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NO CHALLENGE TOO HIGH OR TOO FAR: RACEYAYA GETS YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

Posted at December 23, 2020

When RaceYaya was recognized as one of the top 100 high-potential Philippine startups at the Philippine Startup Week 2020 (the largest virtual startup conference in the country), we knew we were on the right track.

 To top it off, QBO Innovation’s INQBATION (an incubation program for early-stage startups and supported by the US Embassy of the Philippines) selected RaceYaya as one of the fifteen (15) promising startup teams with disruptive ideas enabled by technology.

Not bad for a passion project that began a few years ago. Since 2017, almost 60,000 athletes have relied on the RaceYaya timing and registration solutions and e-commerce portal.

Our company has always been about helping endurance athletes get the most out of their journey in endurance sports: from new entrants, enthusiasts, experienced and elite athletes who take on the challenges of road running, trail and ultrarunning, obstacle course races, triathlon, cycling and swimming.     

RaceYaya has proudly supported some of the country’s top endurance athletes as they represented the Philippines in international competitions which included the Asia Trail Master Championships, SkyRunning Championships and the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc in Europe.  

Our affordable pricing and user-friendly solutions enable race organizers to manage their events efficiently. This strategy helped us gain global clients from Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Nepal, and Indonesia, serving almost a thousand events which includes the 2019 Golden Trail Series World Championship held in Annapurna in Nepal. 

During our first event, I joked that one day, Killian Jornet (the world’s top ultrarunner of this generation) will be wearing a RaceYaya bracelet and spectators around the world will be tracking his race live in RaceYaya.  Indeed, jokes can turn into dreams which you can turn into reality.  It made us proud that our Filipino-made solutions is being used in a global event.

Buoyed by these successes as a technology solutions product, we spent 2019 back on the drawing board, preparing for a scalable solution that will address the evolving needs of a growing market. 

 We had exciting plans in the pipeline for 2020. However, the COVID-19 global pandemic presented a new set of unprecedented challenges.

Despite the government-mandated lockdown which caused cancellations of almost a hundred events on schedule in the portal, the crisis presented an opportunity.   Quarantined at home, the team kept busy finding means to keep true to its mission to assist endurance athletes. To be their RaceYaya.

Taking advantage of the existing infrastructure and network, RaceYaya reached out to the endurance sports community.  Our team partnered with the Department of Health (DOH) to provide online workout videos that anyone can easily access and follow.  We found viable and creative alternatives to replace the events that were cancelled. By reinventing endurance sporting events that allowed everyone to compete in a virtual challenge, RaceYaya was able to employ an effective model in running, duathlon, climbing, swimming and even an all-women race where thousands of athletes from the Philippines in neighboring countries took part. The results were tremendous!

• We helped our community stay physically and mentally fit in a socially-friendly challenge.

• People who have never done a duathlon were able to conquer the race.

• Many women proved they could finish an ultramarathon. This includes an expectant mom who gave birth on the sixth day of an 8-day event.

• People who have not been running started to run, enjoying its many benefits

RaceYaya also entered into a partnership with the Department of Tourism to promote the majestic mountains of the Philippines. We held virtual challenges for local and international runners to conquer mountains across the archipelago. There was Mt Pulag in the Cordilleras, Mount Parawagan in Rizal province, Mt Apo in Davao, and Mount Kanlaon in the Visayas.   Participants from other countries were one in expressing their eagerness and anticipation to conquer these natural wonders when the pandemic is over and the travel ban is lifted. 

These races also helped raise donations for several highland communities that were affected by the pandemic.   

Everyone has had obstacles to overcome in 2020. For RaceYaya, the pandemic presented opportunities to pivot. It taught us.  Whether it’s the challenge of swimming, cycling, climbing, walking, jumping or running over a certain period of time and conquering these obstacles, endurance sports have taught us perseverance, to find solutions and to overcome in reaching our goals.

RaceYaya’s all-inclusive web portal will address your concerns with you in every step of your journey.

  • A one-stop web portal where you can register, shop and track your athlete performance from training and race results.
  • An interactive community where we converge and connect our partners: race event organizers, trusted and innovative brands and dedicated coaches /experts. 
  • A business model that simplifies and makes the whole journey for endurance athletes flexible, accessible, affordable and adaptable.

Powering RaceYaya is a team of endurance athletes who have decades of experience in different fields of management.  A team who fully understands your needs.  As our name implies, Yaya in the Philippines is a nanny at home whom you can rely on 24/7 for.   Our one-stop web portal supports everyone’s journey in endurance sports –You Race, We’ve got your back!”

This is Tin Ferrera, your RaceYaya

You can reach RaceYaya at:
 Website: Raceyaya.com
Email:
[email protected]
Facebook/InstagramTwitter: yourRaceYaya