By Madeleine Jeanne Argosino

The Makiling Triathlon Team of  Los Baños competed at the Pilipinas Duathlon Leg 2 at Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club, Cavite last April 14, 2019. The race consists of the standard distance (7 km run, 30 km bike, and 3.5 km run) and sprint distance (3.5 km run, 15 km bike, and 3.5 km run around the country club grounds.

Jozim Eugenio and Luigi Robles placed third and second respectively in the 30-34 age category  for the standard distance while Francis Reyes placed third place in the 25-29 age category. Andrea Sacramento bagged first place in the 25-29 female age category for the standard distance as well.

25-29 Age Category (Female) Standard Distance: Andrea Sacramento wins first place (Photo grabbed from Andrea Sacramento)

Eugenio did not expect to land a place on the podium for the race. According to him, he joined to have fun and to finish the race strong. Reyes also did not expect to win third place for his age category. Despite his training, he admitted that he still struggled during the run and started to develop cramps.

POST-EVENT (L to R): Mak Navarro, Rick Chan, Francis Reyes, Jozim Eugenio, Luigi Robles, Andrea Sacramento, and Mike Villanueva

Finishers also include Rick Chan, Ebe Dancel, Mike Villanueva, and Mak Navarro. Ebe Dancel says the duathlon is his favorite kind of race and he wishes to join more of it in the future.

“There’s nothing like running, then getting on your bike, then running again and sprinting to the finish line,” he said.

The multisport athletes are looking forward to more duathlon races. For now, they will continue their training in preparation for their planned triathlon and duathlon races for 2019.

Eugenio will be preparing for his first Ironman 140.6 in Gurye, Korea this coming September while Reyes will be joining Legs 3 and 4 of Pilipinas Duathlon.

Pilipinas Duathlon consists of three legs/competitions distributed throughout the year. The first leg was held on February 17 at Mimosa Clark, Pampanga with a distance of four km run, 20 km bike, and four km run. The third leg will be held on July 21 at The Villages Clark, Pampanga with two categories: Standard distance (10 km run, 40 km bike, five km run) and the sprint distance (five km run, 20 km bike, five km run).

30-34 Age Category (Male) Standard Distance: Luigi Robles (2nd place) and Jozim Eugenio (3rd place)