K-SWISS ITU SUBIC BAY INTERNATIONAL TRIATHLON 2011 | Race Results and Review

Congratulations to all the winners and finishers of the 2011 K-SWISS ITU SUBIC BAY INTERNATIONAL TRIATHLON (Subit)!

The race was a blast! Kudos to Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) for a very organized race despite the 700+ participants! This is Camsur like already!

Thought for awhile if I should join this event or not. Subit is one of the biggest races of the year and of course, SWIMBIKERUN.ph has to be there! And what better way to cover it than to join the race itself right? :)

Reto Hug of Switzerland won the men’s elite division with a blazing 1:54:36 finish time! Second placer Franz Loeschke of Germany came in at 1:54:38, just 2 seconds away from Hug, who outsprinted the German during the final 100 meters of the run. Artem Parienko of Russia completed the podium 123 with a 1:55:09.

The huge elite field was a sight to see. Especially when they started the swim! It was like a washing machine! Makes you really proud too to see our very own Filipino Elites Nikko Bryan Huelgas, Niel Catiil, LC Langit, and Kim Mangrobang slugging it out with the pros!

Now for the nitty gritty..

Registration / Pre-Race

Registration for Subit was a breeze. You can register either via bank deposit or by visiting one of TRAP’s registration centers. One thing I liked about this event was the initiative of TRAP to go GREEN via its GREEN TRIATHLON program. Promoting registration via email to help reduce paper use.

Race Packet distribution was basically glitch free as well. I didn’t encounter any problems with it. Having 2 transition areas can be a logistical nightmare but TRAP handled this pretty well. 2 huge Speedo plastic bags was given to the participants and then you have the option whether you wanna leave your stuff for T2 with TRAP before raceday or set it up yourself at 4am in the morning. I, along with most of the triathletes I think, chose the latter.

The pre-race briefing was well done. The food leaves a lot to be desired but it was still ok. The parade of nations (wherein Rick Reyes called the countries of all the participants) was a nice touch. The Philippines of course, got the loudest roar. :)

Race Day

–SWIM–

With over 700+ athletes, wave start procedure is a must. Aside from jellyfish stings, Dungaree was really a beautiful place to swim in. The buoys for the turnaround was big and the water was crystal clear. You can even see the “abyss” wherein the water suddenly turns dark! No more corals or anything!

One gripe I have about Dungaree is that they’re charging non-participants P150 entrance fee if they wanna get in and watch. That’s pricey considering you’ll only be there just for at least 40-50 mins.

–BIKE–

After the swim, you’ll immediately head over to the infamous Ocean Adventure climb. As always, it was very tough and challenging. But once you’re done with it, its hammer time all the way. You really need to be careful though, with those number of participants, accidents are bound to happen. As I was going down I saw 4 people on the side of the road. All of them were standing up except for the other one who was still down and was holding his collarbone. Hopefully, he’s ok and didn’t suffer any major injuries. The only thing I wish TRAP added to the bike route was a water station. Even just one will do. A couple of years ago (2-3 years ago I think) they had one at the turnaround of Ocean Adventure, I’m still in the dark as to why they removed it. The bike is short yes, but knowing there’s a water station waiting for you is always a plus.. or at least set up a special needs area.

With the bike route still being open to traffic, the SBMA police did a good job handling the flow of the bikes and the cars. Unless the cars driver is a cyclist himself, having both of them on the road at the same time (especially during race conditions) is never a good idea. I heard a couple of hits and misses story but fortunately, I don’t think there’s any car-bike related accident this time. So a big props to TRAP and SBMA for that.

One of the things I liked about the bike route is that its spectator friendly. You’ll pass the boardwalk area 2 times and it was really nice to hear all those people cheering. I just wish though that the dismount part under the bridge is a bit wider. I had a near miss with this one when 3 bikers in front of me suddenly braked and dismounted on their bikes. I had to swerve to the left which was a bit of a squeeze but good thing I managed to get through.

–RUN–

The run course was flat and fast. There were 3 aid stations which never ran out of water, gatorade, and sponges. So again, kudos to TRAP for that one. The water was ice cold and was very refreshing. There was also a firetruck waiting for you in case you’re overheating already. The firemen was very attentive to shut off the water if he sees the athlete is signaling that he/she doesn’t wanna get wet.

There were hundreds of spectators positioned all over the boardwalk loop. Which was really a welcome treat since that it encourages you to keep on running and pushing! I personally had a couple of moments wherein I wanted to walk already but then I’ll see someone I know cheering for me. Of course, pride will kick in and I will immediately put on my “I’m still strong and running look”. Hehehe.. Only to look back to check if the coast is clear so I begin my walk of shame but then I’ll see someone I know again!

It was nice to see some of the spectators helping the people at the aid stations give out water and sponges to the participants. Now that is what triathlon is all about! :)

THE DIRTY

With the registration fee set at an all time high, I was pleasantly surprised to see Subit still get a record number of participants. With that amount you’d expect nothing less but a near perfect race from TRAP in order to justify the cost. Did TRAP deliver? A big YES. The race was a blast and left its mark as one of the must-do races again for next year.

To the participants how was your race? What can you say about the K-SWISS ITU SUBIC BAY INTERNATIONAL TRIATHLON 2011? Hit the comments and let us know.

Click here to view the discussion about the race in our forum. You must be registered to post.

Check out our multisport calendar to view more multisport events!

Click here to view the race results

Download

Junior and Female Elite Race Results (, 77 KB)

Male Elite Race Results (, 77 KB)

Mini Sprint Race Results (, 73 KB)

Age Group Race Results (, 111 KB)

Relay Race Results (, 74 KB)

Comments

comments