Australian triathlete Rohan Force will be one of the few foreign competitors who will be seeing action in the 6th Mayor’s Cup Age Group Triathlon on November 22, Sunday, 6:30 a.m. at the Queensland Baywalk, Matina, here in Davao City.

Force has been involved with triathlon for over 20 years already, both as a competitor and a coach.

“I resumed as a competitor this year (2009) with a goal of qualifying for the Australian team to compete at the ITU World Championships on Queensland 's Gold Coast, I hadn't competed competitively for 12 years. I obtained my goal and qualified for the sprint distance race 750m swim 20km bike 5km run, I had a solid race, 1st out of the swim, 6th off the bike and 16th overall (my run wasn't very good as I tore my calf muscle 3 days before the race and it was a miracle that I even finished). I used to compete as a professional athlete before my retirement and would call myself a top age grouper nowadays,” he said. I'm excited about competing here in Davao, but I do feel under trained as I've had a break since World Championships in September, I will be doing my best on the day,” he added.

Seasoned triathletes and newbies from different parts of the country are also expected to join the grueling 1km swim, 30 km bike and 8 km run.

According to race director Alex Sam, more than 80 participants have already signed up for this competition including those coming from Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, Cotabato, a Davao based Italian and a couple of American nationals.

Davao City will be represented by more than 40 triathletes mostly members of the Davao City Triathlon Association of Davao (TRIAD).

The top three finishers in the male, female and relay categories will receive cash prizes while all top three in the various age categories will get medals. Age groups are as follows: 16-19, 20-24, 25-29,30-34,35-39,40-44,45-49, 50-54, 55-59 and 60 and above.

The Registration fee is P500 inclusive of the pre-race carbo loading dinner, finisher’s t-shirt and race day snacks. For the team relay, registration is pegged at P500 per team member. An additional fee of P100 will be added for those who will register on race day.

Registration forms are available at MetroLifestyle, Holiday Spa, Sports Depot, Swim Zone and Boondocks. Race briefing, Distribution of race packets and carbo loading will be held at the Grand Regal Hotel on November 21, Saturday at 4 p.m..

The major sponsors of this annual event are PAGCOR, Davao Everflex Electrical and Glassware, Holiday Spa, Metroli-festyle, and Splash, while the minor sponsors are Sports Depot, Metro Plaza, Boondocks, 3MJ, Facil Financing, Blue Gem, Escudero Urology Clinic and benefactor Peter Carriedo. Paul Palo