2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships Race Report

When Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast of Australia was announced to the the venue for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, I just had to try and qualify to do the race. I had lived and worked on the Sunshine Coast until 1997 before moving to Saipan for 5 years and then here to Japan for the past 14 years. The first and only 70.3 Worlds that I went to was at Clearwater, Florida in 2008. When I was there I had the thought that the Sunshine Coast was a very similar location and would make a great venue in the future. Luckily the powers at be at Ironman had the exact same thought and decided to rotate the race around the world to different regions. After Europe (Austria) last year, it was Asia Pacific's turn to host the race in 2016. And Mooloolaba was the chosen location. Mooloolaba has a great pedigree as it has hosted an excellent standard distance triathlon since 1992. (I actually did that race and every year until I left the coast in 1997). And they have held a 70.3 race over a similar course there since 2013. You can read about about the race and the course here.

Aussies made up the largest contingent of course. Next was the USA.

To qualify for the Worlds you had to win a slot at a 70.3 qualifying race during the time frame from July the previous year (in this case 2015) up to the June of the same year as the World Champs. As I was super keen to win a slot, I was willing (or throw a lot of money at) to race at least three 70.3 races in this window. (Cebu, Taiwan and Korea) Luckily for me I got a slot at the very first attempt at Cebu last year. So I was good to go!

 With Nakajima-san and Chiemi-san pre-race.

 My rival and good friend, Ernesto.

Long time friend, the famous Taro Shirato of Athlonia.

Most of the Tokyo group at the official Welcome Banquet.

And the other best thing about these Worlds was that a bunch of Tokyo friends and training partners had also qualified, with eleven showing up to race. As I was the "local", it was also a great pleasure for me to help out with advice about the race and the course, as well as giving tips on making the most of the trip to Australia. I was going back for the first time in 4 years so I also wanted to catch up with friends and enjoy Aussie food and drink again . Maybe a little too much before the race. I arranged a "Welcome to the Sunshine Coast" BBQ on the Thursday night before the race which was a great success.

 The BBQ at my good friend's beach house.

 It was a great night.

Meat, meat, meat.

For me, it was all about qualifying for the Worlds and racing there. This year I had entered three 70.3 races- Busan in June, Cebu in August and the Worlds in September. Cebu was the Asia Pacific Championships and my "A" race as I know that I would not be competitive at Mooloolaba. Way out of my league. But I could be in Cebu after coming second last year. So I put all my training effort into Cebu and it paid off as I won the Championship for my Age Group. The other two races, including the Worlds were just for fun. This is how my race at Mooloolaba turned out to be. But I did set a target of finishing inside the top 50% of my Age Group. (There were 148 registered, so better than 74th place). I came 51st, so mission achieved. But a top 50 placing would have been a little sweeter.

My race:

DIV RANK: 51 OVERALL RANK: 1526

Swim:	33:00
Bike	2:50:30
Run	1:44:29
Overall	5:18:33

Transition was a bit of a squeeze, but it worked. Just!

The might have been the world's most picturesque Transition area. A P&O cruise ship was offshore.

Swim 1.9km
A weather trough passed through the region early on the day before the race which turned the wind to a stiff northerly and pushed in an increase in swell. This made the ocean conditions at Mooloolaba beach to be quite "bumpy" and rough. Everyone was worried about what the conditions would be like on race day. But all week the forecast had shown perfect weather for race day (Sunday). Sunny and clear, 22 degrees and light offshore winds. Come race day, this is how the weather turned out except for a bit of a headwind on the return leg of the bike course. The sea was very calm and flat. All in all a typical, perfect, spectacular spring day for the Sunshine Coast. And as a local, I also tried to ease concerns about sharks. Sharks are common in the waters there, but not off the beach we were to swim at.

 Sunrise over Transition.

Mooloolaba Beach on a perfect Sunshine Coast day.

This race was a "wave start", with the Age Groups going off at 5 or 10 minute intervals. I started at 07:45, one hour ten minutes behind the first AG wave at 06:35. with time to kill I parked myself at my long time favourite coffee shop, The Coffee Club at Mooloolaba, to wait for my start over a flat white. It was a relaxing way to wait.

Right before my wave start.

 Perfect, flat beach conditions.

One of the AG wave starts.

My swim went pretty well. It was a deep water start, we had to swim out 100m and then line up before the starter's gun went off. The course was very wide and it was super easy to sight the big buoys that marked it. I had an uneventful swim and was happy to hit the beach with a Scottish chap that I know who had beaten me in the swim at Cebu last year. One small victory!

Bike 90km
Had a problem before the race with the valve extender on my front wheel. Couldn't get more air into it with a pump. So I made a mad dash to the bike mechanics to get it fixed as even though I could have done it, I didn't want to make a mistake.  After about 20 minutes of trying, the wheel was fixed and I was good to go.

Don't panic!

They had changed the bike course from the usual 70.3 race to be 20km straight up the flat Sunshine Motorway and 20km back. Then there was a couple of loops over a hilly section of the hinterland until transition back at Mooloolaba to make up the other 50km. I knew first part of the course like the back of my hand, but was unfamiliar with the hilly loop section as I had only driven out that way a handful of times over 20 years ago. A couple of days before the race on a practice ride I had actually gotten a bit lost, but I soon worked out the course. There was one short, sharp hill of 20% gradient that was not much fun. Lots had to walk up it during the race. But the practice two rides up it that I did before the race really helped.

 The pro men on the Motorway, showing how it is done by riding legally. (not drafting)

The uphill grind on the one big hill.

My only chance of a top 25 or so overall placing (my pipe dream) was to have a fast bike, so I went out hard. I passed many in my AG on the first 40km, but then a pack of most of them reeled me back in on the road to the loops so that dream was all over for me. Drafting on the Motorway section was rife, and the Marshalls were not strict enough. This disheartened me, so I decided to just finish well and make the most of the experience.

There has been some controversy about the hilly laps with a bunch of people being DQed for going the wrong way. I thought it was easy to navigate and so did all of my friends, some of whom didn't even get the chance to ride the course before the race. It is always the athlete's responsibility to know the course, so there can be no excuse for getting it wrong. You can read about this here on Slowtwitch.

Run 21.1km
I must have run over most of the course hundreds of times, so this was always going to be easy for me. It was a two lap course and there was one small hill, Alexandra Headland (Alex), that we had to go over and back twice. The rest was pancake flat. Hundreds of spectators on Alex made the experience great and a lot of fun. I cruised it in by just trying to stay under 1:45 which I just managed to do.

Was a happy camper at the finish. 

Summary
The total race experience was excellent. Before and after the race. My only concern was how would they fit the 3,000 odd bike into the transition area and how it would flow on race day? They managed to make the bikes fit, but they were jam packed. Transition was very long, and crowded, but it worked. I am very proud of the Sunshine Sunshine coast for staging such a successful, spectacular race. All of my friends and everyone else I spoke to had a great time. There were many international visitors, all of whom were friendly and easy to talk to. There were about 3,000 athletes from 82 countries represented. After the Aussies, the next largest group was Americans. Japanese ranked 10th. Many more than I expected came from South or Central America, I was always seeing Brazilians, Chileans and Mexicans in large groups. The atmosphere was relaxed, everyone seemed to be happy to race there and to soak up the laid back atmosphere of the Sunny Coast.

TiT Group recovery on the beach.

Finisher fun.

Full and detailed race results are here.

My triathlon season ended with this race. I have been training hard since October last year, starting with Yokohama Marathon last March, so it is now time for a well earned break. And I will launch my new venture, Tri-K Coaching very soon. More details to come in the next few weeks!!

2016 Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships, Cebu, Philippines Race Report.

It is hard not to come up with superlatives for this race. Now well and truly my favorite race anywhere in the world. How about "The Hollywood of Triathlon"? This seems to cover it perfectly. This race is now the biggest annual international sporting event held in the Philippines. It is that big! And it's an even bigger deal for Filipinos as triathlon is a boom sport and this race brings out many celebrities with names like "Bubbles" and "Ding Dong". My mate from last year, heart-throb, actor and singer Matteo Guidicelli, showed up again to race. There is so much bike bling on display, I have never seen so many expensive bikes at a race as here. And not many people riding them are very fast.

My best mate in Cebu the night after the race. We had a good laugh when I told him my story from last year.

Similar logistics to last year. It's only a 4.5 hour direct flight out of Narita and this time I flew on Cebu Pacific, an LCC which I preferred to Philippines Airlines from last year. Not much is different, but they tried harder and were very friendly. This time I booked a room in a local diving resort hotel located on the run course about 1.5km from the main race hotel and base, the Shangri-La Mactan. But I was lucky enough to score a room for three nights at the Shang at the last minute, so I split my stays between the two hotels. And my roommate at the Shang was my amigo, rival and last year's AG winner Ernesto. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

This year the race was designated as the 2016 Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship, and for the first time held outside of Australia or New Zealand. The Championship race will be rotated around the region and next year in 2017 has been set for Penrith, in Western Sydney, Australia. So because of this I targeted this race to try and win the Asia Pacific Championship for my age group. Who knows if I would ever get a better chance? And my fingers were crossed that not many fast Aussies or Kiwis would show up and race at Cebu. Luckily for me this proved to be true.

After my rave report of last year, a big bunch of Triathlon in Tokyo team mates and other friends from Japan signed up. Which has no mean feat as entries sold out in 28 minutes when registration opened on October 1st. So there was plenty of support and fellowship before, during and after the race. This also helped to make it a even better day. And Cebu is a really nice place to hangout and enjoy. It has embraced the race, once again there were tens of thousands of people out on course watching the race and cheering loudly. Nothing like it!

Pre-race
This year I decided to join two of the official training events. The Ford Ride Out and the TYR Swim Out. The swim was a cool event and very short at only 180 meters, But the first 500 received a nice TYR t-shirt which was a good score. And afterwards we swam the course as practice. I made this prediction which turned out to be true. There is a first time for everything!

                                            My prediction was spot on for a change.

The Bike Out was a lot different than expected. I joined it with Jess Ripper and Michael Gay. While we had a police and race officials on motor bikes escort, and the intersections where manned by police, we took our lives into our own hands riding through the frantic Cebu traffic. I had a couple of near misses; I very nearly got taken out by a kid wheeling three huge Durian on a barrow. Now I know why some people hate Durian, one of the hazards of South East Asia. The ride took us to downtown Cebu to breakfast at the Cebu Government House with a short address from the Governor, and a lot of "one more!" group photos. I kissed the pavement when I made it back to the Shangri-La unscathed. The highlight was riding most of the way back behind a very attractive female motorcycle cop called "Posh". There is always a bright side.

Made it there, now had to get back in one piece.

My Race

My Race Check Review is HERE.

Some of the Tokyo crew before the race.

 The Transition area for the 2,900 racers.

The swim start at the Shangri-La Beachfront

1.9km Swim Leg
This year I jumped up one block and started in the sub 30 minutes group. Not that I can swim this fast in a non-wetsuit swim like Cebu, but I hoped that I would avoid the "non-swimmers" that I had problems getting around last year. This is one of my two complaints about this race. It is a "self seeding" rolling start, but a lot of locals seed themselves in faster blocks than they can ever possibly swim in. All a bit silly as your race starts when you cross the starting line so it doesn't matter if you are up the front or not. They really need to fix this as it is not fun trying to swim through packs of slow swimmers doing slow breast stoke or hanging off the course ropes and buoys. Everyone should summit a swim time from a previous race and then be allocated a block accordingly.

Had a decent swim and probably should have gone a bit faster, as I swam nearly all of it by myself. Couldn't find any "fast feet" to draught off to save energy. A disadvantage of starting up the front. But I was happy with my time and I got to the bike feeling strong. Then I made the rookie mistake not taking off my swim skin before I removed my bike from the rack. But I only took a few steps before I noticed. I would say I lost about 30 seconds here. I hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt me as I had lost last year by less than 50 seconds.

Out of the water.

90km Bike Leg
Now for my only other complaint. It was narrow and congested when trying to leave transition. For whatever reason this year they had switched the sides of the path to the bike exit around where we had to run with our bikes. It  was very narrow and you had to stick to single file. I got caught behind a big fat guy doing the relay who was walking his bike very slowly and had to "remind" him that it was a race. Something like "get the Fu@k out of the way!". He sped up.

The exact same course has last year. Just wish that they would pave the first couple of hundred meters heading out of transition as it is was still a rough gravel road. Then you ride 13km out past the airport, up and over a big bridge (the only sort of hill) and then you hit the M shaped main section of the course. 16km into a stiff headwind and 16km back with a raging tailwind x 2. Not mainly riders out on the course in front of me (about 100 including the pros), so I had a good for me, fast ride. I passed more riders than who passed me. And for the first time I "spun out" on the downwind legs even though I had a small 11 cog on  the back. Could not have ridden any faster. My new bike loves the wind and it was a lot more fun than last year as I now knew the course. Plus I was able to see most of my Tokyo friends on the course and yell out encouragement to them. And from them to me.

The rough, bumpy start to the bike leg out of Transition

      Up and over the big bridge.

Staying aero into the strong head wind.

21.1km Run Leg

I left transition feeling pretty good even though I had put in a bike effort on the bike.It's a short run to the main part of the course then two 10km laps. A lot is under tree cover, except for the infamous "Microwave"; the last 2 or so kilometres right at the end of the loop. Exposed and super hot. But with a lot of cheerleaders, bands and lady-boys to perk you up. This race has the best aid stations I have even seen at a race. With ice, ice water, cold water, sports drink and cola, gels and food about every 1.5km. It was reported that it was a little hotter this year over last. I had a bad patch on the second lap up at the Microwave, but managed to get through it okay and finish strongly. And this year I again saw Ernesto during both laps, but this time he wasn't gaining any time on me.

Getting cooked in the "micro-wave".

On the run.

Final push to the finish line.

Just managed to stay upright after a stumble at the top of the ramp.

Pushed myself hard to the finish line and very nearly took a big fall when I stumbled at the top of the finisher's ramp. But I stayed upright. They called me as being 12 minutes faster than last year, which I was stoked with. Knew I was faster, but I didn't check the overall time during the race.

Post Race
For me it was just a matter of getting to the finish line ASAP as they have the best set up of any race that I have been to. A cold water shower to cool down, the wading pools full of ice with cold cans of beer floating in them, a huge massage tent, ice-cream, flavoured milk, food and more beer. This time I jumped into a wading pool, cracked open a beer, then got out and had a massage while I waited for my friends to finish. Then back into the pool and three more cans of beer. It doesn't get much better than this.

After the finish.

It was only when I cleared transition with my bike and gear when I was able to check my result on my phone. Champion! The beers would taste extra good that night.

DIV RANK: 1 OVERALL RANK: 105

RACE SUMMARY
Swim:	35:02
Bike	2:37:07
Run	1:53:56
Overall	5:13:41

Well I couldn't have done much better. Won the Asia Pacific Championship for my age group and went 12 minutes faster than last year's race. Had my revenge on Ernesto by beating him into second place. But by only 1:19, so it was still very close. But it was cool to again be on the podium with Ernesto.

Wrap Up
This is a great race to do with friends due to the nature of the course. Shouts of encouragement to friends on the bike and run courses, and high fives on the run makes it even more enjoyable.

Reached my goal of winning my age group at an Ironman 70.3 race. I have never missed the podium at a 70.3 race in Asia Pacific, but had never won my Age Group. So to do it in such a big race was was super pleasing and I am still on a high. Am I the fastest and best in my age group in Asia Pacific? No way! but I was the fastest to show up on the day. This may never happen to me again, so I will lap it up while I can.

It was all worth it.

Finally I wish to relay my sincere thanks to my coaches, training partners and friends for the great support. Special thanks go out to my two swimming coaches; Hirano-san from the NAS Osaki Triathlon School, and Coach Lisa from E3 Fit. I get the best of both worlds. Speed and endurance from NAS, and core strength and technique from E3 Fit. Thank you! I self-coached myself for the bike and run and must have done a decent job of it.

My next, and last race for this year, is the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships on the Sunshine Coast of Australia on September 4th. My home town! Am really looking forward to going back for the first time in four years, racing over a course that I know, sharing the experience with a big group of friends from Japan and catching up with family and friend while I am there. And scoffing a meat pie or two.

The Next Day
TiTer Jemerson Vierneza arranged a boat trip for snorkeling, island hoping and a beach-front lunch at a local restaurant, as well a few more well earned beers. It was a perfect day for post-race recovery. Thanks again Jem, and to all who joined.

Island hoping and snorkeling.

Life's a beach!

A glimpse under the water at Cebu.

Ironman 70.3 Philippines Cebu Race Report. Hope that it is worth the wait.

Ironman 70.3 Philippines Cebu has been on my list of “to do races” ever since I read Bevan’s glowing race reports. And he got it right! This is a great race, and I will go out on a limb and say that it is the best race in Asia. It beats Phuket on just about everything, except for Phuket’s legendary after race party and good Thai food. But as an overall experience and race, Cebu wins hands down.

My main target for this year is to qualify for the 2016 70.3 World Championships that will be held on the Sunshine Coast of Australia in September next year. It's my home town, so I was super motivated to get there. Cebu is one of the  qualifying races with 40 slots, so I had another good reason to go there.

The good:

Only a 4.5 hour direct flight from Narita. Then 15 minutes to the hotels by taxi.

\
A choice of beach front hotels for all budgets. I stayed at the Vista Mar Resort for the first two nights. Beach front, two swimming pools (one a 25m lap pool) and simple, clean and comfortable rooms. But the food was only so-so. Moved over to the upscale Crimson Resort for the final 4 nights. It was one of the official race hotels and included in the race package are airport transfers, buffet breakie and shuttle bus transfers to and from the race venue (the Shangri-La Hotel) which was 15 minutes away. Recommended, but the Shang is more convenient as the entire race revolves about it. Next best would be the Movenpick Hotel which is only a few hundred meters away from the Shang. Staying at one of the official hotels makes it all very easy. 

The race pack was the biggest and best that I have ever received at a race. Even had a roll of toilet paper in case you were caught short. The bag is loud and colourful but I like it. And you even get two t-shirts; well the second one is for finishers which you have to pick up after the race.

They thought of  absolutely everything, even a bog roll.

Fanatic support out on course. How many people lined the first 5 or so kilometres of the bike course? 20,000? 50,000? And most of them screaming at the top of their lungs. Well the teenage girls were. And there were mobs of spectators along most of the bike and the run. Maybe 100,000 plus all up along the entire course. Even received some marriage proposals on the run course. And not just from girls. Lots of lady boys out watching, so I blew them kisses to keep them interested. Felt like a rock star!

You have to love ear splitting screaming.

Great, very well stocked aid stations. Especially on the run where cold drinks, sponges, ice and ice water were critical to get through the heat.

The entire race and experience.

The bad:
A small problem on race day. The shuttle bus from my hotel got stuck in traffic, so we all climbed out and made a mad rush through the crowds. Only made it to transition at 05:35 before it closed at 06:00. It was a mad rush to get set up in time.

The location of the pasta party and the post race lunch. It was open air with no shade. It was a bummer that it rained on the night of the pasta party as we missed what looked to be a very colourful opening ceremony. So we grabbed some food and retired to the lobby bar of the Shang and had a couple of beers. The it was stinking hot and sunny when we finished. The only shade was where tents where the buffet tables were set up, so we sat under one the grass. But the hotel food was pretty good; maybe the best I have ever had after a race.

The race:

RACE SUMMARY
Swim	00:37:35 2nd
Bike	02:41:22 2nd
Run	02:00:01 2nd
Overall	05:25:02

DIV RANK: 2

OVERALL RANK: 122

  

Swim:

This was the first time that I have raced under the new “rolling start” rule that IM has now introduced. You self-seed into corrals based on your expected finishing time. I opted for the second corral, 31 to 35 minutes. Then we started in groups of five every five seconds. In hindsight I should have went for the sub 30 min group. Not that I could have swum that time, but to swim with faster swimmers and to try and latch onto a pack to draft. I’d only swum 50 meters when I saw some people already swimming slowly and others already hanging on to the ropes and buoys. I couldn’t find any fast feet for the entire swim and only remember two people swimming past me; but they were way too fast and I had to let them go. And when I turned the final corner for the swim to the exit, I could feel a current. Not very strong at the time, but it was there. It soon turned into a “raging tidal wave” which cased all sorts of havoc to the slower swimmers. The cut off was set at 70 mins, but at that time 350 or so were still in the water and barely able to swim forward, so they had to extend it another 10 mins. Still 100 people missed the swim cut off. It was a freak tide and will not happen again next year.

  

It was a non-wetsuit swim and I was not as fast as I expected, but my Garmin had it has 2,100m. The consensus afterwards was that it was long. So maybe my effort was on par after all.

What the rolling start looked like at Cebu. Five racers, every five seconds.

Bike:

Mainly flat but with one major bridge that needed to be climbed on the way out and back. Some of the road surface was very rough; we are spoilt here in Japan with well maintained roads. The main section was a M shaped course and most was wide and straight. There was even one longish tunnel to ride through and a couple of ramps and bridges to break it up.

I went okay on the first lap, rode conservatively and only uber biker Stefano passed me. Toyed with the idea of trying to keep up with him but he soon turned into a speck in the distance. I passed scores of Filipinos on flash, expensive bikes. That felt really good. But the second lap was a different story. Wanted to put the hammer down and push it to T2, but for some reason I had nothing to offer and my breathing became laboured. Lost a chunk of time and maybe 30 or so places on the second lap. More on this later.

  

Eat my dust local dude. He got pinged for drafting off me a few kilometres down the road.

Run:

The run was two laps. Most was under tree cover but the turn-a-round area at the end of the cape was exposed. It was brutally hot, but the aid stations were great as I mentioned earlier. I struggled big time. Could not breathe properly and I just didn't feel good. Bevan gave me a much needed boost when he shouted out to me "John Hill is not here". Hill is an Aussie multiple world champion over distances from OD to IM and was a shoo in for the one WC slot on offer for my AG. Didn't have time to check if he was there or not when I was setting up before the race. With him not being there I suddenly felt that I had a chance. But then there was Ernesto... I could see Ernesto running strong and charging through the field and gaining on me. Due to the rolling start I had no idea how far ahead I was. At the last turn around I thought I had about a 1.5km lead with 5km to go. Would that be enough? And as I had not seen anyone else in my AG in front of me out on the course, I thought I was leading (I was). Had to stop at all of the aid stations for ice, sponges, pour ice cold water over my head and to drink which also slowed me down.

While I was on the first lap and up near the turn a round, the girls in the crowd started to go really crazy. Screaming at the top of their lungs and jumping up and down with excitement. At first I thought it was aimed at me as I look great in my tri-suit; but I soon realised that they were cheering at the young, good looking Filipino guy who was just ahead of me. When I ran past him I asked him "are you famous or something"? He said "yes, sort of". Turns out he was the Filipino-Italian movie and TV star and singer Gianmatteo Guidicelli. Damn it, I thought it was me!

I am sure I looked better than this bloke.

Finish:

Was not feeling great, but I pushed to the line as hard as I could. Just thought it was the heat. Crossed the line and then saw something that I had not seen before. Ice baths and cold beers! Hopped into one and cracked open a beer with Bevan. Then I looked up and saw that Ernesto had finished as well. Thought that it was touch and go if he had caught me or not. It turned out that he had, and he took the win in our AG by 49 seconds. So close! Well done Ernesto! His run was great.

What can be better than an ice bath and cold beer with Bevan at the finish line?

Team Namban. With the speedy Stefano. Ernesto is in the back ground.

Overall I was disappointed with my time. Was expecting to go about 5:10 to 5:15 due to the heat. My run cost me, should have run no more than 1:50. But I think I have a decent excuse. The night after the race I experienced a stabbing pain in the left side of my chest over my heart. When I got back to Tokyo I was diagnosed with a bacterial lung infection and was put on a 8 day course of antibiotics and told to take 5 days of work. So this may explain why I had trouble breathing and was not able to push as hard as I wanted to. All clear now and I am back to full health.

Finished 2nd my my AG. It turned out that Ernesto was the best person possible to finish second to. He had to rush off to the airport just after he finished to fly out to the Maldives for a meeting. (poor Ernesto) So I got the one WC slot in our AG at the roll down. Mission accomplished!

Congrats to Stefano, Paul and Shin for also winning slots. The race is now on for more TiT members to grab slots and to join us on the Sunshine Coast next year. I can provide inside tourist info, sightseeing and even a beach-side BBQ or two. And maybe even some kangaroos and koalas to see.

The boys from TiTs who won slots. With Stefano, Paul and Shin.

You don't get a lot for your AU$500 entry fee for the WC. Better than nothing. Trophy is at the back.

Next year, Cebu will be the 2016 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship race. 2015 sold out in about 3 hours, so I expect next year to sell out even faster. So fast fingers on the computer will be needed when the registration opens on October 1st. Be super quick to enter if you want to do this race! 

I will enter again next year as it is such a great race and location. A couple of days on the beach or by the pool after the race is a great way to recover. And the diving is supposed to be very good.

Already have my race kit picked out for Cebu next year.

And here is a good review of the course. I agree with pretty much everything, except for the condition of the roads on the bike course. Some sections were very rough.

http://www.asiatri.com/2015/08/cebu-ironman-70-3-philippines-course-review/

And for those thinking trying to make the 2016 70.3 Worlds, this will wet your appetite!

https://youtu.be/v8Z6FvF8hIE

Keren