Bleachers Brew: Bleachers' Brew #250 Xterra Xcellent

This appears in the Monday March 7, 2011 edition of the Business Mirror.

Xterra Xcellent

piece & pics by rick olivares

The quiet seaside town of Liloan, Cebu woke up last Sunday March 6, 2011, with a buzz in the air. The town fiesta was more than two months away (the feast of San Fernando Rey) but the people woke up to a buzz in the air.

Liloan, which had got its name from the numerous whirlpools (from the word Cebuano word “lilo”) caused by the ebb and tide of the water, was decked with buntings that criss-crossed the paved and dirt roads. As early as 6:45 in the morning, crowds lined up the streets, miniature Philippine flags in hand, to cheer on the some 85 athletes who took part in the first full Xterra in the country (there were previous versions but they were running legs). Said Noel Salazar, a resident of the town, “Excited kami na may event na ganito sa amin. Nakita mo naman nasa labas lahat ang mga tao.”

Xterra. It’s the bruise brother of triathlon except that it’s played out in a more difficult terrain. The race is a three-part competition featuring a 1.5 km swim leg (off the Amara pier), a 32 km mountain bike ride (two loops of going right through the Amara residential estates to the flat, narrow and unpaved roads of Barangay Catarman before traversing the difficult Calero Cemetery before exiting then to Porter Marina and the Liloan lighthouse), and lastly, a 10 km run (on paved and unpaved roads around the Amara area including some low tide beach running).

Eighty-two adrenaline junkies as well as risk and challenge takers from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Scotland, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States took part in the tough yet scenic course. “Xterra isn’t just a race competition,” said Alaska Milk Corporation Wilfred Uytengsu who also brought the Ironman triathlon to the Philippines two years ago. “It’s an event that uses sports to promote tourism in our country because the participants can see the beauty of the Philippines while they navigate the course.”

“During the run race, I sort of noticed the bamboo bridges and ponds with all these fish,” recounted American female pro Shonny Vanlandingham who won the women’s competition with a time of 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 39 seconds. “I said, ‘oh, how nice.’ But I had to keep my mind on the road. I’d love to come back and see the route again. That and other places here in the Philippines.”

If Vanlandingham had to purge her mind of distractions, Englishman Sam Gardner was worried about his hurting calves that caused him to stop running for two weeks before leaving for the Philippines. “I didn’t feel too good at the start of the race,” said the former fire fighter. “And it carried over to the race and I only came out the swim in fifth place. Now my strength is the bike race and I knew that if I wanted to win the competition this was where I had to make up the lost ground and get a sizeable lead.”

Compounding Gardner’s woes was when he took a spill in “the graveyard” as the participants called the Calero Cemetery. Because of the jagged rocks that lined the road, many athletes had to deal with flat tires to their mountain bikes.

But incredibly, the Englishman came flying in and finished number one overall with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 29 seconds (six minutes ahead of Vanlandingham).

“My crash was a little interesting but there were a lot of people cheering and high-fiving that it gave me a little push,” said Gardner of the support shown by the townsfolk.

Cagayan de Oro native Neil Catiil, the reigning Ironman 70.3 Champion was the top Filipino finisher with a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, and 52 seconds and fifth overall finisher. “Grabe yung init,” he exclaimed as he crossed the finish line. “But it’s all good! Iba yung may mga tao na nag-bo-boost sa yo.”

“I basically doused myself with a lot of water and drank lots of Gatorade,” offered Gardner on tips about beating the stifling heat.

The general consensus about the first full Xterra in the Philippines was it was great for a first time staging. Vanlandingham, who has pretty much competed all over the world, was effuse in her praise. “The production and community support is definitely number one in my book. Normally, there are problems for first timers. But they got everything right.”

Uytengsu, who was born in Cebu, was quick to point out the numerous firsts of the competition. “It was held in Cebu under the auspices of Gwendolyn Garcia, the first woman governor in the 500-plus years of the province. And we also had a local – a homegrown one at that – to be the first one out of the water.”

That was Lorendale Echavez (in the middle in the picture to the left. Sportswriter Ruel Vidal is on the extreme left), an 18-year old national swimmer from the University of San Carlos who powered Team Reuben to the top of the early standings in the team relay by coming out of the cold waters of the Camotes Sea with a time of 22 minutes and 1 second. “I was surprised to see and hear people cheering for me as I got out of the water,” said the BS Biology student. “I had no idea I was leading the swim leg. I was just so focused.”

“I had a great time myself,” said Dave Nicholas, Senior vice president for Team Unlimited LLC which owns the Xterra franchise, who firmly placed his stamp of approval on the Philippines’ first time to stage Xterra on its home shores. “When an event leaves good memories then that says a lot. Now I can go on and on just talking about the race, the place, the people, the organization, the food and so on and before you know it – it’s next year again and it’s time for the next Xterra.”