It’s called IRONMAN for a reason. Not Plasticman. Not Easy-man. Not Jog-man.
Iron. Because you have to be. To train for months—to slip into open water and swim against the current. To rise at 4:45 a.m. to bike 72 kms. To run with aching legs after a 2.5-hour ride.
They say this sport is for the elite. And yes, pros like Sam Osborne, Amelia Watkinson, Caleb Noble and Samantha Kingsford will be joining tomorrow’s 1.9K swim, 90K bike and 21K run.
But Ironman isn’t just about the pros. It’s for anyone willing to change their life. For anyone who dares to embrace pain in exchange for purpose. For anyone who believes that—with discipline, grit and prayer—anything is possible.
A perennial question from non-triathletes is this: Why do it? Why sign up for hours of sweat and sunburn? Why pay tens of thousands to suffer?
The answer: because it’s not just a race. The event itself may only last six or seven hours, but it’s more than that. It’s the countless sacrifices you put in. Ironman is life-changing.
“Know Pain. Know Gain.” Among the many mottos of triathlon, I like this best. The harder you train, the more you hurt—yes. But you gain even more. Confidence. Resilience. A community of fellow dream-chasers. You lose weight. You gain willpower.
And Cebu? It’s the perfect backdrop; sports tourism at its finest. And I say this after speaking with countless triathletes who’ve raced all over the world.
Start with the crowd. When you run the 21K along Punta Engaño, you pass cheering squads, kids with high-fives, drums pounding, music blasting. Even during the bike leg—when you exit Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City—the roads are lined with supporters. You’ll hear strangers shout, “Piolo!”
Then there’s the swim. In 2012, when the race moved from Camsur to Cebu, we traded the murky lake waters for Mactan’s turquoise sea. It’s not just swimming—it’s snorkeling with goggles. The waters of Mactan Newtown and Shangri-La rival Boracay and Panglao for beauty. Only here, you’re racing across them.
And, of course, there’s the CCLEX. Since 2022, the bike leg has included Cebu’s crown jewel. We climb it six times. The ascent, especially from the Cordova side, is long—but manageable, with a five to six percent gradient. The reward? A sweeping view of the Cebu skyline. Reaching the summit, with the twin crosses standing tall, you feel a lift—not just in altitude, but in spirit.
Then comes the best part: the downhill. Like a rollercoaster, you hit speeds over 65 kph. It’s fast, it’s thrilling—and unforgettable.
An Ironman announcer once said the CCLEX bike route is one of the Top 3 in the world. Was he joking? Not at all. He was right.
I first joined the Ironman 70.3 in 2012 (relay) and have done the full individual only once—in 2015. The rest were relays: three runs, four bike legs. This year marks my ninth entry, and I’ll be teaming up with swimmer Atty. Oliver Moeller and runner Mary Joy Tabal-Jimenez, the country’s first Olympic marathoner.
Tomorrow, we tri. Again. We tri to endure. We tri to rise. We tri to become—just a little—more Iron.