Teejay Castro | All Hail The TriQueen | T.A.G.G.E.D The Age Grouper
There comes a time in every man’s life when one will just say, “enough is enough”. For our next T.A.G.G.E.D. (The Age Grouper) feature, the catalyst was when he joined his first fun run… and liked it. From breaking away from bad habits to living the healthy lifestyle, check out the story of the one and only “TriQueen”, Teejay Castro.
SBR.ph : Welcome to SBR.ph, Queen! What’s your life like before you started racing?
Queen Teejay : I started smoking when I was in 4th year high school. I became a certified smoker when I started working in the call center (8 to 10 sticks in a span of my 8 hr shift everyday plus 2 to 3 after).
Then we’ll go to videoke bars after our shift and consume 6 to 8 bottles almost everyday! (pampaantok). I didn’t have a diet plan as I didn’t want to deprive myself when it comes to satisfying my hunger and quenching my thirst.
SBR.ph : Can you share to us how you started? What was your first race?
Queen Teejay : A former boardmate of mine way back 2011 who’s into running at that time, challenged and dared me to join him in his fun run (Yamaha Run For Heroes) – It was for fun only and I ran 5k but to my surprise, I started liking it. Almost every week, I’d join fun runs. From 5k, I leveled up to 42km in a span of 2 yrs. I dunno for whatever reason but after some realization, I wanted to have change in my lifestyle (more on challenging myself). And then one day, I just woke up wanting to be fit and have a healthy lifestyle. Then the rest is history. I found myself joining my first Aquathlon (Splash And Dash Leg 2 in 2014). Then I tried mountain climbing with Pico de Loro as the first mountain that I hiked.
Then, last quarter of 2015, I decided to buy a bike since I wanted to be a Duathlete! I joined my first duathlon at the 1st leg of Pilipinas Duathlon Series in 2016.
Then same year, I had the courage to join my very first triathlon and that’s Triman!
And then the rest is history… I now find myself loving the openwater and joining triathlon events in Subic (Sunrise Sprint 2017) and my first standard distance (Mt Mayon Tri) last August 13, 2017. Looking forward for more adventures in the super rocking world of Triathlon. So far, I joined 9 Aquathons, 7 Duathons and 5 Triathlons. In terms of fun runs, half mary, and full marathons, it’s too many to mention as I started running (which happened to be my 1st love) way back in 2011.
SBR.ph : How did triathlon change your life?
Queen Teejay : Simple, it made me realize that pushing the envelope and believing in yourself are the key ingredients to success.
It made me realize the importance of having a healthy mind, body and soul. I was able to conquer my fear of the openwater, I feel good inside out, and gained so many beautiful people who continuously inspire and motivate me to be at my best all the time. Truly life changing.
SBR.ph : Of all the races that you joined, what’s your favorite and most memorable race?
Queen Teejay : All the races I joined, whether it’s an aquathlon, a duathlon, triathlon or just purely run, are all in equal footing and truly memorable as every race has its own story to tell. But to name a few – I can’t forget my 25km trail run in Mt. Batolusong as I got lost in the middle of the trail. I was so tired and exhausted due to the scorching heat of the sun, I slept at the peak of Mt. Susong Dalaga. I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it, it was like I’m gonna die. Just imagine, I started at 5:30am and finished at 5pm. Almost 12hrs for a 25km trail run! Really crazy! Crayola/crying moments when I finished my 42km milo marathon (buzzer beater queen just few mins before the 6hr cut off)!
Another was when I crossed the finish line at the Sunrise Sprint Triathlon last June. It was my first triathlon in open water and I was just so proud that I finished it. Lastly, I call myself “TriQueen” because aside from the fact that I love beauty pageants, I also would like to have a statement, a trademark, as there are so many athletes out there and I want to have a distinction. I want to be unique and get away with the typical. So I always wear my invisible crown in everything that I do. ???❤
SBR.ph : Thanks for the time, Queen!
