PH marathoner set to brave North Pole race

A Filipino athlete will try to brave the cold weather of the North Pole as he joins the FWD North Pole Marathon on April 9. (Photo: North Pole Marathon/Facebook)

MANILA — A Filipino athlete will try to brave the cold weather of the North Pole as he joins the FWD North Pole Marathon on April 9.

Forty-year-old Louie Sangalang was introduced to the media at the Mind Museum Auditorium in Taguig on Tuesday as the first Filipino to run a full 42-km. race throughout the northernmost point of the world.

“I’m very happy and excited to represent the country kasi (because) this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” said Sangalang, a cancer survivor who turned into sports to get his full strength back.

Aside from running, Sangalang is also into cycling, swimming — he is a triathlete — and even mixed martial arts. He once held the Universal Reality Combat Championship featherweight belt, aside from his running and triathlon trophies.

Currently, he is under the tutelage of personal coach Ige Lopez, renowned triathlon coach Ani Brown, Mt. Everest conqueror Romi Garduce, and TV and radio host Sam Gogna, who himself is a marathon runner.

“We’ve been training for this marathon by doing a lot of long runs,” Sangalang continued, baring that he added a trail run to his training.

On his preparations for the -30-degree Celsius temperature of the North Pole, Sangalang said, “We’re doing it in stages. The first phase is basically terrain and mileage. The second phase is going to be acclimatizing to the cold.”

Sangalang’s team will depart for Tromso, Norway on March 30 to start the acclimatizing phase. The team will then head to the Longyearbyen for the final stages of preparation before going to the North Pole for the race itself.