Ironman 70.3 : Why this can’t be held in Bohol yet

The swim transition area of the Sun Life 5150 triathlon race in Panglao Island, Bohol. | Glendale Rosal

CEBU CITY, Philippines — An Ironman 70.3 race in Bohol won’t be happening anytime soon for various reasons. 

Princess Galura, Sunrise Events Inc. president and Ironman Philippines general manager, said this despite the logistics, hotels, resorts, and the strong support of the local government units (LGU) of Bohol to the event.

Still, it has a missing piece for it to host the prestigious Ironman 70.3 triathlon race. 

READ: More than 600 triathletes vie in Sunday’s Sunlife 5150 & Go For Gold race in Panglao

Last Sunday, July 8, 2023, Panglao Island, once again successfully hosted the Sun Life 5150 & Go For Gold triathlon races which drew over 600 triathletes worldwide. 

These two triathlon events feature shorter distances compared to the Ironman 70.3 race. 

Galura’s group were applauded for the extra smooth race which finished early and with no serious injuries from the participants. 

With that in mind, many triathlon enthusiasts have already asked if Bohol is ready for a 70.3 race. 

READ: Return of IronMan in Cebu a blessing, says organizer

For Galura, Bohol doesn’t have a huge open space enough to fit over 2,000 triathletes for the 70.3 race’s transition area. 

“A 70.3 race in Bohol, well, they have a good number of hotels, they have an international airport, the LGU response and rescue is very good. The thing lang talaga is the transition size. It’s because a 70.3 race would require a scalable space because we can’t have a 70.3 race that will only limit to 600. It usually averages to a thousand or even 2,000 triathletes,” Galura said. 

“We still can’t find that area, where we can put the transition area which is connected to the bike and swim areas here in Bohol, compared to Cebu.”

READ: Top Cebu triathletes make waves in Malaysia meet

In addition, a 5150 race, according to Galura, is the perfect triathlon event in a place like Bohol. 

The Sun Life 5150 race is also dubbed the official “Racecation” in the Philippines. It’s mainly because the triathletes would only endure a short-distance triathlon race and enjoy vacationing in Bohol after. 

“The 5150 is the perfect race for this place. There are enough areas for sightseeing after the race. You can race fast and enjoy the rest of the island after the race,” Galura added. 

Instead of having an Ironman 70.3 race in Bohol, Galura, her team, the LGUs and other stakeholders will focus on improving the Sun Life 5150 more for the coming years. 

In its sixth year in staging the 5150 race, last Sunday had one of the smoothest runs ever. The race finished one and a half hours earlier than their cut-off time. 

READ: SEA Games 2023: Kim Mangrobang loses triathlon title to naturalized Cambodian

The weather was also a huge factor in the race’s huge success last Sunday. 

“The swim was very calm, aside from that, there were times na pwede silang tumakbo because it was low tide. So, nakabawas dun sa swim, sa bike sobrang bilis, walang aso, fully-closed yung road. Tapos yung run, uminit ng konti pero naging cloudy ulit. Basically, the conditions were very good for racing. A lot of people say it was a very fast race,” Galura said.

(The swim was very calm. Aside from that, there were times that they can run because it was low tide. So, the swim part was a shorter, in the bike part it was really fast, no dogs, the road was fully-closed. Then the run, the sun shone and then it became cloudy. Basically, the conditions were very good for racing. A lot of people say it was a very fast race.)

“This race is so popular kasi nakita nyo yung swim di ba, para siyang pool, di gumagalaw yung buoy. Di siya nakakatakot for beginners after what happened in Subic and Davao, I think this will bring back the confidence of people. Then again, it’s a swim, bike and runs. We can’t expect the same conditions to happen every day,” Galura said.

READ: Triathlete Remolino ready to race in Japan on April 25

She revealed that she already spoke to Panglao Island Mayor Edgardo “Boy” Arcay regarding the improvements they want to have for next year’s race. 

She said that the 5150 race in Panglao was near-perfect, except the mayor’s hesitance to implement a full road closure during the race.

However, Galura said that she already convinced and had permission from Panglao’s mayor for a full road closure after witnessing the triathletes smoothly and safely traverse the bike course. 

The next 5150 race is in Camarines Sur on August 6, followed by the first 5150 race in Dapitan on September 10.