FAT is honored to recognize Noah as April Member Spotlight. Noah comes from an active background, willing to try about anything. Growing up he was involved in some familiar Pinoy sports/pastimes. Tag (langit lupa), black one two tree, tumbang preso, patintero, basketball, volleyball, Chinese garter, jackstone, teks, swimming, the works! He unknowingly was setting himself up to be multi sport ready down the road. In high school he did Judo, which he felt helped him to have the work ethic necessary for training and competition goals.
Noah heard about Fil Am Tri after doing a brick in Long Beach, CA. There he met Thomas, Reymund and Edgar, members of Adobovelo. He decided to give riding with the group a try, though he mentioned he was dropped on all of them. Not to be deterred he kept at it and eventually met Noriel who made the introductions to Arland and, consequently FAT. Soon he met other wonderful members of NoCal and SoCal and in time joined the fun!
When training is not too overwhelming, Noah is an avid reader. He also tried to make other interesting hobbies happen for him while getting more into the triathlon world: being in a band and collecting exotic fish for his 180 gallon fish aquarium yowzers! He soon found though he couldn't have those hobbies coincide with the tri world, so he dropped the band and sold his fish friends to new homes in exchange for buying tri gear! Dedication at its best. He enjoys the perks of eating whatever he wants because of the tri training so likes to go out and try different cuisines.
Noah's favorite race of 2011 was the Filipinotown 5K. It was his favorite because he worked really hard for it and attained his goal. He did it in 2010 in 24 minutes. After training for 2 months for the event, in 2011 he finished it in 18:52! He was very proud of that time!
For 2012 his goals are sub-90 minute half marathon, sub-2:15:xx international distance tri, 4:45:xx HIM at Cebu, and fulll IM at Arizona. He accomplished the first two goals and has two more to go. Another huge goal is zero accidents for 2012. He had two bike crashes in 2011 that resulted in two ER trips and a bunch of stitches. Here's to staying safe for 2012!
His favorite quotes to share with everyone: "When you treat people right and you have the heart for everybody, they will respect you, love you and remember you.” ~Laura Elorde, Flash Elorde's (Filipino boxer) wife.
Also, be happy!!! He's a very positive and happy person. Life's too short to worry about things that will not make you better. Go for what makes you happy and as long as your not hurting anyone or neglecting your relationships, go for it.
He wants to say thanks to Fil-Am Tri for introducing him to a great group of people who likes triathlons as much as he does. It's great to be within a group friends who understands his drive to get better. It's a lifestyle and not a hobby. Thanks also to the rabbits in Socal FAT and Adobovelo. You guys know who you are. You guys make us want to be better.
This thing wouldn't be complete without thanking his supporters which are again family and friends. Of course there's Fil-Am tri. There's also Tri-lapia which was his first triathlon group made up of himself and 4 of his friends. The name came from the fish tilapia... There's his sister Pia who says she's his number one supporter. That and the countless good looking guys at races. Then there's also his two brothers and his mom who also comes down to his races. His sister runs and so does his other brother and mom. One more brother and we should be good to go. Then there's Amy who's recently come into the picture.