The second Hermosa Triathlon will be held in Zamboanga City on Oct. 30 after a three-year pandemic-induced hiatus as the city reasserts its position as one of the country’s leading sports tourism destinations.

The Hermosa Triathlon is part of the city’s annual La Hermosa Festival and is held under the auspices of the city government and its tourism office.

Mayor John Dalipe gave the green light for the holding of the swim-bike-run event with City Administrator Mario Yanga and City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandez as co-chairs of the Hermosa Festival organizing committee.

The city officials on Tuesday presided over the official launching of the month-long La Hermosa Festival, with Mayor Dalipe vowing to make this year’s La Hermosa Festival a grand celebration of colors or “Celebracion de Colores.”

The race starts with swim off the city’s Plaza del Mar with a line of colorful vintas marking the 1.6-kilometer course; a 45-kilometer through the Zamboanga West Coastal Road up to the Zamboanga Economic Zone and back; and ending in an 11-kilometer two-loop run course through the scenic R. T. Lim Boulevard.

It will climax the month-long La Hermosa Festival, one of the country’s oldest and most colorful religious and cultural festivals. It is also known as Fiesta Pilar, which honors the city’s patron saint, Our Lady of Pilar.

The race is organized by Fuerza Multisports — the event organizing arm of Trimac Coaching under Head Coach and Race Director Jojo “Jomac” Macalintal — in cooperation with its local partners, the Zamboanga Trail Runners (ZTR).

The event was first held in 2019 and was participated in by local triathletes and entries from all over Mindanao and the Visayas and from as far as Metro Manila. The pandemic, however, sidelined the event in 2020 until Mayor Dalipe called for its revival last July.

Supporting the event are: Nature’s Spring Water, Pocari Sweat, Compressport, Unison Bikeshop, Cignal TV, Milcu, Brooks, TYR, Gu, Berocca, and Adventure Athletics. (PNA)