20 Japanese to join Camotes tri

TWENTY Japanese triathletes will be joining the first triathlon race in Camotes Island dubbed as Captivating Camotes Triathlon On Feb. 10.

Camotes Island is being eyed as a potential venue for the next Vaseline Xterra Philippines Off-road Triathlon Series since its three-year contract with Lilo-an expires this year.

“Camotes is an ideal venue for triathlon races. This is an opportunity to showcase the potential of the island. A group of Japanese triathletes went there earlier this month and was impressed with the place. They asked me if we can push through with the race there,” Triathlon Association of the Philippines (Trap) executive director Oscar “Boying” Rodriguez said.

Last June, the first triathlon race was scheduled but due to the bad weather, the race was canceled.

“We hope this time, the weather will cooperate. It will be a chance for Camotes to boast of its pristine white beaches,” Rodriguez said

The Japanese, led by Seji Moto, will also be joining this year’s Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines on Aug. 4.

Rodriguez added that the registration for the first 20 Filipinos to sign up will be waived. They will also be given free round-trip ferry rides from Cebu to Camotes. The next 30 registrants will enjoy a 50 percent discount on the ferry ride from Jomalia Shipping.

The race will be also feature a middle distance of 1.8K swim-60K bike-15K run.

“This is the distance the Japanese are joining. There will also be standard and sprint events. The swim will be in Santiago Bay. The race will end in Lake Danao,” Rodriguez said.

The registration fee is P500. The registration centers are at Runnr Ayala and Rudy Project branches.