DID you know that Obstacle Course Race (OCR) is one event where Filipinos can be very dominant worldwide?
In fact, three Pinoys are in the Guiness Book of World Records for setting benchmarks in different OCR categories: Elias Tabac, who is the highest OCR record holder when he climbed the 5,714 meter Mt. Kilimanjaro ahead of the world’s best in September 2021; as well as Mark Julius Rodelas and Kaizen dela Serna.
[See Pinoy ninjas reset Guiness records in obstacle race]
The Philippines will now be staging its first-ever Spartan Stadion event on Saturday at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac as it aims to discover more prospects to widen the pool of our national OCR athletes.
“We are very competitive,” said Spartan Race Philippines general manager Dr. Mark Laurenze Celis who stressed that unlike in other sports, height is not much of a factor in their sport.
“The good thing about OCR and Spartan race is you have pros and cons, height can be a pro but it can be a con in some obstacles. Just in the 2019 SEA Games, we were able to get 7 out of the 7 gold medals for OCR and that speaks a lot for the Filipinos,” he added.
Celis bared that the Filipinos' natural resiliency and agility bring in a distinct advantage.
“Filipinos are actually a breed to watch out for when it comes to Spartan race and OCR. We are looking for athletes who can represent the Philippines,” said the Spartan official.
The soft-spoken sports executive also bared that Tabac, the Pinoy Guiness record holder for mountain climbing OCR, was a trail walker in Mindanao who collect dried tree branches and coconut in the mountains before hitting it big in OCR.
“That’s where he started and we were so surprised he dominated the competition the first he competed,” said Celis. “So this sport brings hope to many Filipinos. And we are looking around for more Eliases.”
Battle of the fittest
The 1st Philippine Spartan Stadion has attracted 1,600 entries who will be tested in a series of obstacle races of different lengths and difficulty levels ranging from five kilometers to marathon distances.
All Spartan courses are designed to physically challenge every participant, who are assured to go through mud, water, barbed wire and other obstacles using the world-class facilities of the New Clark City, which also hosted the 2019 SEA Games.
New Clark City and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) senior vice-president for corporate services group Arrey Perez is thrilled at the possibility of their facilities becoming the home of Philippine Spartan.
"The intensity and excitement of the Philippines’ first-ever Spartan Stadion race is exactly what the BCDA is looking to bring back in New Clark City, two years after serving as one of the centerpiece venues of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games,” said Perez.
“Hosting this momentous race cements New Clark City’s profile as a prime venue for sporting events and as an ideal destination for developing strong athletes from all walks of life. We share Spartan Race Philippines’ vision of boosting Filipinos’ confidence in the country’s ability to recover from this health crisis through sports andwellness,” he added.
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