Santé, a provider of premier organic health and wellness products and services, recently launched its very own Santé Barley Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) Team in a bid to serve as an inspiration to the sports community, as well as its business owners and stakeholders.
The Santé Barley OCR Team is the second sports team under the brand, the first being the Santé Barley triathlon team, which was founded seven years ago. Joey Marcelo, CEO of Santé and a triathlete, said that unlike triathlon, obstacle course is relatively more accessible to those who want to venture into sports.
“Obstacle Course Racing is an emerging sport not only in the country but also, worldwide. We noticed it’s easy to shift to an obstacle course after running,” said Marcelo. “We have thousands of distributors in the Philippines and across other countries and, we want them to venture into sports and OCR can be a good starting point for them.”
He also noted that Santé is all about promoting health and wellness. “It’s not just about the food you eat that is important but also how you maintain an active lifestyle. We want to be a good role model for the community, and OCR is something exciting for us,” he added.
Carlos Paca, captain of Santé Barley OCR Team, said that they have an existing roster of athletes from the competitive to recreational ones. They went on to discuss with Santé how they were going to be involved with the team and, as they say, the rest is history.
He added that obstacle course racing is one of the faster growing sports today, and is in its relative infancy locally.
“Our team has been competing overseas, especially that we have limited races in the local scene,” said Paca. “As passionate athletes, we want OCR to thrive in the country and share it to a bigger community. That is why it helps to get the support of an established brand to promote the sport further.”
Jan Raven Quan, coach of Santé Barley OCR Team, added that they all come from different backgrounds.
“We formed a bond through OCR because it’s a sport that you can enjoy regardless of what fitness level you are in. Some of us are runners, some of us do cross fit—It’s a range of different types of athletes. It doesn’t matter what your sports background is, or if you’re competitive or just doing it for recreational. We are united because of our shared love for the sport,” said Quan.
The Santé Barley OCR Team is set to participate in local races this year, including the Allianz OCR Sunday happening in Filinvest City, Alabang on March 31, 2019, as well as Spartan Beast and Sprint in Batangas set on May this year.
