideal venue for all these popular emerging sports now, including triathlon,” Raquel said.
A triathlon is a multiple-stage competition involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance disciplines.
Organized by TriSports Solutions, Inc. in cooperation with the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte and Tri-North, an association of triathletes in Ilocos Norte, the said event will feature three race distances namely sprint (750 meters swim, 20 kilometers bike, 5 kilometers run), Olympic distance (1.5 kilometers swim, 40 kilometers bike, 10 kilometers run), and the Olympic distance mixed (all male or female) relay.
The age groups will range from 17-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, to 40 and above for both male and female groups, and 17-above for the mixed relay.
The first stage is swimming at the beach front of Playa Tropical Resort in Currimao. The second leg is the biking route which stretches through Currimao, Paoay and Laoag City via the Currimao-Paoay-Suba-Balacao Road. The third stage will be the run route course starting at Plaza del Norte , Laoag City via the Paoay Golf Course.
“Ilocos Norte has the best roads in the country, the nicest landscapes, and beautiful coasts—we’ll definitely provide a very good backdrop for this triathlon event,” Raquel said.
Ilocos Norte has been eyed as an ideal sports venue by various sports group, most recent being the first Paoay International Regatta held at Paoay Lake last Jan. 15 to 20 which was attended by various international rowing clubs.
“We’re hoping that with the launch of the first triathlon event here in Ilocos Norte, after a year or two, we’ll get the chance to host the next Ironman which is the biggest triathlon event in the country,” Raquel said, pertaining to the Ironman 70.3 triathlon event which is now being hosted by Cebu.
The registration for the triathlon started last Jan. 25 and will end on March 15.—Grazielle Mae A. Sales, PGIN-CMO
