Local elite, CEOs gear up for Ironman 70.3 As-Pac

While spotlight is primarily on the world-class pros, competitors in the Filipino Elite, CEO, age-group, and relay divisions make their own marks in the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship presented by Ford on Sunday in Cebu.

Tim Reed and Caroline Steffen defend their respective titles against a stellar roster of pros, including world champs, to highlight action in the As-Pac tilt that’s held for the first time in Asia, outside Australia and New Zealand.

As determined to race for top honors as the 33 pros are 27 Filipino elite aces, 15 CEO tri racers and close to 3,000 age- groupers and mixed, all-male, and all-female relay participants.

Forty countries are represented in 1.9K swim, 90K bike, 21K run race backed by Cobra Energy Drink as title sponsor with Ford as presenting sponsor and Globe Telecom as official wireless and broadband services partner and produced and organized by Sunrise Events, Inc.

The Ironman 70.3 As-Pac is the biggest triathlon event to be held in the Philippines. Correspondingly, it offers the largest purse at $75,000 plus 50 slots to next year’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The race takes competitors on a swim at the beachfront of ShangriLa’s Mactan Resort and Spa, a bike ride traversing the cities of Talisay, Mandaue, Cebu, and Lapu- Lapu, and a two-loop run on Lapu-Lapu’s generally flat roads that finishes at Shangri-La.

Activities officially kicked off yesterday with the opening of the swim course, athletes’ registration, expo and bike service with the pros taking center stage today with the traditional press conference.

Young triathletes aged 6- 14, meanwhile, take center stage first tomorrow as they slug it out for top honors in the Alaska IronKids Triathlon II.

Meanwhile, for the first time, the Ironman 70.3 As-Pac can be viewed live via streaming on go.globe.com. ph and www.ironman.com through Globe Telecom’s new original productions arm, Globe Studio which will handle the live broadcast of the event, giving triathlon fans and enthusiasts outside of Cebu the rare chance to experience the action in the keenly awaited swim-bike-run. Sunrise Events, Inc. is targeting two million viewership worldwide.

With its strong support for the multi-sport community, Globe senior advisor for consumer business, Dan Horan said, “this live stream service allows us to provide a one- of- akind experience to our customers. This gives sports fans a chance to watch their favorite athletes or teams conquer the competition, staying upto-date on the championships right on their mobile devices.”

Other backers of the event are Philippine Airlines, Summit Water, Department of Tourism, Tourism Promotions Board, 2Go Express, Asics, Gatorade, Prudential Guarantee, Oakley, Timex, Alaska, David’s Salon, Intercare, Gu gel, Kenneth Cobonpue, Megaworld Mactan Newtown, Sun Life Financial, TYR, media partners The Philippine Star, ABS-CBN Sports+Action, TriLife Magazine, AsiaTri, Finisher Pix, technology partner Xurpas, official hotels Shangri-La Mactan Resort and Spa, Be Resorts Mactan, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan, Waterfront Hotel and Casino Mactan, Movenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu and official registration partner Active Network.