Challenge Vietnam 2016 ROCKS!

Vietnam
I had only been to Vietnam once.  It was a leisure trip with my family at Ho Chi Minh City. This first visit allowed me to see a fast developing city and made me appreciate fully the hardships they had endured during the war.  The Vietnamese are truly a resilient race and their kindness makes one feel at ease when moving about in the country. With this, I knew I had to go back.

Drive from  Nha Trang Airport to the city center

News on Challenge Vietnam
I heard about the Vietnam race through the Tri-Clark What's App grapevine sometime 2015.  My team mates got confirmation that the  Nha Trang, Vietnam race would be added to Challenge's half distance triathlon circuit.  

There was a lot of excitement as most of us had not raced in Vietnam!  It was also mentioned in the back and forth flurry of messages that Eric Imperio and his ExTribe team would serve as the Technical consultant for the race. This news made it all the more attractive as Eric, his wife Taleng and the Extribe crew were friends from way back. Plus, I was confident of the race quality that would come from them.  I was fortunate to have joined their well attended Whiterock Triathlon and Balai sa Laiya Extreme Triathlon. With this, I was convinced that the race would be well organized and that athletes would be well cared for from start to finish.

Tri-Clark Team Challenge Vietnam contingent

Registration, Flights and Hotels
As traveling triathletes the 3 most important areas that need to be worked on at least 6-12 months before a race is the race registration, flight and hotel bookings.  Mac, our current Tri Clark President registered 10 Tri Clark Team members for the race.  Allan, Art and Rene worked on the flight and hotel bookings for all triathletes flying from Manila. While I made arrangements for myself as I would be coming from Singapore.

I was able to get round trip flight from Singapore to Nha Trang via Ho Chi Minh  on Vietnam Airlines for SGD265 or PHP8,800 with 30 kg bag allowance. Then proceeded to book my 5 night stay via booking.com's website.  We all decided to stay at Azura Hotel which was centrally located and a quick 10 minute walk from the race venue. Average cost per night in a standard room was USD 25 or PHP1,200.

I decided to fly in on 8th Sep to give me enough time to rest a few days and enjoy the sights prior to the race.

Nha Trang's main beach area

Pre-Race
We had ample time to savor Vietnamese fare in restaurants within walking distance from our hotel. The average meal with drinks in a simple restaurant costs around VND150,000-200,000 or P300-400.  We would then walk to a nearby Vietnamese cafe to get a shot of their drip coffee with milk over ice and with a glass of Jasmine tea that helps cleanse the palate.  If we were in a rush we would just buy a Banh mi (PHP 40) a filling and delicious Vietnamese sandwich, or a bowl of steaming Pho with beef or chicken for PHP 100.

Banh Mi stand

Beef Pho

Vietnamese drip coffee at Me Trang

As soon as Rene, Mac, Allan, John and Art arrived on the 9th we agreed to set-up the bikes to give us time to check the course on the 10th and do the necessary adjustments on the bike with the bike mechanics on site.

Bike check

Bike out!

Carbo Load Dinner and Race Briefing

The dinner that the organizers set on the 9th was amazing. We had a wide array of Vietnamese dishes to choose from and meats and seafood that we could barbecue ourselves with coals in a clay container laid on top of our table! Free flow of drinks were made available to us as well. Truly one of the best pre race dinners I have had!

What a spread!

Vietnamese dance

Let's eat!

Grill your own!

The race briefing held on the 10th was short and sweet, Eric and his swim, bike and run technical directors were on hand to answer queries that the triathletes would have regarding the course and nutrition that would be available.

Pros with Technical Race Directors at the Race Briefing

Race Day
We all agreed to meet at the hotel lobby at 430 am. We then made the easy 10min stroll to the race site.  We had ample time to do the last minute checks on our equipment, do last minute hydration and warm ups.  The day was cool and the clouds overcast.  

Swim Start
It was a rolling start with pro men coming in first, the women pro second, men age groupers third and women/relay last in the water.  
The water was warm and calm through out the swim. 

We were off to a good start.

Bike, Run and Finish 

After the 1.9km (Note: we heard after the race that the swim distance was approximately 2.6km because the buoys moved a bit due to the heavy rainshower the night before the race) swim we got a well-deserved freshwater shower and then made our way to the nearby transition area. we got a well- deserved freshwater shower and then made our way to the nearby transition area.  We had organized all our gear in a white waterproof container.

The first 9 km of the bike course was generally flat, but immediately after this the course was filled with hills through out!  The hills are definitely alive in Nha Trang! The course was difficult but the scenery made up for the Challenge we were going through.

As I steadily  did my loops, I was able to see Allan,  then John and Mac zooming away on the course. And by the time I began my run, they were already on the last 8 km of the run !

The run was generally flat  and once again we were treated with beautiful scenery with the generous and kind locals helping cheer us on!  John clocked in the best time.  Alan followed shortly, then Mac.

Alan at the Finish!

John at the Finish!

As i was running, I was happily plodding along and thinking about how lucky we are to do the thing we love doing most at such beautiful surroundings. We are indeed blessed. Life is good!

I crossed the finish line past 1pm with a big smile on my face, legs aching and a livelier  color on my skin!  Our friend Janice, said my name loudly on the loudspeaker while Andrew gladly took my photo at the finish.  Mac then greeted me and said that they had already started drinking ice cold beer at the expo area.  I said I would follow after the ice bath and much needed leg massage!
We all finished and finished strong!

Podium Finish Surprise and After Race Partyyyy

After the massage I had a beer with the gang.  Mac, Allan and John  had waited for me for over an hour!  Rene made his way after the swim while Art also went ahead after his run.  The rest of us headed back to the hotel to freshen up after a few more beers!

I had the best news in this race! Janice and Alman, who were both in the organizing team, had told me that I got the silver in my age group. And that I was initially listed in the men's group, but they realized they had made a mistake. Hahaha!  I am glad to be in the women's category!:)

We drank a couple more beers while waiting for the organizers to award my age group. A pleasant surprise indeed it was for me to have gotten a podium finish. I could get used to this! 

We had a humongous buffet after the race and the guys even tried the barbecued alligator!  I passed on this.
After the big late lunch we rested at the hotel then hit the road once again but this time it was to partyyy!

The after race party was at the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in Nha Trang!  We got a fantastic 360 degree view of the city while drinking our ice cold Budweiser beer to the music being played by the DJ!
The excellent race day in perfect weather conditions was topped off  by a one of a kind party that showed off Vietnamese hospitality at its best!  Kudos and a big THANKS to the Challenge Vietnam 2016 organizers for making this once in a lifetime long distance triathlon event a reality!

We will definitely be back!


Other expenses to guide you in budgeting a race in Nha Trang :
Taxi to and from airport - you can negotiate this for VND250,000 to VND400,000
If they use the meter it may cost VND450,000-550,000
SIM Card - with data only good for 20 days VND120,000-170,000
Food - VND300,000-VND400,000 per day
Water - VND7,000-10,000 for a 1.5L bottle
Beer or Coffee - VND20,000-30,000
Taxi around town - VND30,000-60,000