Two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in triathlon, Nikko Huelgas, crosses the finish line in last Saturday’s, January 25, 2020, Horizons 101 Cebu Vertical Run 2020. CDN Digital photo | Marc Cosep
CEBU CITY, Philippines —“Very exciting.”
This is how two-time Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalist in triathlon, Nikko Huelgas, described the Horizons 101 Cebu Vertical Run 2020 held last Saturday, January 25, 2020.
Huelgas from Manila and SEAG silver medalist in Obstacle Course Racing Sherwin Managil of Cebu were tapped as ambassadors for the one-of-a-kind race along with influencers.
“I love it, sobrang exciting nya, ang ganda ng schedule, pang gabi, a Saturday night, para maka ano ka eh, puede ka pang makapag good time ng Saturday night,” said Huelgas who said that this is the first time that he raced in this kind of event.
(I love it, it is very exciting, has a good schedule coz it is held at night, a Saturday night, you can still have a good time on a Saturday night.)
“And, above all okay yong community, okay siya, yong organization and sobrang good challenge siya,” added Huelgas.
(And, above all, the community is okay, the organization is okay and it is really a good challenge.)
Huelgas said that he is open to returning next year for another edition of the race.
“I am definitely coming back, babait ng mga Cebuanos, sobrang sarap nong lechon, parang ang sarap pabalik balik dito,” quipped Huelgas.
(I am definitely coming back, the Cebuanos are nice, the lechon tastes good, it will be nice to keep coming back here.)
Myra Lynn Gilig the vice president and chief operating officer of Taft Properties, which owns Horizons 101, said this year’s edition of the vertical run is the most successful so far of the three editions.
“I think this is, well we’ve done three, I think this is, I should say, the most successful one because we already have prepared enough,” Gelig said.
For Gelig, it was successful because first, no one got into any accident while doing the run; second is that they had more participants, they reached their target of 350.
Gelig explained that they limited it to 350 participants because they have to ensure the security and safety of the participants considering that the run is done on a narrow staircase and not on a wide road.
Gelig said that having SEAG medalists as ambassadors for the event added more excitement to the event as the runners were pumped up by the idea of running alongside them.
More foreign racers, especially Kenyans, signed up for the race this year, which organizers also appreciate.
According to Gelig, although there were already foreign racers when they first started the vertical run two years ago, she’s happy to note that more locals are entering the top spot which means the foreigners are not dominating the race.
Gelig added that this is the reason why they increased the prizes from top 3 to top 10 starting last year because they believed that everyone should be commended because it is not easy to conquer 101 floors. /bmjo