Youngsters take center stage ahead of the iron-willed men of endurance racing as they clash for top honors in four age-group divisions in the IRONKIDS Philippines reeling off today at The Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

A total cast of 222 sets out for the swim-bike-run competition over varying distances in each race category of the junior version of the IRONMAN, all eager and ready to get going after being sidelined for a long while due to pandemic.

The centerpiece 13-14 class drew 54 entries, including 37 boys, in a race set over 400-m swim, 12-km bike and 3-km run.

The 6-8 group will be held over the 100m, 2km bike and 1km run distance; the 9-10 bracket will feature 200m swim, 6km bike and 1.5km run, and the 11-12 category is slated over the 400m swim, 6km bike and 2km run.

Action starts at 5 a.m. for the transition open and race briefing with the 13-14 category firing off at 6 a.m. to be followed by the 11-12 side at 6:40 a.m., the 9-10 group at 7:20 a.m. and the 6-8 division at 8 a.m., according to the organizing The IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events Inc.

The 11-12 side includes 25 boys and 20 girls while 40 participants mix it up for the 9-10 trophy, including 23 girls. The 6-8 field features 14 boys and 15 girls.

Meanwhile, over 2,000 entries from 46 nations are all primed for the Megaworld IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines presented by AIA Vitality unwrapping tomorrow, also at The Mactan Newtown, where the stakes are high and the test a lot tougher than past IM staging given a new, refreshed 1.9 km swim, 90km bike and 21k run racecourse.

That includes the bike route featuring the country's newest longest bridge (the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, an 8.9 km toll bridge freeway in Metro Cebu linking the city and Cordova.