REGENT 5150 SUBIC BAY - 1st

3 years ago I won my first ever 5150 title at this event and then last year, managed to defend the title. Having this track record at the REGENT 5150 Subic Bay and being the 2 time defending champion of the race the pressure was on once again to defend the title.

Heading into race day my training had been progressing well after what has been a rough start to the year. The multiple flights to get to Subic Bay in the Philippines were easy enough thanks as always to some great advice from Flight Centre Sports & Events on the travel front. Arriving at the race hotel on the Friday before the race meant that I had a chance to check out the new course as well as have the opportunity to award the IRONKIDS event along with the usual media commitments.

Race morning was certainly a wet one with the rainy weather in Subic Bay making the race much more challenging. Talking with my coach Lance from LifeSport Coaching in the days leading up to the race the plan was pretty simple, just race hard right from the gun. I really attacked the beach swim start (see photo) and was able to open up a good gap early on which extended out to around 1 minute and 30 seconds by the end of the swim leg.

The rain really started to come down as soon as I hit transition which meant that the corners were super slick and the only option was to play it safe around the multiple u-turns and right angled corners. 

With the multiple looped bike course I was able to get a good idea of the time gap to the chasers throughout the bike leg which looked like it was increasing steadily. Without question the rain storm out on the bike leg made for a hard 40km ride as you had to slow right down for each corner and u-turn and then gradually wind up the power out of each corner to avoid any risk of crashing. 

Despite this I was able to put together a good bike split of 59min30sec for the 40km ride.

With a healthy lead built up during the swim and bike I wanted to try and push the run leg and see what kind of 10km hard run I could achieve. The rain had left some huge puddles on the run course and there were multiple times when I was running through ankle deep water which made it slower than I had hoped. 

Coming down the finishing line to win this race for the third year in a row was a pretty special feeling. With the great support from the event organisers – SUNRISE EVENTS, along with ALASKA MILK it always means something extra special to be able to win these races in the Philippines, as it has almost become my second home for racing outside Australia.  

To get my first win for 2017 was certainly a weight off my shoulders and as always it is not possible without the support from my amazing sponsors, coach and support network.