On August 14, 2011, fifteen athletes from the Big Island of Hawai’i found a new way to get the most out of a destination race adventure. Traveling to Camarines Sur, Philippines, for the 2011 Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines, they visited with local schoolchildren, put on diabetes testing and a dental education clinic, reconnected with generations of relatives, and did their best to spread a little aloha.

It all started when Kona resident and professional triathlete Bree Wee raced in the inaugural event in 2009. She came back to Kona raving about the venue, the race organization and the people of the Philippines and started a buzz about the race within the local triathlon community. Grant Miller and Janet Higa Miller, owners of Kona’s Bike Works triathlon store, decided to put the race on their calendar in 2010. Like Wee before them, the Millers returned to Kona praising the race and marveling at the hospitality they had received. Janet Miller recalls, “I was especially touched by the students and youth that came out to cheer us on through rice paddies and villages.” She recounts being met along the course by school bands and cheering squads and how the youngsters’ high spirits had made her race such a positive experience. “We so appreciated their efforts, we decided to go back in 2011 and bring friends,” says Miller.

The Millers found plenty of enthusiasm for a group trip in 2011. Some members of the group had relatives in the Philippines, and others were venturing to Asia for the first time in their lives. Early on, the athletes decided that they wanted to do something to give back to the community that supports the race. “We wanted to do a mission for the kids in the province where we had raced,” says Miller. The athletes formed the Aloha Tri Sport Goodwill Team. It consisted of eleven individuals who signed up to compete in the full 70.3, four individuals who signed up for the bike and run portions of two relay teams, and a “support group” of family members and friends.

Throughout 2011, the team busied itself raising funds for supplies, organizing shipments and connecting with other organizations to plan the visit. Every member of the team found a way to contribute. Drs. Antonio and Luz Racela, parents of Big Island resident and triathlete Ricci Racela, helped organize the mission through contacts in their hometown of Kansas City, Missouri and in the Philippines. With the help of the Racelas, the team partnered with the World Outreach Foundation of Kansas City and the Naga City Penafracia Lions Club.

Once assembled at the race venue, the team made two site visits, one to a high school and another to an elementary school. Area adults were offered diabetes testing and health information. The team made presentations and distributed school supplies to the younger children and athletic supplies to the high school children. Kona resident and relay team member Madeleine Budde offered a dental education clinic and gave away toothbrushes.

The team members say that the trip was made so much more special because of their interaction with the local community. Susan and Jason Nixon traveled with their daughter, 11-year-old Audrey, to visit some of Susan’s relatives as well as compete in the 70.3. The Nixons spent a few days in Manila visiting with Susan’s aunt and cousins before joining the other Kona competitors in CamSur. Susan Nixon says that she hadn’t been to the Philippines since she was her daughter’s age, and that the trip was “extraordinary” on many fronts. “The race itself was incredible. Every person in the province comes out to cheer you on. You felt like a movie star. I felt really appreciated and really humbled…. The other thing that was amazing was that the group really synched. We did what we wanted to do which was to give back and do it in person.”

Kona resident and relay team member Edgar “Eddie O” Ombac and his wife Rose Lorica-Ombac also used the trip as an opportunity to see family. The parents of both Ombacs live only ninety minutes from the race site. In addition, Eddie, who was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, attended college not far from the race site. The Ombacs visited with family and friends and acted as an informal bridge between the Big Island group and the local community, offering interpretation when needed and introducing the visitors to the local culture.

Eddie Ombac says that the trip, for him, was more about the mission than the race. Nevertheless, he said, “the run course was one of the most amazing run courses I’ve ever done. I would be dancing and moonwalking with the kids who were playing drums. Then the rice fields would be so quiet and serene you almost wanted to stop and look around.”

Kona residents Cliff and Bobbi Acheson had never before ventured from the borders of the United States. They signed up for the race as a lifetime adventure, and were swept along with the power of the mission just like everyone else. Bobbi Acheson recounts the trip as “a very positive experience,” and says that one of the things that made it so special was to watch how the sense of purpose in the trip mellowed out a group of triathletes who would normally be more “Type-A” before a big race. “Everyone was going with the flow,” she said.

For Bobbi, this included interrupting her own race to assist a fellow triathlete. She says it “was pelting rain on the bike.” She was concentrating on keeping her eyes on the road in the rough conditions when she saw a competitor standing on the side of the course with a bike wheel in his hands. She thought to herself, “I’m on a goodwill tour. I’m not racing past this guy.” When she approached him, he said that he had a flat tire and was having trouble repairing it. She passed him some supplies and he was able to get back on the road.

The goodwill team proved to be a tour de force on the race course. Four of its members brought home qualifying slots for their own local race, the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship. Seven competitors made the podium, including professional Bree Wee and Bobbi Acheson, who, even after her stop to help another racer, finished second in her age group. But spending time with the children of the community may be the moments that the Goodwill Team remembers longest. Miller says, “The smiles and hugs that we got were just amazing and made it all worth it.”

Source: Ironman.com

I hope you have had a chance to get some rest following the weekend.

Congratulations on a fantastic event. You and your team did a tremendous job with the event and your hospitality was greatly appreciated. Please pass on my thanks to everyone on your team as everyone was more than helpful at every turn. Everything was made incredibly easy for me and Matthew. It was a pleasure to be part of it.

I’m looking forward to next year.

Scott

I have been extremley impressed by the top standard of your race. Logistics, Race safety, Expo, Hotels, Award banquet have all been outstanding. Everyone has been helpful and friendly. I made a number of new friends and I hope that I will return to race in the future.

Thanks so much for all your great support. Please also give Fred my very best regards.

Warmest regards,
Sandro Angelastri

I had fun, and glad the rice cooker wasn’t working!

As promised, we will have more people coming next year.

I like the idea of using basketball rim as the “target” for trash can, do you have any of those pictures?

Renny Ling
Organizer
Taiwan 70.3

Meg and I have just had a great few days out here. Its has been a special journey and experience. We feel so privileged to have had this opportunity. We had some ups (megs Kona) and downs (my flat tire) in the race but had an unforgettable experience .

We have been really touched by all the children cheering for us so we are going to get involved with the Children’s Hour Charity and make some donations and encourage our friends back home to donate. It is a great idea and we really want to give something back.

Thank you again for everything and we hope the event is on again next year and we can be here again.

All the best,

Luke

Words cannot convey our appreciation for your efforts to produce and organize such a quality event as the Ironman 70.3 Philippines.  It was such a great experience for our Aloha Tri Sports Goodwill Team that we are sure it will be the highlight of conversation for many days to come as we bring our stories back to our friends and family in Kona.

It was so special to us to go into the schools and meet the kids of Naga City and Cam Sur – as it was their cheers and their energy and support along the course on race day  that helped our team to finish.  Each one of our participants finished the race and that in itself made this trip pretty awesome – for everyone to take finisher medals and finisher shirts home.

We hope you both are recovering well as we know how much hard work it takes to put on a race.  And we wish you all the best as you put this race in the history books and move on to the next project which we are sure is not too far away…..

Take good care until we meet again

Salamat po!
Grant and Janet

Hope you’re getting some much deserved rest, I know I am!

Jesse Thomas

Thank you for your invitation to the IM70.3 last WE!

I had a good time and a good race too

Everything is relaxed and easy, well organized. I start to know everyone around here and it feels like home!

Congratulations on putting such a race!

Thanks again for everything, and see you next year for sure! (When do you get the green light from WTC? I can’t see why they would not renew the licence)

I’ll post some photos and a race report shortly on my blog www.erichsports.com. I will keep you posted. More HKG people and friends know about the race now and are keen to join.

Best regards,

Erich Felbabel

Read More

Three years ago IM70.3 arrived in the Philippines. The inaugural event was a smash hit and now, three years later the event has grown into one of the most talked about and biggest ‘shows’ on the Ironman calendar. With 30 slots for the Ford Ironman World Championships in October up for grabs last Sunday, tension and excitement was elevated to an even higher level.

Basically nobody leaves the Philippines disappointed after experiencing the atmosphere and well oiled machine of passionate individuals that put this event together.

Anything can and does happen and I mean that in a positive sense.

From a welcoming committee and dancers at the tiny Naga airport where all athletes are received, to flamboyant cultural shows, and this year, a cirque de solis at the carbo loadin

About the only aspect that is (usually) predictable with this race is the weather. Athletes are warned it is going to get nasty hot.

And this year a rice cooker was added into the redesigned 21km run course.

So when the heavens opened on race day morning and failed to let up until much later in the day, athetes were treated to cooler than predicted conditions, slippery roads and a rice cooker that at its worst, remained tepid.

Taking advantage of the conditions, defending champion Pete Jacobs led out of the swim, stretched his lead on the bike and just to make sure, extended his lead from first year pro and runner up Jessie Thomas (USA) on the run to cross the line and make it back to back wins. Twenty four seconds back, third place was taken by Kiwi, Cameron Brown who like Pete was returning to the Philippines and racing for his second time here. In the ladies race Amanda Stevens was second out the water behind Jacobs. It was looking like Stevens day when the American continued to stretch her lead on the bike and started the run with a 3minute cushion over a chasingBelinda Granger.

Read More