I have been racing in competitions almost half of my life — in all distances from 5K to the Ironman — since 1993.
And when I’m not competing, I am an avid spectator as coach of serious runners and triathletes in these endurance sports. In my devotion to witness them achieve what we had trained hard for, I would even travel with them in their sporting events. To me, that is my work, my passion on the other side of the fence.
I was also an enthusiastic spectator during the 2nd Dumaguete Triathlon event held in 2019, where I experienced a magnificent sporting event that I never expected to be organized in that caliber from a small town.
Coming from the big city of New York, and having raced in various states in America and in Canada, I was truly in awe of the quality of organization, and the magnitude of participation in what I saw during the Dumaguete triathlon that was put together by local talents three years ago.
During this pandemic year, I was honored to be asked to be part of the organizing committee as Lead Marshal of the Transition Area for the 3rd Dumaguete Triathlon that just concluded last Sunday, April 10.
In a triathlon event, the transition area is the staging place for all the bicycles (road bikes, triathlon bikes, mountain bikes) of the participating athletes, hanging on assigned metal racks according to the racer’s bib number. Below each bike is the racer’s other essentials like helmet, cycling glasses, cleats, nutrition and hydration bottle, running shoes arranged in a basket.
The triathlon starts with the swim leg, and upon exiting from the water, the participant runs to the Transition Area to pick up his bike, and moves out towards the road to begin the cycling leg. When the bike route is completed, the participant goes back to the Transition Area to return his bike on the rack, and moves out again towards the road to begin the third leg of the race, which is running.
To be honest, I don’t have formal experience in staging and marshaling a Transition Area, even as a volunteer, but it didn’t deter me from wanting to help complete an important task. Afterall, from my many years of actually racing triathlons here and abroad the past 29 years, I was certain I have a good idea about how a Transition Area works. I think I have already memorized how many seconds I want to stay in a Transition Area as I switch gears and move one. Efficiency around the area is key.
Thorough planning is a vital ingredient for a smooth transition during a triathlon event. It starts with finding an area that could accommodate the number of bikes and bike racks, considering that the bikes have to be spaced evenly with enough room (a little more than the width of the bike’s handlebar) in between bikes. Scouting the area, and visualizing the placement of rack, and flow of triathlete traffic comes next, and measuring the area to make sure there’s ample space for them to get in, change gears, and move out of the Transition Area.
A “smooth and quick flow” of the athletes’ movements in the Transition Area is seriously considered to allow them the opportunity to spend the least amount of time from the swim- to-bike transition, and from bike-to-run transition, as every second counts.
Harold Piñero, lead marshal for the swim leg, together with Race Director Niño Pinero, thoroughly studied the layout of the 1.5 kilometer-route that started from the concrete ramp at the end of Pantawan II, swimming northward in a triangular form, and moving clockwise back to the Pantawan.
The placement of the buoys to determine the distance of each turn, totaling 1.5 kilometers, was a task of its own.
A contingency plan was also planned in case of a storm, or if the weather conditions could be unsafe for the swimmers.
Scuba divers played an important role to keep everyone safe underwater, to make sure everyone stayed afloat. Volunteer boaters from barangay Looc and the Philippine Coast Guard were on the look-out around the swim course.
The bike course was also carefully- planned to make it not only challenging, but also enjoyable.
The two-loop course started at the Rizal Boulevard, going northward to the turning point at barangay Bantayan, back to the Boulevard, turning right to Colon St., left at Perdices St., and heading up to Jose Romero Road, and turning left towards Junob, onto the Diversion Road upto the turning point at barangay Bajumpandan, then back down to the boulevard, tracing the same route.
Total road closures along the bike course were imposed in the morning of race day for safety reasons. With the cooperation of the barangay officials along the route, all road corners had to be made inaccessible to all other vehicles.
The Philippine National Police and Highway Patrol Group were in full force to ensure the safety of the athletes and the spectators alike. The local businesses and the churches (since the event was held on Palm Sunday) were also informed by the City Tourism Office about the event to make them aware of the foreseen inconveniences that could affect people’s movements during race day that the local government unit was organizing.
The run leg was also a loop course, starting from the boulevard going north, left on Silliman Avenue, right turn at Hibbard Avenue, running all the way to barangay Bantayan towards the turning point at 2.5 kilometers, heading back southward to Perdices St., left turn at Bishop Surban St. at Quezon Park, left at the boulevard for the second loop. Water stops were strategically placed to keep the athletes hydrated during the run.
Day before the race, we started installing the metal bike racks, and indicating the bib number stickers. We also had to secure the racks with steel railings to fence-in the Transition Area for security reasons. Afterall, some of the bikes there could cost several hundreds of thousands of pesos. We asked for four uniformed guards-on-duty to keep the transition area safe and secure.
Day before the race, the athletes were scheduled to claim their race bibs from the Negros Oriental Convention Center, attend the race briefing, and partake of the sumptuous carbo-loading dinner catered by McNeloy’s La Caviteña.
Dr. Santiago Tiongson, lead marshal of the registration committee, worked with his team to make sure each of the athlete’s identity was verified, and that they each received their racing kits that included the race bib numbers to be installed on their bikes and helmets, a timing chip, together with a nice drawstring bag and race t-shirt.
The volunteers were also on hand for the body marking (wherein their respective race numbers were boldy painted on the athlete’s arms and legs).
On race day, all race personnel and volunteers arrived by 3:30 in the morning, before the official opening of the Transition Area at 4am.
Chiqui Reyes, sports personality and the voice of Ironman Philippines, was also the official announcer of the Dumaguete Triathlon. His wit and energy truly kept the athletes’ spirits high from the opening until the awarding ceremony.
For the next hour before the 6am race time, one could see the athletes at the Transition Area, doing their final equipment check, preparing all other things needed for the race. By 5:10 in the morning, the announcement came to already clear the Transition Area in ten minutes. My team started to make a sweep of the area from one end to the other, until all athletes had complied.
After a brief ceremony, with a prayer led by Evelyn Ho and singing of the Pambansang Awit, the triathletes all walked down to the end of Pantawan to start the race.
The swim started on time, and the race went as planned. Volunteers, together with the PNP and the Tourist police, worked together keeping the roads safe. Along the race course were a number of support on motorbikes, to provide help if anyone needed bike assistance. There were also a number of ambulances on stand-by.
To make sure that all athletes were accounted for, whether they completed the race or DNF (did not finish), the last finisher was escorted by the safety officers all the way to the finish line on Burgos St., where each time was digitally recorded.
The Team Achtung Larga-Biya organizing committee — composed of Dongdo Cordova, Irwin Uypitching, Raymond Alo, Dr. Gogo Tiongson, Harold Piñero, Rodrigo Callora, myself, and Race Director Coach Niño Piñero — wish to thank all the sponsors: Department of Tourism, Metro Dumaguete Water, the PNP and Tourist Police, the HPG, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Red Cross, the City Disaster Risk-Reduction & Management Office, the City Health Office, NORAD, the Coast Guard, all the barangay officials, the Dumaguete LGU headed by Mayor Ipe Remollo for making the 3rd Dumaguete Triathlon a success.
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Author’s email: Ironmandario@gmail.com
