No more solo runs in 2021 BOSS Ironman Challenge

BOSS has a couple of options to make next year's IMC a reality

The BOSS Ironman Motorcycle Challenge (IMC) is well known event in the motorcycle community. As the name implies, it is a test of a rider’s skill and endurance to finish all of the 1,200 kilometers of the Northern Luzon Loop within 24 hours. However, riders are still required to observe local and national traffic laws.

The event has spun off satellite versions in the Visayas (BOSS IMC Visayas) and in Mindanao (BOSS IMC Mindanao).

The number of participants has been growing each year since the IMC’s inception in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt on all motorcycle-related events. However, its organizers are contemplating the possibility of an event next year with a slight change in its format.

Tey Usis, former president of BOSS (the group behind the IMC) and last year’s IMC chairman, shared with MotoPinas.com that there are a couple of suggestions being laid on the table that might make next year’s event possible. If the coronavirus situation improves and tourism is again allowed by the government, next year’s IMC might push through but in a different format.

“It will be a group ride through North Luzon,” said Usis in Filipino.

To give you an idea, participants will have to group themselves into teams of 10 to 15 riders. The organizers will then schedule the take-off of each group or a couple of groups per week, rather than all in one night. Groups will have to finish the prescribed route just like every IMC event in the past.

For those without a group, the organizers will pool them with the other participants who do not have a group yet. This should help them complete the team requirement.

To minimize crowding, a single checkpoint will be designated along the route. For other checkpoints, participants may be required to take photos of themselves on key points along the way. As always, IMC finishers will get a certificate (and possibly some memorabilia) for completing the challenge.

When asked how organizers plan to foil any creative interpretation of the rules (cheating), Usis simply replied, “Sarili lang nila ang lolokohin nila (They're only fooling themselves.)”

Another measure being studied is an odometer check down to the last kilometer to make sure that everyone has ridden the prescribed route.

Again, whether next year’s IMC goes live or canceled is still being discussed by BOSS. There are no final plans yet but everyone is very optimistic that there will be a 2021 BOSS IMC.