Coach Miguel "Ige" Lopez is a Hammer Nutrition Philippines coach who has coached triathlon, road running and trail running since 2004, and has been a fixture in endurance and adventure sports since the 1990s. A mountaineer first, he raced the first iron-distance triathlon in the Philippines in 2002, finished the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2015 and raced the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona in 2022. Tatler Asia calls him "amongst the top, most sought after, running coaches in the country." Follow him on Instagram at @igelopez and @coachigelopez.
From the mountains to Kona
Before triathlon came the mountains. Ige was an avid mountaineer with the Association of Mountaineering Clubs of the Philippines (AMCI) and took up running in college as base fitness for hiking and climbing. A 5 km race in his AMCI training lit the spark, and triathlon, adventure racing, mountain biking and trail running followed.
- 2002: the first iron-distance triathlon in the Philippines, at Matabungkay Beach in Lian, Batangas. 15th in 13:36:58.
- 2007: the Mount Kinabalu Climbathon.
- 2012 and 2013: the XTERRA World Championship.
- 2015: the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, 170 km through France, Italy and Switzerland, finished with his Salomon Pilipinas teammate. He called it "nothing short of magical."
- 2022: the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, 20 years after his first iron-distance race.
Coach since 2004
Coaching started with friends asking for tips. Two decades on, he coaches individuals, teams and companies, online and in face-to-face sessions and camps, turning enthusiasts into runners, into cyclists, and eventually into multisport athletes. He runs trail running weekends, triathlon camps and Triathlon 101 days for first-timers, and started The Dirt School Philippines trail community with his wife.
His athletes tag their finishes #CoachIgeMadeMeDoIt, from first 70.3s and mountain ultras to the World Marathon Majors. Tim Yap, whom we also fuel, earned his Six Star medal at the Tokyo Marathon in 2025 and thanked Coach Ige and Hammer Nutrition Philippines at the finish.
His advice on picking a coach is simple: "Dapat someone na makakarelate ka." Find someone you can relate to.
Coach and athlete
Coach Ige still races, often alongside the people he coaches.
- Cordillera Mountain Ultra, December 2024.
- A podium in the 21 km at Ahon's 10th anniversary trail race in Lian, Batangas, March 2025.
- Osaka Marathon, February 2026, with the Dan's x Mizuno Philippines team: 3:13:32.
- Santé Barley Trilogy Run Leg 3, a night race around Manila, September 2026.
- Spectra Run 2026, a hilly 10-miler, September 2026: on the podium again, and "always thankful that I can still run and enjoy such challenging routes."
How he fuels
Coach Ige keeps his fueling simple and lives by the "less is best" approach Hammer teaches: take in only what your body can use. His race fuel is Hammer Gel, taken with water. For the Osaka Marathon he followed his fuel plan, carrying the set number of gels next to his shoes and bib, and finished in 3:13:32. After the race, he recovers with Recoverite.
Hammer Nutrition Philippines supports him on race day, and he tags us from the Ahon trail podium to Spectra Run.
The coffee roaster
Coffee is Ige's other passion. In May 2020 he and his wife launched Alab Coffee Company ("alab" means a burning flame), a small-batch roastery from Southern Luzon with freshly roasted beans and cold brew. Ige roasts the beans himself, like a recent lot from Besao, Mountain Province, washed and roasted medium dark. Alab sold out at its first Nuvali Locals weekend market in August 2026, back where the story began, and running and coffee finally met in a limited-edition shirt tagged #CoachIgeMadeBrewIt.
Watch Coach Ige
Going long? See our Marathon, 50k Trail Run and Half or Full Iron Distance fuel guides.