Bohol switches into triathlon mode as the Sun Life 5150 welcomed the more than 500 bidders in various age divisions categories yesterday, ushering in a weekend of fun and excitement to tri-sport’s return to the mainstream following a two-year hiatus.
The first wave of athletes, including those vying in the Sunrise Sprint, have checked in at various official hotels simultaneously with the opening of the exposition on health and fitness and the official IRONMAN store at the Bellevue Resort’s Grand Pavilion in Panglao.
The pre-5150 activities resume today (Saturday) with the expo booths of Sun Life, Go for Gold, the Province of Bohol, Bellevue Resort, Rudy Project and 5150 store to open at 8 a.m. while the bike and gear check-in starts at 1 p.m. at the beachfront.
More than 500 triathletes, including beginners and weekend runners, make up cast in the first multi-sport event in post-pandemic set to fire off tomorrow (Sunday). The host province, a top triathlon hub, has ensured another successful staging of the event featuring Olympic (1.5 km-swim, 40 km-bike and 10 km run) and Sprint distances.
“It’s been a long time since the last 5150 and even longer since the last race we had in Bohol. We have prepared an excellent and safe race with a very fast exciting course for everyone to enjoy,” said race director Neville Manaois.
Bohol Governor Aris Aumentado is also suiting up for the event, along with a slew of women bidders and foreign bets, with the entries spread over the age group categories from 15-19 to 65-69.
Also on tap are the all men’s and women’s relay and mixed relay.
For details, visit www.ironman.com/5150-bohol with social media accounts at Sun Life 5150 Bohol (facebook) and 5150bohol (Instagram). For the Sunrise Sprint, log on to www.goforgold.sunrisesprint.com.
Focus will also be on the Go for Gold’s Sunrise Sprint, a short distance event designed for beginners wanting to get into the sport. It is set over 750m open-water swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run.
Backers of the event are the Province of Bohol, the Municipality of Panglao, Finis, the official swim cap partner, Rudy Project, Sante, Active, the official registration partner, and media partners Manila Bulletin, Crosstrain.PH, MBody.PH and Tempo with Amorita and Bluewater as the other official hotels.