The registration team of the Rgent Aguila IronMan 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships gets ready to hand the finishers’ t-shirts at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa. /CDN PHOTO RABBONI BORBON
FOR A star-studded event like the IronMan 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships with more than two thousand participants coming from all over the world, putting it together is not a cakewalk.
The head organizers usually get all the praise, but what some seem to forget are the people working behind the limelight of the annual triathlon event to make it as successful as it is right now.
“We at Sunrise get a lot of credit but if it weren’t for the hundred of volunteers, the race marshals throughout the course, the people we have on the board at the swim, we have divers underwater, we have nurses, we have the coast guard, we have the staff at the hotel, and we have all of the marshals of the bike course who are staying under the sun, all the volunteers manning the hydration stations, all is that is critical to making the event successful,” Sunrise Events Inc. CEO and founder Wilfred Steven Uytengsu said.
Cebu Daily News was able to talk to some of them from the race which has closed its seventh edition in Cebu yesterday and they described how the event attracted and inspired them to work in their own little way.
Jun Barrientos was helping in preparing and marshaling the bike-run transition area where he was assigned for three days already but the Aviation Electronics-graduate said that he was proud of the work he contributed even though his legs were agonizing.
“It’s really tiring but I’m enjoying the moment,” the 20-year old Clarin, Misamis Occidental-native Jun said, “Maka proud nga success bitaw bisag naay gamay nga kakulian, at least gihimo namo tanan bitaw para lang ma successful gyud ang event.”
Another was Pierre Ruby Sasan Almedo, a member of the event’s registration team. She said that her favorite part on working for Sunrise Events was the satisfaction she gets when she is able to attend to the tri-athletes’ needs.
“Actually it is my second year as one of the staff for IronMan (Cebu). It is such an honor and privilege to be working with Sunrise Events,” the 32-year old occupational therapist said, “I get to meet different (tri)athletes all over the world; it is a great experience indeed.”
Even if they needly deserved it, some don’t even get money for their services but being able to lend a hand is just as enough for them to feel a glow of contentment.
One of them is Richard Fernando, a nurse for the medical team who has volunteered for the first time in the event.
“Ganahan lang ko maka serbisyo ani nila kay kibaw kong kapoy pud ni ilang gibuhat,” the 27-year old Fernando said, “May sad to nga igkahuman nila sa ilang lumba naa ra sad mga tawo nga maka serbisyo nila in kaso ma aksidente man gane sila.”
Even the pro triathletes themselves think that they were instrumental in making the event “world-class.”
“I’m just so excited to come back because like Mauricio (Mendez) said you feel like you’re a family here because they take such good care of you, they even bring water to your room to make sure you are not dehydrated,” women’s pro champion Radka Kahlefeldt said, “All the little things they do, I’m just so happy to be part of it.”
“I can just say thank you a million times to what they’ve done to make this a great success and that is shared by all of the participants, they thank the volunteers because they know without their support, this event will not be possible.” Uytengsu said.
It will only take a year for the next IronMan 70.3 race again in Cebu, but the Cebuanos’ humble hospitality and helpfulness was surely in pure display in one of the most highly-anticipated sporting events in the country.
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