Raymondted Morena Apostol, the first Filipino who made history at the toughest triathlon on planet in 2021, is attempting to succeed at two of the hardest triathlons this year in Italy and France.
Raymondted partook in Bearman Ironman last year in France, which was touted as the toughest triathlon in 2021.
This year, he will be joining the ICON – Livigno Xtreme Triathlon in Italy on September 2, 2022, and will rejoin the Bearman Xtreme Triathlon in France on September 17, 2022, which qualifies 28 athletes only to do the triathlon which covers 8,848 metres of elevation which is the height of Mr. Everest in a single day for 22 hours.
He will be the only Filipino to join the two major events for triathletes across the world.
The Xtreme triathlon has been known for its out-of-the-box challenges, including cold and dark swimming activities. Hard bike and run courses with the highest elevation and most conducted in remote and isolated areas. Athletes need to do a lottery to enter the race. The Filipino emergency medical technician got lucky as he was granted a slot on first 50 registrants.
“The Icon race is known for two things first is the coldest swim as the lake is situated already at 1800 meters above sea level with water temperature around 14-18 degrees Celsius (and swimming in the dark as the race starts in early mornings) and the legendary Stelvio pass which is every cyclist dream which consists of 48 hairpins bend and 2800 meters elevation gain (the whole bike course is 200 Km with 5000 meters of elevation). The run course is not short of the challenge either as it is a 42KM run and ends at Livigno Carousel at 3,000 meters,” he told The Global Filipino Magazine.
Meanwhile, his second race, Bearman 8848 will be in Amelie, France. It’s dubbed as the toughest one-day triathlon even on the planet.
“Entry is not simple as the athlete needs to finish one of the toughest triathlons on earth Bearman Extreme XXL (did this one last year). Bearman 8848 includes a cold and dark swim of 3.8KM, a bike course of 200KM with 6500 meters of elevation, and lastly a run course of 45K with 5000 meters of elevation completed in multiple loops,” he said.
Preparation
Raymondted has been preparing for the big games in the last seven months by averaging a weekly 20 hours training load while juggling work. Since the start of the summer season in the country, his training is done indoors and early in the morning.
“As I am trying to save as much as I can since my wife and I know that the trip will cost much, I opted not to hire a coach. All my training and preparations are based on my own research and mostly on what worked for me during last year’s events and mostly improve it this year,” he said.
Last year, he received support from private entities, including Cyclezone Shop Abu Dhabi which provided him with an entrance fee, triathlon uniform, bike-related concerns, and athlete support.
One great addition of support this year comes from BMC Middle East which has provided him with their top-of-the-line bike frame, which is their lightest racing bike frame. According to him, it’s an upgrade from the one he used last year.
His family and friends have also supported him financially during the competition.
“The planning of this endeavor is not possible without mentioning my wife Cen Abegail Advincula. As she has been an amazing support in terms of planning the races, the trip, the visa requirements, and all the items needed to make sure that in September I would only think about the race day. Also, she will play a major part in both of my races as a support crew, driving, taking videos and photos and following me around during the race in some parts will run with me to encourage me and to push me to completion,” Raymondted added.
