The Xterra Putik Pare Event held yesterday in Nuvali, Sta Rosa Laguna was something I had been looking forward to watching all year as I joined the race last year and had heaps of fun…dirty fun, as the name connotes, but good fun nonetheless. Participants of Putik Pare basically have to come in pairs- one does a bike+run, while the other does a run+bike, all off-road, after which they run to the finish together.
Pia and Belle, my girlfriends who came fresh from their XTerra World Champs Maui experience were joining the race and I thought it would be cool to cheer for them in the mud pit- a trademark of the Putik Pare race.
My husband Dan whom I found out does not really have a clue about mountain biking (sorry baby, just an observation) decided to join at the last minute too after deplaning from his Taiwan 70.3 just a week before. Good thing Neil Catiil from the RP Tri Team agreed to be his teammate, and thanks to the loaner Elsworth MTB from Tyrone Regaliza and sponsored entry from TIMEX they were all set!
On race morning I donned one of my remaining stretchy Adidas Climacool shirts which still fit my bulging belly so I was prepared to support/ heckle all the racers. I thought it was very nice to go to an event wherein triathletes are not so pressured about their performance/ PRs…just out to have a good time with buddies!
I was happy to see Polo Tri teens Marc Altura and Javi Ocampo, whom I have seen blossom into the formidable athletes they are now from coaching them in the SuperTriKids and IronKids squads, looking game and raring to get down and dirty for something different than their normal sprint distance races.
I ended up spectating with good friends Alex Bok of TBB, David Almendral and Ton Gatmaitan of Gatorade. They had also decided to set up shop by the mud pit and cheer for friends. The mud pit design this year was more watery than that of last year–but longer. It was a good place to watch as this was the last leg they had to do before heading to the finish line.
One by one the pairs came in, and it was interesting to see how they maneuvered the brown waters–marching, trudging, sloshing–some even swam, using different strokes at that. I conclude that backstroke is most effective as demonstrated by Noel Salvador!
The eventual overall winners for the 3 categories were:
Congratulations to XTerra Phil/ Sunrise Events Inc led by Fred Uytengsu, Guy Concepcion, Princess Galura, and the Technical Crew of Neville Manaois and Jeremy Go for a very well organized race. Hope I can get my feet dirty again for next year’s event!
Filipina Ironwoman 