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Hardcore 100 Race Report

February 26, 2013, 6:35 pm
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“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” (Kahlil Gibran)

The race just took place a few days ago specifically 22-23 February 2013. It started at 12:01AM or thereabouts with a time-barrier of 46 hours. I suspect the cut-off served more to factor in the elevation gain of 10,000 meters but frankly, after crossing the finish line, Simon and I were certain that it could be higher. Same observation from other runners. The RD should be able to give a definite answer to this question.

TRAINING
 
With similar elevation as that of UTMB (9700m in 2011), there is only one kind of training for this, i.e. mountain running. So I frequented the route of CM50 (see logo on the right side) and Mt. Arayat. These were the staple. Also, I grabbed the chance to train on some parts of the course prior to the race specifically Mt. Pulag and Kayapa to Napo and Babadak Ranger Station in a span of 2 days (it was fun except the leech part). Strange that the same nasty conditions - wind, rain and cold up in Mt. Pulag would be present during the race. More on this later. Included in the preparation was the PSA Akyathlon. Hmm, I've also wondered to myself why I have not joined any of the full marathons prior to H1. I don't know but since last year, I have lost appetite for road races with the exception of perhaps, Badwater and Spartathlon :) As they say, we do things to be happy.

GEAR and SUPPLIES
 
Shirt - from kms0-62, WS100 2012 official shirt (very nice skin-feel to it - smooth) and from km63 to finish line is Mountain Hardwear.
Short - TNF Flight series
Hat - Oxfam Trailwalker  official hat
Jacket - Mountain Hardwear and TNF100 windbreaker (lighter for the last part)
Shoes - up to km62 was Altra Superior and Inov8 Roclite 245 until the finish line.
Face - Balaclava
Socks - Icebreaker circa UTMB 2011 against cold, water and incessant rain then Injinji
Backpack - modified Nathan to carry more essentials
Headlamp - Fenix and crappy ones I borrowed (lol! see below)
Gloves - SealSkinz (highly recommended)
Food - home-made Paleo energy bars/cookies/cupcakes

STRESSFUL PRE-RACE

H1 is no exception. There seems to be a pattern to my premium races. It was also preceded by extraordinary stressful days primarily because of work . You can't believe how these sap one's inner energy. I mean physically one can recover faster but the internal stress that really get to you. They linger and tend to spill over into the race.

TRAVEL

Simon came all the way from Thailand on 20 February 2013 and had to drop by in Makati City to pick up his car. He then drove all the way to Clark to rendezvous with us. I specifically hired a driver and a helper for this purpose. Can you imagine driving for 6 hours or more after a gruelling 100 mile mountain race? Dangerous. So we left Clark a little past 12 midnight and got to Kayapa around 6am. Sleeping in the car while travelling always sucks for me. Nothing beats the comfort of a bed. So I vowed to sleep more once we got to Kayapa which I did. The choice of inn this time was more comfortable and it is just a stone's throw away from the Start/Finish line. The landlady, Manang Tessie was very accommodating. Highly recommended. Imagine a buffet meal for Php100 (US$2.50)! Geez. Tasted good too.

PRE-RACE BRIEFING

RD Jonel discussed basically what is posted in the race website and included some pointers on the way the course was marked. I think this was the most important topic given the length of the race and the remoteness of the course. Getting lost during the race is not fun and most often than not bordering on demoralizing. We did get lost 3x despite being in the company of Koi Grey (No. 3 overall), an experienced mountaineer and Jowaks from Baguio for the first 62K. Ok more on this later. So we received our race packet with goodies to boot. Simon also attended the pre-race briefing. I made sure I availed of the 3 drop bags and fill them up with the essentials I would be needing during the race. 

HOURS BEFORE THE RACE

Dang rain, rain and more rain! We were told that it was raining up in Mt. Pulag which was not a good sign of things to come. I was prepared for this but you know at the back of your mind, you wished it were not so. I made sure I grabbed some more sleep but it was always not enough. Last meal was around 7PM for the 12:01AM start to allow for proper digestion and absorption. I made sure also to prep my stuff.


RACE PROPER
KMS 0-62

Inspired by the movie Gladiator, I grabbed a few soil (was supposed to be handful but I could not find enough) while half kneeling and muttered a short prayer befitting the gargantuan task ahead. So this was a minute or so before the start. There is something magical about this act  (goose bumps now while writing this) given how things could unfold in a race as long and hard as H1. I felt like a soldier about to enter a battle in which the outcome is always uncertain. Only the wise, humble and more experienced can vouch for this. The fools, on the other hand, are always cocky, self-assured and have no idea what lies ahead. Before the start, I approached some Pinoy runners like James, Wilnar, Aldeen and Ronald and told them let us honor the Philippine flag as a way of encouraging them to land in the top 3. Personally, it did not matter to me who would be among us.

And off we went. We started in a comfortable pace. James shot ahead and I knew better not to chase him. I settled in for the 6th position or something and was with the company of Mia, Cherryl, Ron, Wilnar, Aldeen, Koi and Jowaks. We changed places and eventually I pulled off after I settled in for a nice groove. One important note to myself was to NEVER GO REDLINE at this early stage in the race. This is something I learned from Speedgoat Karl. So I always checked my effort especially going uphills.

As I pulled off, 2 runners clung with me pace by pace. It was funny because I never bothered to look at them who they were. We were all quiet. At such early morning, all I could I hear was the sound of wind, leaves, nocturnal animals and the breathing of the runners I was with. It was only after 30 mins or so that I realized they were Koi Grey (No. 3 overall) and Jowaks (finisher also). I made a mental note that they must be fit and thus, not to be underestimated which is basically my rule in any of my goal races - respect your competitors and what they are capable of! I still remember a certain section where it was downhill and tried to shake these 2 runners off as I shot fast ahead. You know the kind of move that was unexpected but they still clung to me which led me to the realization that they would stay with me for good. On the other hand, it was nice to be in their company given how we helped each other to find the right direction on certain sections. We got lost 3 times for a total of 1 hour more or less. There was even a time when Koi Grey was ahead of us until he almost caught up with James who, I was told, predictably sprinted.

INCLEMENT WEATHER & PULAG

At such early stage of the race, I was concerned about RUNNING MY OWN RACE. I did not mind who was ahead (although it is foolish not to make a mental note of that) and who was with and behind me. After running for several hours, the weather started to deteriorate. Rain. Fortunately, the constant running gave me enough body heat to just maintain wearing a shirt.

Koi and I were surprised to stumble upon James in Banao aid station (KM28), He was obviously cold. After a quick fueling, I went ahead and was leading ... momentarily though. Rain was getting stronger when Koi and I started finding our way up to Mt. Pulag. Koi was feeling sleepy and was glad to be running with me. Otherwise, he said he would slow down. We had been running for several hours now and the constant rain gave no respite for our feet to dry up. They were soaking wet and also very cold. Taping my feet for this part of the course and applying cream was a wise decision as I never suffered a single blister. I knew based on experience that constant water could cause massive blisters or macerated feet given  the skin tends to fold in such ugly fashion. No one could afford a massive blister at this point. Icebreaker merino wool socks and anti-rash cream (petroleum jelly and Bodyglide cannot do the job well) helped to protect my feet.

Temperature up in the Mt. Pulag reached perhaps in the 1 digit range with strong wind to add to our misery. Leeches were annoying as well. Had some but luckily managed them just fine. Koi was bleeding from them though despite applying disinfectant (alcohol). We kept moving to maintain our core temperature and discussed whether Isko the Terminator who was manning the checkpoint up in Mt Pulag would require us to reach the summit (Peak 1) before heading down to Babadak Ranger aid station (KM62).

Nasty weather as soon as we reached the Grassland. We both kept saying how hard to breathe despite ascending at such a slow pace. Koi said it must be the elevation or perhaps we were just battered by the weather and thus, tired :) Koi and I managed our way to Isko's tent. He offered bland hot choco (Milo) and soup which Koi and I shared. Good news was we did not have to go to the Summit because of the weather. That was a good call. As RD myself, the safety of the runners is the most important consideration. We were told also that James left just a few minutes ago. Koi and I stared at each other and smelled blood, figuratively. We hurriedly left on account of this and of course, because our asses were freezing after saying our "Thanks!" and "Take care man out here!" to Isko and his companion.

After going down several hundred meters, we chanced upon Jeff Abenina (another marshal) who pointed us the right way and mentioned in passing that James just passed like 30 seconds ago. Koi and I stared at each other again! Alright we did see him a few meters ahead of us and he looked disoriented and lost. He overshot the correct trail leading to Babadak (KM 62 station). Koi who knows the trail here called my attention but in doing so, managed to alert James. Koi and I bombed the downhill and made sure to put a distance between us and James. It was fun and exhilirating! Leading now was fun but what I don't like in a race is the one being chased. The effect is to the mind. It's hard enough to monitor one's body and all and then worry about the distance between you and your chaser. It kinda sucks. In local parlance, nakakapraning.  After a while, I got tired and just kept on running. Every now and then Koi kept on complaining how sleepy he was because he was not able to sleep well days leading to the race. I know how that feels.

KOI GREY & MIA CONSTANTINO

Koi has potential to become a strong trail/mountain runner. I was delighted to hear his story on how he began to love mountain climbing at a very early age. This was obvious when at certain portion of the race he would raise both his hands, shout and say "this is so nice!" while trying to enjoy and feel the area. That is unusual. (In my case, I touched the leaves along the way to ask for the mountain's energy.) Half of my age, he was able to maintain the pace with me despite his lack of experience. H1 is just his 2nd ultra. The first one was CM50. I thought doing a major ultra like H1 might be construed as he biting more than he could chew.

What is obvious is his love for Nature unlike other runners who just run for podium finish, purse and/or limelight. I won't be surprised if after several years they are gone because the internal furnace that fuels them are not there in the first place.   Most elite ultrarunners around the world have the intrinsic love for mountains. Kilian Jornet's story comes to mind as well as Anton K's. I have heard stories from runners/mountaineers on how Koi is one of the fast/strong mountaineers around (Tama ba Philippe A?). Above all, he can be an iconic figure given his Jamaican/Afro hair style. I asked him why he sports that kind of hair style and he said, I want to make a statement by being non-conformist and different. That figures. I just wish he could maintain the fire burning inside in the same way with the female champ, Mia Constantino. Both are in their twenties and for them to finish the hardest 100 mile mountain race (their first at that!) on this side of the planet really speaks volume of their character and what they are capable of. Folks, this is the kind of ultrarunners that persevere. As I said before the race, anyone who crosses the finish line within the time barrier would have my utmost respect. These two and the others have earned it fair and square. I wish both and others will carry the torch of ultrarunning for the years to come.

 If I said something off-tangent or inaccurate here, Koi  and Mia please feel free to correct them.

(Pix from James and Charice Roldan at Babadak with Koi, James and moi)


BABADAK STATION (KM62)

Koi and I reached the Babadak aid station ahead of James. First agenda for me was to change socks and shoes and re-apply some cream. Koi said he would nap which I actually encouraged him to do so. Sleep deprivation on the 2nd night of running can be nasty. I told him to eat before he takes his nap. My mistake here was absentmindedly leaving my Fenix headlamp because of stupid weight issue thinking I could reach KM102 mark in daytime. Foolish and presumptuous. I felt fine and strong at this point though. The hot Pinikpikan was absolutely delish! James and Aldeen came in later on.

KMS 62-74 (BALETE STATION)

It occurred to me that the some route I covered initially is the same route I would have to take going back. Downhills earlier meant uphills this time and vice-versa. I incessantly got worried about the looming nighttime and my lack of powerful headlamp (had a flashlight only). So I made a point to borrow once I got to Balete. Renzy who withdrew from the race lent him me his headlamp and flashlight but they were not ideal. Thank you again!

KMS7 5-91 (BANAO STATION)

I started feeling weak now on account of stomach issue. Acidity. This was brought about mixing Mountain Dew and water for my fuel. I was thinking the sugar in the soda would give me extra fuel. I should have stuck with  just plain water which I used for training. Legs and feet were still okay. Night was about to descend. There is something serene about running alone in remote terrain like H1. So peaceful and calm. At Banao, I had to bug the marshal to lend me his extra headlamp which became useful ... for a few minutes. My focus now was to reach KM102 asap!

I AM QUITTING!!! 
KMS 92-102 (DAYAP STATION) in 22 hours ++

For some strange reason, I did entertain the horrible idea of quitting once I have reached KM102. This feeling went for miles and miles! I knew I was leading but there was this nagging but unmistakable feeling that I AM NOT HAPPY ANYMORE! Period. My mind was telling me that the reason I run ultras is because I am happy with it despite blisters, exhaustion and all. This one was different. The initial "sufferfest" due to inclement weather was I suspected the main cause. My mind was saying like you have not covered even half of the race and you are so miserable already! It reminds me of the Leadville race of Anton K where he just said enough and withdrew from the race despite leading it. Well I am no Anton but I could relate.  

So I harbored no idea of telling it to Simon at KM102 mark where pacers were ready for pick up. Mind you he came all the way from abroad just to pace me. It would be an utter shame and selfish just to quit. Besides, the preparation and cost for this race made up my mind already. I did not tell a soul about my plan to quit. I just shut up and let my feet dry by the bonfire which was excellent. Who ever was responsible for this idea (bonfire) should be commended. I told the folks at the aid station that they would see more battered and wrinkled feet like mine. After making the necessary adjustments, Simon and I set out.


(At KM102. Thanks Roland Wang for this)

KMS 103-134

I was leading until km134. My stomach issue had turned from bad to worse. Felt so nauseous. I was not eating as much as I should and that greatly affected my energy level. Weakness was so evident. I even forced myself to puke several times just to regurgitate whatever was causing the issue but to no avail. Man, this was the literal lowest of lows! My mind and body were conspiring against me and it proved to be detrimental. I never felt this way before.

So when some Ninjas (borrowing the term of Simon to refer to James and his pacer) suddenly appeared after a few seconds we summitted Mt. Ugo, I knew my lead was over. I was not surprised entirely given how slow I was going. Simon and I stared at each other and made up our mind to chase ... temporarily. Simon was fired up. Deep inside I knew I could not match their pace given how weak I was. I must have been subsisting on body fat as fuel to propel myself to the finish line.

(Simon and I approaching the Finish line. Ronald D. thanks for this!)

KMS 135 TO FINISH LINE

I was on a survival mode now to reach the finish line. I knew I had enough time to do so but it was a question of position.  I swore I would not allow the next runner to grab the 2nd place. I would be a shame and disheartening. Simon felt the loss of us being in the lead when he said he was also tired. That was understandable. I even said sorry for losing the lead.

At any rate, we kept moving. It was the relentless-forward-progress type of pace but still slow for our liking. I just said to myself the suffering would be over soon. My feet were battered now. Quads numbed from pain. I ate and drink when I could.  Even the last 8kms of downhills were painful to the quads. It was funny that I even entertained the idea of coming under 37 hours but my body would not allow me so.

It was only when we saw the Kayapa town proper from afar that Simon and I felt this liberating feeling. We joked that the first thing I would do is to brush my teeth. Haha! Even then, we kept looking back to check if a runner would attempt to sneak past us. It was only fitting to hold and raise Simon's hand as we crossed the finish line together. He was part of my journey. Finally, LIBERATION! The sight of people cheering us on and welcoming us back was enough to soothe our dead tired bodies. The winner was just ahead of us by 59 minutes.


(Hanging out. Moi, Damien. Koi, Simon and Benj. Thanks Benj for this)

ON HINDSIGHT

Did I regret losing the lead? No regrets but it just sucks! :) There wasn't anything I can do anyway given my condition then. Again, H1 has given me lessons that I thought I have already learned from previous ultras. Why in the world did it not occur to me to take in ginger to alleviate my stomach problem or nausea? Crap!!! That could have been my savior. Also never try any fluid and fuel that were not tested during training! Unfortunately, I did not heed my own tip.

I am very thankful that I had my good friend Simon as pacer. I strongly doubted it if I would have made it to 2nd place given how crappy I was feeling. He was my eyes and ears on the trail. My huge shout out to you my friend. I hope someday I can repay you for your effort. I know it wasn't an easy job but you stood by me. My success is yours as well.

Perhaps next year the markings would be further improved. There was even a point where Simon and I were looking for the next marking and in the process losing more than 1 hour. We suspected that markers were placed during daytime which would be different seeing them in the fog or nighttime. Running with Koi and Jowaks, we lost another 1 hour due to misplacement of signs/markers. Or perhaps it was my or our fault for not looking hard enough.

Race goodies - buckle and medals are of quality. The H1 black statue is worth getting. It is unique to the race. There was even Energizer headlamp and other giveaways. My only reservation is the official race shirt. This needs massive improvement in terms of textile quality and cut.

H1 for now is the hardest 100 mile race I have ever done. Even harder than UTMB. You finish this one, I don't see any reason why you cannot conquer UTMB or other 100 milers except perhaps Hardrock and Leadville, among others. Mts. Pulag and Ugo were not that difficult to ascend and descend. It is the MOUNTAINS IN BETWEEN THAT WILL TURN YOUR LEGS INTO MARSHMALLOWS. Believe me. The consolation I have is beating my UTMB time from 44 hours to 37 hours given H1 has more elevation. We suspect that the 10,000 meters elevation gain could be even higher. H1 has also fantastic views! Very scenic especially the area they call Old Spanish Trail. Wow, wow!

So thank you to CDC again for the support vehicle. My mother, wife Lanie and others who prayed for me, thank you. Those who gave their support in different forms, please accept my gratitude. Rick G for his tips and advise. Of course, Simon!

RD Jonel, wife and staff for having the vision to host a premiere 100 miles, Isko, James Roldan and his wife Charice, Jeff A. Carmeli, crew, marshals and other folks who helped out.

Above all, EARTH who has always reminded me to keep my feet connected to the ground ...

Cheers,
Jon (sore as hell after H1)
       (not knowing what to do with the 4 UTMB points from this race)
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Pictures from Hardcore 100

March 13, 2013, 6:54 pm
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Pictures from H1 courtesy of my good friend Simon Sandoval who is running the Tarawera 100k in New Zealand this weekend, 16 March 2013. Go Simon and thanks! To Jose Devera running the 60K, go man!
 
Cheers,
Jon (missing mountain running)

(getting some ideas? :)



 praying before the battle head

 

 
 

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2013 TNF100 Philippines

April 15, 2013, 2:22 am
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This is the next race in my calendar which will be happening this weekend on 20-21 April 2013. I have been doing the series since 2008 Batangas (except the Camsur edition) where only a few of us finished. If I am not mistaken, it was the first official 100km race on this side of the planet back then. I remember I was told from reliable source that the plan was only a series of 3 races but somehow the race organizer has managed to stage it until today. 
 
TNF100 is now on its 6th edition and has grown in popularity. I was able to convince Eric John Luna, my friend from Davao to join. We both did the first or 2008 edition. We ran the second half together and managed to finish it within the cut-off time inspite of mud and inclement weather.
 
For more info, here is the website to visit for the 2013 edition: http://www.thrillofthetrail.ph/

Here is a short race report for the 2012 edition: http://jon-ultra.blogspot.com/2012/05/tnf100-mt-matutum-peaking-for-ws100.html.
 
I am not expecting to finish strong in this race since it is not a goal race for me like H1. Well perhaps I should make it in 2014 to land in top 10. Why I joined this race? Some habits are hard to break :) Seriously, this is a training run for me for Bighorn 100 in June (assuming things will pan out).
 
To my friends joining the race, best of luck and see you this weekend before and after the race hopefully ... in one piece :)
 
Cheers,
Jon (not excited about the race)
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2013 TNF100 Race Report

April 23, 2013, 2:58 am
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Nice medal this time!
 
 
So I finally managed my 5th TNF100k for the series of 6 races. Whew, what a race it was last weekend! 
 
LOW TRAINING
 
My quads are shot the day after the race (DOMS) and still now. Sunburned too! I feel stupid for not training for the toughest 100km trail race on this side of the planet (given the small number of finishers. Last year+   was merely 33% and this year could be 50% only) . I  always remind myself and have been guided by the principle - Respect the distance. This time I did not heed it. Oh well, I did finish the race but my time is far from ideal. Overshot by more than 1 hour compared to my time last year (did not train also. Go figure) to finish in 23:11. What did I expect? Duh. I should be grateful to have finished the race in one piece.
 
My last race was Hardcore 100 miles (H1) last February. So Don was probably right when he said that there was still some fitness from H1. I did run and climb prior to TNF100 but it was more of maintenance than the structured and specific types. Frankly, I just did have the morbid challenge to myself whether I could survive TNF100 with minimal training and no mileage volume. Longest mileage could be 30K per week. Some runners like James Roldan and others invited me for training runs on the TNF course but I never got around to join them. Can you run 100k trail from the get go? 
 
CHANGES
 
This year I did not leave a drop bag at Aid Station 5 (AS5) since I did not see any need for it. All the stuff I needed were all in my back pack. Everyone thought it would most likely rain during the race day given the uncooperative weather during the pre-race briefing the day before. So a quick check of my gear revealed that I merely brought a TNF windbreaker (yes, circa TNF 2008) than the Mountain Hardwear I used for H1. Oh oh. Last year, it was damn cold up in Sto. Thomas given I was under dressed then. Well as it turned out, the weather was like a furnace. More on this later.
 
Another thing is I have decided to pace someone. Eric from Davao whom I have mentioned in the past blog entry did run with me for the first 20k until he sent me off on my own. I had not seen him since then although he said he would catch up with us (meaning his friend Andoy and moi). Also, I only wore 1 pair of shoes (Inov8 Roclite 245) but I did change socks at AS5. 
 
FIRST 50K
 
Runing with Eric and his friends Andoy and Jinky was a welcome change. We did enjoy the cool weather at 3AM and it felt good to be in the back pack for a change (things are not in a rush!). Just strolling and taking it easy for the first 20kms until Eric started to feel the climb when we were approaching AS3 or Ampucao. He said "Sige attorney mauna ka na. Habol ako. Pahinga muna ako dito" (Go ahead and will catch up. Will rest here for a while). I knew it was a bad sign so early in the race.

Sun was already up and everything around us started to get warm for our liking. There were patches of clouds here and there. It was only when I was on my way to AS5 that the sun started to play its little hot tricks on the runners just like last year. It was like being in an oven! Darn it. I wondered whether "Nasa Baguio ba tayo?!" (Are we in Baguio City?! - supposedly with cool weather). Well you just have to suck it up and whining will not get you any closer to the finish line, right? Strangely, I was enjoying the hot weather and the suffering in general. Go figure.

When I reached AS5, I seem to have surprised some runners at the station who were drinking, eating and whatnot. Some expected me to be in front and it came as a surprise to them they came in ahead of me. I don't know but some races are training runs and some you take seriously to race. For me, TNF100 was a (painful) training run :) After changing socks, I headed out leaving some runners who came ahead of me but not after drinking the COLDEST Pepsi from the store nearby (which during ordinary days I normally don't drink). It was soooo good! At least, the race organizer this time have managed to put in one place everything the runners needed unlike last year where the drop bags were left under the sun and runners had to cross the bridge to drink the basic cold water. My brief race report here:

http://jon-ultra.blogspot.com/2012/05/tnf100-mt-matutum-peaking-for-ws100.html

At this point in the race, I made a mental note of the vital importance of proper intake of fluids, electrolytes and fuel since I knew the weather would get worse later. Peed only once during the entire 50k stretch and that was after 8 hours ... normal for me. Oh there was a male runner who shot his quads. He said it was not cramps. Based on his description, most likely muscle tear. I advised him to grab a pair of wooden sticks along the way to serve as trekking poles. We saw some marshals ahead and informed them of the situation. I hope he is okay now.

KM50 TO KM75

This is the part of the route I call "SLOW AGONIZING PROCESSION" or SAP for short. That is because it SAPs you of energy. Just check out the map below. It is almost all climb. We call it UPHELLS. On top of that, one has to manage the heat of the sun on exposed mountain tops. This year was also humid and you could actually hear your heartbeat pounding in your head during SAP to reach Sto Tomas. I made a point to avoid that because it is a sign of being on the redline. Not good. Remember this was just a little past halfway into the race. On this stretch, I was mostly trading places with the No. 3 female podium winner.
  
 


The trick here is to get heat acclimated before the race and then just find a way to relax and climb gingerly up without taxing your heart rate. That takes some training and basically just suck it up. No whining please. Enjoy it. I sometimes closed my eyes and pretended I was in an oasis. It worked momentarily though as it lowered your heart rate. Try it for yourself. Of course, it is different when you are racing.

Due to lack of training, I was feeling the fatigue and thus sleepy. For Pete's sake, it is only 3PM! Okay so I made it a point to nap for 12-15 minutes max at AS7. In the meantime, I was enjoying the SAP. No choice anyway.

Seeing how close I was to Sto. Thomas was a relief already. It seemed it was taking me forever to reach that darn place. Upon reaching AS7, I knew exactly what to do - check in, eat, drink, electrolytes and then nap in that order. I removed my watch and set the alarm for 12 minutes and placed the same close to my right ear. The reasons for the nap are the night ahead and to lower drastically my heart rate. I think more than 15 minutes of sleep for me will only make me even more sleepy or groggy. As soon as the alarm went off, I packed my bag and hit the trail. Thank you to the race staff for being kind enough to allow me to sleep in their tent.

KM76 TO KM90 (Loakan Airport)

The nap made me feel way better than I expected. Running now when it was downhill and flat and power walking uphills. Chanced upon Kian Vicera of Philippine Skyrunners Association (PSA) who is doing UTMB this year with Cheryl Bihag and Simon Sandoval. Alex Yap and Peter Rivera for the TDS. Anyway, it was a welcome relief to be running with someone. So Kian and I were talking about UTMB and some stuff. I even managed to offer to sell my extra pair of SealSkinz gloves to him if Simon has decided not to buy them :) Kian slowed down because of his ITB was not cooperating. Told him you cannot have that during UTMB.

On our way down on the steep portion (so friggin humid even at night!) to AS8, guess who came flying down like a mountain goat? Mark Bryan "Koi" Grey. Darn it. He made us (Kian and I) felt like two senior citizens given how slow going our pace was. Well mostly it was me given my age. He slowed down to join us but I admonished him to get going for his personal best (PR) for his first 100K. He did just that and made us eat his dust. Of course, Kian and I did not mind it. We run our own races.

At AS8, Kian and I chanced upon him again. Koi was seating and enjoying whatever he was eating.  Koi joined us until AS9 where Kian excused himself due to his ITBS. Kian eventually managed to reach Camp John Hay after a few minutes Koi and I crossed the finish line. Cool.

KM91 TO FINISH LINE

Koi and I managed to cover this portion together. I told him intermittently to go ahead  and there was no reason for him to hang on with me. As I wont to say, we get to the finish line on our own power. I did not mind also if he crossed the finish line way ahead of me. I mean this is a friggin race after all. Just the same, he hanged on saying he was also tired. This is the last 11K and it seems it was also taking us forever to cover it. So near yet so far to the finish line. We asked a marshal stationed in Camp John Hay how many kilometers to go and he annoyingly said 8K! Geez, that guy did not know his distance. We were told later on by another knowledgeable marshal only 30 minutes to the finish line. Next time, all marshals must be informed/trained on how to answer queries of runners or just say near even though it is still far or simply keep quite.

Koi said he trained on this part of the course prior to the race with Mark Carlo Villafuerte. So it was nice to be with someone to guide you. I remember having my secondwind and running this portion of the course last year hoping to make it under 22 hours but that did not pan out. No worries.

Funny thing is Koi and I made a bet to sprint ... say 400 meters to the finish line since we could not agree who among us should cross first. Now, that was just it. All words or bet and no action :) If it was any consolation, I did allow Koi to cross the finish line first (25th place) but joked to race staff to make a mere 2-second difference on our time :) Our time was 23:11 I think. Well, it was all in the spirit of fun, competition and camaraderie. After another runner, Kian eventually clocked in at around 23:30 something. Whew, we were all just glad it was over! As usual, the finish line was like a graveyard. So quite and people were just sleepy or sleeping but that is understandable given it was ungodly hour. Koi and I had to howl just to signal our approach :)


Moi, Koi and Kian

 

NUTSHELL/OBSERVATION

Based on the initial results, it seems more and more runners are now drawn to ultrarunning. Good sign. This is also the phenomenon in other countries like USA and Europe. For instance, Atty. Aldean Philip Lim placed in the top 10. 4th I think. He was also No. 4 in CM50. Impressive given he is new to the sports like Koi in contrast to some of us who are considered "dinosaurs" already :) The winner is a surprise to most of us. Of course, strong runners will always be drawn to TNF100 given the purse money involved and other prizes.  

I think I won't eat sweet potatoes, boiled bananas and chocolate and drink Summit mineral water for the next few weeks. Those were the food and drink (aside from sports drinks) in all the aid stations. Nakakaumay after the race. So the aid stations have not improved a bit except the AS8 where they served coffee and chicken soup. Both were great!

Location of the Start/Finish line was a great choice. More space. Official shirt for 100k was good just like last year except the 50k.

So TNF100 is the hardest 100k trail race on this side of the planet because of elevation and heat. There is another 100k by RD Jonel - The Four Lakes but I have not done that race yet. So I have limited data to compare it with but perhaps, if I managed to join his race this coming May then I could do so. I had wondered if TNF100 race organizer would consider moving the date of the race during the cold months in the Philippines to lure more foreign runners. But given TNF100 Philippines is part of the so called "Asia Pacific Series" it may not be wise to do so. No worries.

Next year, I'll make TNF100 a goal race and will train accordingly. It is nice to race in a deep field of good runners. Of course, it'll be a huge advantage if you live and breath in Baguio and train on the same course. So Baguio runners will always have an advantage. Anyway, I have Miyamit and Arayat as playground

THANK YOU

To ROX for the race packets and the surprise official ROX jersey. Race organizer, medic, race staff, volunteers and marshals, you guys did a good job. Keep it up.  Those who ran with me during the race, thank you for your company. Cheers!

Above all, my wife Melanie who brought me to and from the venue at such ungodly hour and my kids who came with me to Baguio for a short vacation.


Cheers,
Jon (addicted to trail running)
      (loving his blue TNF Better Than Naked Shorts and neon green Mountain Hardwear Hat) 
 
 

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Next race: Four Lakes 100K

May 15, 2013, 2:08 am
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Here is my next race:
 
 
This is 3 weeks (too close? I don't mind really) before Bighorn 100 (if the gods of running and finance smile down on me :)
 
Will be delighted to see Rick Gaston again and his wife. I hope I get the chance to see Wayne as well and of course, Simon who is doing the WS100! Oh Scott Berge too, Rick's pal, who lent me his discount card at Sports Basement. For some reason I failed to return it to him. Just saw the card when I was rummaging through my stuff. Sorry mate!
 
Cheers,
Jon (still not in racing mode)

P.S.

Qualifying races at Miyamit (marathon and half marathon trail races) for CM50 is happening on 22 September 2013 or 2 months before CM50 on 24 November 2013. More details to follow but honestly, the best detail is to TRAIN HARD for it! Cheers!
 
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FOUR LAKES 100k Race Report

May 27, 2013, 4:00 pm
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I will not get into the nitty gritty and even sometimes boring details. So this is probably one of my shortest race reports
 
For more information on the Four Lakes 100, please click the link below. Please note that there is a 60km version. 
 
 
RACE RESULTS:
 
One of the reasons I joined this race was because of curiosity and added training for an upcoming 100 mile race. I was really interested to compare this race with the TNF100 Baguio in terms of the essentials - ELEVATION, WEATHER, RACE ORGANIZATION and VIEW. Why? I have no friggin idea really :) CAVEAT: This is just my own observation and thus subjective. So don't flame me if you find it disagreeable. Perhaps, you should run and finish both first :)
 
ELEVATION
 
Our good friend Atty. Aldean Philip Lim, who likewise ran both races, recorded the elevation profile of Four Lakes (shorter by 3-4kms since the battery did not last. Benj Termulo has also one)
 
FOUR LAKES
 
 
Elevation Gain:26,924 ft or 8,200m+
Elevation Loss:30,374 ft
Min Elevation:217 ft
Max Elevation:7,018 ft
 
TNF100
 
Elevation gain is 5200m+ based on the website of UTMB (but I heard and read somewhere it could be close to 6,000m) -  
 
Here is the website of TNF100:
 
 
Here is the elevation profile of both races courtesy of Rocketbong:
 
 
 
CONCLUSION -Four Lakes is a winner which means harder. You add 1,500 meters (2011 UTMB when I ran it) to Four Lakes' elevation gain and you already have the elevation profile of UTMB. Can you imagine now? So it is very probable then that HARDCORE 100 mile race last February covering the route of Four Lakes could be between 12,000m to 14,000m? Wow. Same observation by Aldean.
 
WEATHER
 
The 2 editions of TNF100 in Baguio had been generally hot except the 2013 where there was a bit of rain. Well it did rain too during Four Lakes and sun was up until way past noon.
 
CONCLUSION - The same except the air in Kayapa is way way better and clean than Baguio which has been notorious for pollution recently. If you have been to Kayapa, you always get that feeling of sleepiness because it's serene and its overall good weather. Time seems to pass so slowly.
 
RACE ORGANIZATION
 
TNF100 has massive corporate backing unlike Four Lakes and thus can be well organized and yet, it has not perfected it yet mostly on fuel and fluid
 
CONCLUSION -  I like both except the underground appeal and difficulty of Four Lakes appeal more to my liking and personality. With a small underground race like Four Lakes, your always get that homelike feel to it on account of RD Jonel and Connie and their crew being able to establish rapport and PR with the runners not just because they are good friends of mine. That homey feeling is elusive in big races like TNF and others. Again, this is subjective. 
 
VIEW
 
While both races are laid out on the same topography with countless mountain passes, Four Lakes seem to offer better, unadulterated, pristine view compared to TNF100 which is too close to Baguio City.
 
CONCLUSION - I go for Kayapa.
 
NUTSHELL
 
I like both races because they give us ultrarunners the challenges and training needed to hurdle 100 mile races. Both are good training races/runs for 100 mile events. But if I'd have my way, I'd like to join races that are low-key and more homey where runners congregate at the Finish line to wait for other runners to cross while talking, joking, eating and drinking a few beers. At the end of the day, little things like those count a lot.
 
Cheers,
Jon (new PR at 17:27:51 for a hard 100K and suprisingly recovering well for Bighorn) 
 
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Stay focus

June 12, 2013, 12:25 pm
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12:45pm, Billings
12 June 2013



I have arrived here in the quaint peaceful town of Billings, Montana, USA on 10 June 2013 at around 3AM after a flight delay of almost 2 hours because of a storm up in East Coast. That was the connecting flight from St. Paul Minneapolis. To date, it was my worse travel yet on account of jet lag and sleep deprivation. The 2 and 13 hours lay overs in Narita and Minneapolis, respectively, did me in. Of course, sitting on my butt for an extended period of time (29 hours!) in the planes was almost unbearable for someone who hates inactivity. No matter how many movies I could watch, it was just plain crazy.

The race will be 2 days from now, 14 June. Rick and his wife will join me tonight at Dude Rancher Lodge. Finally some company! I am bored here or perhaps homesick already and I sorely miss my family. I have realized I can never work and live abroad without my folks. It is not just right and complete.

Ran leisurely yesterday for more than 1 hour despite the palpable jet lag. I could feel it in my breathing. It took me more than 30 mins to get my rhythm. I wanted to visit the famous Yellowstone park but it is just too far away. So I was relegated to the 3 small town parks here, North, Dehler and Pioneer. No trail path. It was ok. I just needed to loosen up and perspire. As I wont to say, the best way to check out a new place is on foot.

It has been raining here lately especially in the evening and thus, too cold for my liking. I hope that will not be the case during the race as the weather forecast is good. Rain and biting cold is not a good combo. 

(Ate the poached eggs only + coffee. If this was my "typical" breakfast everyday, I'd be 6 feet under the ground by the age of 45 [43 now])

So what keeps me sane here? I am halfway through the book The Zoo by James Patterson and doing a lot of walking and tasting some local cuisine but am missing some home-cooked Pinoy food already. Perhaps Rick and I will cook adobo tomorrow. I will insist :) Am unsure if Rick has already asked her wife to taste one :)


(Local beer plus the book were effective to induce some sleep last night)

All of the above stimuli tend to distract a person from the reason why he is in a foreign land in the first place. Taking in all the sight and smell can be very distracting. I have to remind myself over and over again why I am here in the first place. I will and must NOT lose focus.

Cheers,
Jon (hoping to have a fast time during the race to make fellow Pinoys proud)

  
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BIGHORN 100 Race Report

July 16, 2013, 9:53 pm
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Better late than never. I finally came around to draft and post the report before the details get relegated to the dust bin of my memories.  
 
So the race was held last 14 June in Wyoming, USA. 100 miles in 34 hours in its 21st annual holding (http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/). So what is there to report other than I have finished it? Hmm, good question. Will just post random thoughts and tidbits here and there. My lack of verbosity for this report will be replaced by pictures instead :)
 
 
 Billings airport
 
One of the beauties of joining races outside the country is that you have no friggin idea what is in store for you in terms of terrain, weather, race course and organization. So there is a huge level of excitement to it. I think it pays to travel and race nearer to one's country before heading out to and joining longer and farther races. For one, travelling is costly, time-consuming and to a certain degree stressful. If you are a professional runner then most likely these are not issues to you at all. The simple idea behind this is to get used to the preparation and set up. Meaning, gradually ease into it. I have listened to several stories of DNF from runners because of jet lag. I know it sounds ludicrous. Heard it from a runner who came all the way from USA and unfortunately DNFed in UTMB. Perhaps, jet lag is not the only issue.
 
Where I stayed in Montana
 
Dude Rancher Lodge, its lobby
 
At the famous The Burger Dive resto 
 
In a souvenir store
 
 
 
 
 
 En route to Wyoming
 
Sports store in Wyoming
 
If you are from Asia then it pays to join races in Asia since there a slew of ultra races now. Start with 50 miles then 100k and if you are prepared, 100 miles. Why 50 miles as minimum? I don't know but you have to make the cost, time and training worth it. Why go out and spend so much when you will only run 50K? Duh. Go long and hard. Make it worthwhile and brandish your (ultra) battle scar to  show for it after the race. Of course, there is no substitute to joining local races. Then there is also the issue of domestic travel heading for the race. Both for Bighorn and WS100, I had to make some pit stops and a lot of road trips. Thank God our good friend Rick Gaston was around to make things less stressful.



 
I ran with her on the course, chatting and all and at the end, I got chicked. She finished ahead of me. Didn't realize it was the famous Pam Reed. Here receiving her age category award. Awesome strong woman!
 
In contrast, jumping into longer and harder races without adequate preparation can be disastrous. I was in the same boat when I joined my first 100 trail miles in 2010 - GNW100 which is touted to be the hardest in Australia. Well I did not know about it was until after the race. Hard race based on my newbie experience. I barely made it within the cut-off. Looking back, my first venture out was in HK in 2009 with Oxfam 100k. So joining 100 miles the next year was like biting more than I can chew.
 
 My first time to drive in US of A
 
 The hotel where Rick, Maria and I stayed for the race
 
 Maria during breakfast before the awarding
 
 Post race breakfast. Everyone was there. Awesome race because of the community support!
 
 Winners
 
 Rick Gaston receiving his award
 
 Local resto in Wyoming, post-race, Sunday. Beer was good here and cheap too!
 
 
 Place of Rick in SF
 
  
Race kit distribution center in Wyoming
 
 
The celebrity runner - Rick signing his poster in the famous San Francisco Running Company (store) 
 
As mentioned in my past blog post, I had to pass by Billings-Logan Int'l. Airport in Montana since it is the nearest international airport close to Wyoming, race venue. There are small airports but too costly.
 
Going back to Bighorn 100, it lived up to its name WILD and SCENIC. The course is simply beautiful and rugged. Wild flowers everywhere! It felt like running through a garden. Too bad I did not bring a camera. In particular running along the river with high cliffs bordering it was breathtaking. Aid stations were nicely stocked with fluids and food. Above all, race volunteers were very helpful and supportive. My only regret was not seeing a grizzly bear or mountain lion :)

May I also add that the race was deceptively easy. With only 17,500 feet of climb and 18,000 feet of descent, one will think this is manageable but on the contrary. Some technical terrains here and there. It did snow during the night. So approaching the turn-around (Porcupine) aid station, there were patches of snow and since the snow started to gradually  melt, the ground on which we were running became wet and muddy. So that added a level of yuckiness (if you are squeamish) and difficulty to the race. It was very cold also during the night. That is why I was wearing a pair of SealSkinz gloves almost all throughout the race even during daytime.

 A friend of Rick. The finisher shirt is one of the loot items including duffel bag, buckle made of fiber glass (wished it was metal) and official long sleeve shirt. 

At downtown SF
 
 Fantastic rich food cooked by Maria and properly washed down with single malt and beer :)
 
The were 2 bad patches during the race. One was when I was approaching the Porcupine aid station. I remember it was at night and I ran out of water and food 3-4 kilometers before the next aid station. My energy plummeted so fast that I could hardly run. Perhaps I was bonking and most likely. So I stayed a bit at the following aid station to really eat solid food and hydrate. For this race, I mostly ate solid and real food and some gels. Ratio is probably 80-20. My energy level overall was good and felt really strong throughout the race except for the bad patches. The other bad patch was 20-30 miles before the finish line. 
 

 At SFRC, Rick and his autograph :)
 
With Rick at Mt. Tamalpas where he trains.
 
Rick and Maria took me to Mt. Tamalpas (called "Mt. Tam") and behind is SF Golden Gate
 
 
My right knee was already sore and to think I still had 20-30 miles to go! So you could imagine what went through my mind given the trail leading to the finish line was mostly downhill = faster running. But in my case, it was the contrary. So this is part where I really slowed down considerably. It was annoying. Instead of wallowing in my misery, I instead focused my energy on why it was happening.
 
My assessment was the number of races I did prior to BIGHORN namely, Hardcore 100 miles in February, TNF100K in April and 3 weeks before Bighorn, the Four Lakes 100K. All difficult races on this side of the planet. So I have no reason to be surprised given what my body went through, er, right knee. Well, it could have been any part of my legs or feet. Also, I think I peaked prematurely during Four Lakes 100 where I posted a PR. In fact, my initial plan for Four Lakes was merely to join its 60K version but I told myself why gimp on the distance. I might as well make the most out of the travel time and ... pain :) (Oh by the way, thanks to my co-RD Jonel for the Four Lakes). So there went through the window my principle or concept of "goal race". No regrets. In hindsight I would not have done things any differently. So my second half of 2013 was fruitful already.
 
My last day!


With Simon and his local friend
 Best tasting and healthiest Paleo smoothie I have ever tasted! This is near SFRC store

 With Simon, Jorge Maravilla and moi. Check out Simon's shirt! :)
Simon successfully finished WS100 2 weeks ater this was taken.
 
So for now, I will concentrate on FULL recovery which I have done so successfuly. I have been running for the last 2 weeks. 1 whole week after every 100 miles, the same is spent relaxing and enjoying the downtime. Absolutely no running except chasing my youngest (hmm, he is mostly unshod). It does magic for me, recovery wise. I remember 8 days after BIGHORN, tried running and my knee said "Excuse me!". So that was a no no. I have also my hands full for the upcoming races, CM42K & 22k and the signature race CM50 miles in September and November of this year. Thanks to Maria, Rick's wife for the pix below.

In a local resto in Montana 
 

With Rick's friends - moi, Kara, Dana, Rick and Jason. All finished Bighorn. Congrats! They were very cool, friendly and helpful!
 
This will remain an iconic picture for me. Thanks Maria!
 
 

 
 
















So this is another major race for me. I have learned a lot again. Thankful to the Great Sprirt for giving me the strength and calmness of the mind during the race. So what are those lessons if not shared, yes?

Special thanks to Rick Gaston and Maria for their hospitality and support. What can I say? Awesome couple! Also to James Roldan for his generosity and Jonel and his Connie for Four Lakes and cover story in Frontrunner mag. Cecil and Tin for the write up. My family for staying sane despite my being "special idiot" :) Their prayers and all. Friends and the support of the Filipino ultrarunning community. Mabuhay! (Damn, I sound like a beauty pageant candidate).

Cheers,
Jon (itching to run mountains again [which sucks now because of rain] and to feel the burn deep down in the sinews)
 
 
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BDM102 RACE REPORT (Course Record)

March 5, 2012, 5:36 am
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TRAINING

During the 2nd edition of BDM102, I distinctly remember my training when I placed third (3rd) with a PB time of 11:01:47 (although my original goal was just to land in the top ten; was 11th place in the 1st edition). That race was preceded by an almost all-out effort at Condura as part of my tune-up race. It worked. On hindsight, I realized I walked a lot during the 2010 BDM102 so there could be a big chance of slicing off a few minutes from my PB.

That chance only presented itself this year because in 2011, it was just impossible to do it  because of the Grand Slam - back-to-back BDM160 and 102 one week apart. Racing a 100K after running, er, racing a 100 miler one week prior is nearly impossible for an average runner like me. Did I say I took a hiatus for several weeks after the Grand Slam just to get back the appetite for running?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Hills and more hills. Not only as part of my training for Western States 100 in June but it is no secret that there is no substitute for mountain/hill training. Training on flat ground gives you speed, fast turn over and also fluidity but it is hill training that elevates it to the next level. Hills harden your feet and legs like no other with one caveat - adjust accordingly. There is an interesting web article by Max King on this via Runningtimes. He stated that to be fast, he chose to train and race ultras on trails to give him that edge during the Olympic Trials.

So for the past several months, I have been doing both road and hills. Sometimes, hills in the morning when it was cooler and road after work. During weekends, I preferred hills because I got a different high. Imagine running shirtless and alone with only the animals (both seen and hidden) with you. The wind breezed through your hair and the smell of the air was fresh and pure. I noticed I got comfortable running hills for 2 hours or more with neither water nor food.  

TUNE UP RACES

There were two (2) races that helped me for BDM102. One was a road race - the HK Marathon on 05 February and the other was a mountain race - Philippine Skyrunning Association (PSA) International Skyrace at Mt. Ugo. So a month before was an all-out effort HK and 2 weeks before BDM102 was PSA. Both were hilly but PSA trumped HK of course. The sheer elevation of Mt. Ugo is nothing to sneer at being the third highest in Luzon. It was also in Mt. Ugo race I realized (more like drilled into my brain) the value of sleep. There is no room for athlete for "puyat". It robs you of your inner strength which is very important during a race. On the other hand, I raced HK really hard for that shock training for BDM102. Maybe my shock training was Mt. Ugo or both.

So after Mt. Ugo, I had DOMS which felt like I ran a fast hilly 50 miler. I wondered then whether it would affect my race condition since my recovery got in the way of my training for BDM102. I hardly ran/trained after Mt. Ugo. It was no surprise then whether I was overtrained for BDM102.

GEAR

I bought a TNF Flight trail short with 3 useful mini back pockets for fuel like gels, etc. For its price, the fit was just perfect and it was very comfy. Above all, it is the only short that does not give me a raw inner thigh while running especially during PSA Mt. Ugo. So the choice of what shorts to wear for BDM102 was easy. As for shirt, I wanted to run shirtless but I am no "machete" so I chose the shirt with lightest weight and bigger porous for that outstanding breathability. My only worry was my armpits getting rubbed raw which was easily solved by regular re-application of anti-chafe cream (there is one brand Island Basics available in Secondwind stores which is proudly Philippine-made and very cheap. Smells good too!).

As for sports watch, I wore two (2) watches.  GF305 courtesy of Don (my GF405 is RIP now) to constantly remind me of ACTUAL pace, distance and time. The other was Timex to remind me of fuel intake of every 30 minutes or so. (TIDBIT: I noticed at the Finish Line that Peter Kennedy [2nd place] was wearing 2 watches too!).

The most "innovation" I did was to modify my Saucony Kinvara road shoes which I bought at A Runners' Circle (ARC) store in Manila. Actually, I have been modifying my shoes since 2010 starting with Adidas Rockets by removing the hard plastic underneath called "torsion" or something. Lighter that way and above all, your feet will roll naturally. Going back to Saucony, I shaved off the heels to make it zero-differential meaning the height of the heel sole is the same as the forefoot. Also, I removed excess weight of the sole and removed other materials which irritate my feet. My cobbler who made the holders for my front-loading bottles for UTMB did another great job at it! Here are the pictures of the shoes before and after (NOTE: I further shaved the forefoot before BDM102):









DAYS BEFORE BDM102

Not much. More rest and sleep. Work got in the way sometimes. I ate healthy and no beer this time except that one bottle of SMB four days before BDM102 :) For food, I restricted my food intake so as not to gain weight. It might come as a surprise to most of you but I ate very few carbohydrates leading to the race. Please note that I do not recommend this to anyone. Definitely, no useless sugar of any kind. One thing I followed after all those years was to eat what food my body was craving for.

One thing I noticed was that I was kind of lethargic and not excited before the race. Don and some of my friends knew about it. Unlike last year for BDM160, I was fixated on the race. This time it was the opposite.  I was just mentally focused to RUN MY OWN RACE!

MANTRAS

My continuing mantras were "race smart" "run your own race" "you are here to break the CR", "cruise", "engine humming", "right here, right now" and "don't mind your opponents". 

FUEL & FOOD CHOICE

Mainly water and occasional sodas and for fuel, gels and a bit of pastillas from Magalang. That was it. One thing I noticed was that I used to survive on 200 calories per hour but during the last half of BDM102, I was ingesting around 250 or so calories and my tummy did not complain. I brought my favorite Snickers bars but I was too pre-occupied or tired to chew.

MY STRATEGY & FIRST 30K

One has to pace properly during the first 20K. In particular, I took note of my cramps last year during BDM160 because of hard effort during this stretch. This time, I slowed down and did not bother being in the 10th or 12th place. Peter Kennedy, Max Espinosa, Graciano Santos and other runners flew fast. I knew all or most of them would not be able to maintain that pace and would eventually slow down. I was right. Some call it veteran's move. Perhaps.

So slowly, I started to reel them in one by one. I saw Peter on the roadside and when I asked if he was ok and he just said "I wish I had a support vehicle" or something to that effect. Was it Max when I saw him KM30 having cramps? I was polite when passing by making a hand signal. I was expecting the defending champion Carreon way up ahead. It was only later on when I was told that he did not join. 

So I was leading now and watched my pace very carefully. Downhill was like 4:30 or less minute per kilometer while uphill was 6:00 min/km maximum. This is where Garmin or any GPS watch shines. What I lost going uphill I tried to recover during downhill. The point is that I must maintain an average pace of 5:50 to break the CR and that was for the entire course. 

Around 17K, a drunk teenager in slippers ran with me for almost 1K until he finally gave up when a roving patrol called his attention. Dogs will be always a menace and so are the ego-bloated and/or drunk drivers whether on 2, 4 or more wheels. Heck even those bus and truck drivers from Dinalupihan to Lubao were a nightmare.

My suggestion to BR is to tap the barangay officials or LGUs in the areas where the runners pass through. This race could be our very own Comrades where people will expect this historical race year after year and to cheer on the runners with flags and all while they pass by in their respective area. Perhaps that is the only way to teach people to put their dogs on leash :)

31K to 80K

I was feeling comfortable running a conversational pace of 5:20 to 5:30 min/km. Marathon distance was reached at around 3:50 something while 50K at around 4:41. It was hard to maintain a target pace during the hilly or rolling terrain of the first half while always being aware of the importance of reserving enough energy to cover the last half due to fatigue factor. In other words, one cannot dilly dally during the first half at the risk of wasting time. So one should strike a balance of being fast enough but with enough kick to cover the remaining distance.

Don as my chief crew reminded me of my pace during this portion. Since I got to refuel every 2 kilometers, he told me I was covering 2 kilometers at an average time of 11 minutes. I told him that was the comfortable pace I could maintain. Neither slow nor fast. Some called it "cruising" or in fat-burning mode. 

81K to 90K

I could feel the fatigue now. Some muscle twitching here and there. I slowed down too but always mindful of the time and pace. Actually, one should mind his pace which takes care of the time eventually. I was eagerly waiting for the sun to rise. It was slowly peeking though the horizon. I was just hanging there.

91K to 98K

While even maintaining my fuel and fluid intake, my body was almost at the edge of breaking down. My pit stops of every 2 kilometers were now every 1.5K and I fast walked a bit while fueling and hydrating. I was losing time but I knew I had to hang on. I did not come this far and fast to give up now. My legs were heavy and the demons in my head were celebrating my state of weakness egging me to walk and just take it easy since the next runner was 6 kilometers behind me. I had to steel myself.

99K to FINISH LINE

The temptation to walk to the finish line was almost unbearable had it not for my crew who motivated me. I thought even if I ran to the finish line there was no way I could break the course record. Just the same, I sprinted and ignored the painful and onset of cramps on my quads and calves.

It was only when I made a left turn to the Finish Line that I realized I still had a few precious seconds to break the CR. It was the sprint of my life! Good thing BR's timer was huge enough to see it from afar. As they say, history repeats itself. Just like my BDM160 finish, I was sprawled on the road gasping for air. BR quipped about me missing the ceremonial hug.

The rest is history with DOMS galore afterwards :)

INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDE




It is very easy to plan to break the CR but it is in the execution that makes or breaks it. Hours after the race, I was emotional because I still could not figure out how I did it. It was very hard to maintain the focus or pace when every single cell in your body was shouting "STOP IT!!!". I thought my years of ultra experience (GNW100 and UTMB to name a few) prepared me for this but I was wrong.

Funny thing is this is not a race with a cash prize which should have been a strong motivation. The motivation is inside the runner and it is intangible. Since it is intangible, it can dissipate easily when confronted with pain, discomfort and fatigue. How to maintain that motivation during the entire race is the question.

Given the same conditions (same start time and date and no cash prize), I predict that a runner will soon come under 10 hours. He/she must really want it so bad to do it. Less than that will not cut it. 9:30 to 9:40 is realistic for someone with talent. 8 hours is impossible. Even 9 hours to 9:20 is very difficult because of the raving pesky dogs and drunk, ego-stoking drivers are out there to disrupt your momentum. The inherent difficulty of the terrain is obviously something to contend with. The road condition in the wee hours of the morning from Dinalupihan war shine to Lubao is very difficult because even with headlamp, one cannot see the road properly because of the headlights from oncoming vehicles. So runners slow down on this part or risk getting side swiped or run over.

So what would it take to break the CR?

1. Years of experience running ultras (unless one is really talented unlike me in which case a few fast marathons will do, I guess. Years to develop your legs and feet to withstand that constant concrete pounding);

2. Motivation at the Richter scale of 10 (this is your best weapon);

3. Focus/determination like the beam of light;

4. Training which intensity (but not distance) is harder than the race itself;

5. Understanding of the importance of regular fuel and fluid intakes; and above all

6. Ability to shut down your brain from incessant perception of pain and discomfort. How do you shut down your brain? You cannot but some for some strange reason it happened to me during this race. 

Oh I forgot your choice of quality crew is indispensable. Without them, it is doubly difficult as it is. So thank you to my crew - the usual folks, Boyet as navigator, Boyet as crew member and above all, Don Ubaldo who was the chief crew. I owe you guys one. Also thank you to others who wished me well.

Cheers,
Jon (it never gets in my head)

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MY FIRST TRAIL 42K :)

March 29, 2012, 6:45 am
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Technically, this is my first trail marathon and so this Sunday should be an exciting weekend.

Some friends will be travelling with me to Kayapa, Benguet Philippines this Saturday. We'll be leaving morning of Saturday and will perhaps take us 6-8 hours to get there. Sometimes, it makes you wonder why travel so far just to run a measly 42K. That is what running is all about - travel, camaraderie and experience. Besides, if I can travel several thousand miles to race overseas, I should not have any qualm joining local races. As they say, patronize your own. Besides, the recent PSA race also on Mt. Ugo made me fall in love with the place. Yes, I am a sucker :)

Truth be told, I need this race for TNF100 Baguio on 21 April 2012 and eventually for WS100. Besides, I am coming in with a vengeance since I was not in condition when I ran PSA. So, this is a challenge for me. 

Let us see how RD Jonel will play this out. So good luck to everyone.

Cheers,
Jon (aching to feel the rush again)
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MT. UGO King of the Mountain Race Report

April 3, 2012, 9:10 pm
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PRE-RACE

My last run was Friday after work. A quick hilly run in Donggwang where the rain the night before made the trail/ground slippery. The treacherous condition of the trail was however compensated by the cool breeze of the coming night. There is always a primal sense of communion with Nature when one is all alone trail running with nary a care and virtually detached from civilization. That Friday, I purposely did not bring my Fenix as the run was not long. I miss running all alone at night.

TRAVEL

Last Saturday morning, Don, Jael, Noel, Precy, Lucy, Wyda and Boyet congregated in our house in Clark before the trip. Jael and Don came from Manila and left their car. Carpool is always advisable and fun. Environmentally-friendly too. So we were told that the travelling time would be like 6-8 hours via Baguio. It took us 9 hours with pit stops here and there and a late lunch at the Cafe By The Ruins in Baguio. The Molo soup was good and the Pan Au Chocolata as well. Please do not eat them together :) The Bagnet was so so. I've had better. In fairness , the ambience was good. Ok I better stop as this is a blog about ultrarunning and not gastronomy :)

It was only after the race that we realized there is a faster way to get in and out of Kayapa and that is via Nueva Vizcaya. Sorry for us, no strawberries on the way back.

ACCOMMODATION & TOWN

Downright basic amenities. We were provided with pillow and blankets. I chose to sleep on the wooden sofa with no mattress . The trick was several blankets on it for cushion. Rooms are communal. The toilets as well and there were only 2 of them. One user even managed to clog it with used tissues. Crap. And one has to go treacherously down the stairs (not wide enough) to the ground floor to use it. I shudder at the thought of using it when one is drunk and has to pee. Yay! I thought of arinola of yesteryear. For P/200 pesos (5 US dollars?), I don't have much right to complain really. Give me anything flat to rest my back on and I can sleep.

These basic amenities complement what Kayapa is all about. Simplicity at its best. I must admit I cannot entirely do justice to describe what Kayapa town is. Spending 1 night and 1 day (even the daytime was spent running our sorry a@*#!s off up and down the mountains) was obviously not enough. People are very friendly and hospitable. There is prevailing serenity in the town and one can even sense or see it across the faces of the town folks. The locals looked at us with amalgam of curiosity, caution and humor. Perhaps, the environment and cool crisp weather have made them that way. It even crossed my mind to perhaps consider erecting a small vacation hut there and no longer in Sagada and train on its trail 'til Kingdom come. Perhaps, that is the only way to beat those Baguio boys :)   
  
Food was so darn cheap! I loved their "nilagang baboy" (boiled pork - any culinary name for this food?). The soup was tasty/refreshing after the run and the meat was tender. If you haven't done it, try gnawing the tendons, ligaments and meat off the bones. That too is primal :)

So all in all, I subscribe to RD Jonel's description of Kayapa. If the town and people will stay the same (I mean it in a complementary and positive way), the King of the Mountain will attract more local as well as foreign runners in its subsequent editions subject to improvement on the quality of accommodation for the discriminating runners.

RACE

With Vener, Doc, Don, Thumbie and moi with trekking poles
 (Photo courtesy of Thumbie)

I will not bore the readers with too much details of the race like who was in the lead pack, etc., etc. Rather, I will concentrate on the beauty of the trail and the surrounding area and briefly explain why this race should be in the bucket list of ultrarunners.

(Photo courtesy of Jake Manzano. That is Don huffing and puffing 
and so most of us :)

It is pretty obvious that the raw beauty of the terrain is the primary attraction. Ever-present mist, clouds you can almost touch, the pine-scented air and strong winds that constantly buffet the runners as they approach the Mt. Ugo summit. The weather helps to cool the body from exertion and is thus refreshing. Temperature is perfect for this kind of race. Some part of the trail is covered with moss and dead leaves.  One can tell that people hardly use it. Running on this part of the course provides the runner with nothing to distract him/her. It is only the runner and the terrain. Psychologically, it motivates the runner to keep moving and cliche as it may sound, there is that feeling of independence mixed with desperation and anxiety of varying degrees. This is what trail running is all about. It connects the runner to his primal instincts. The runner knows he has to propel himself using only his two legs to reach the finish line because no one is there to rescue him/her or help to do that for him/her. In our local parlance, we say: Bahala ka sa buhay mo! And that is self-reliance. In so many ways, trail running is good for your soul.

Post race, one runner posted a mobile picture of wild boars on the trail. This lends credence that the area surrounding Mt. Ugo is almost untouched by civilization. These animals are quite aloof and extinct is most parts of the country.


  (Photo courtesy of Jingle)

Surprisingly, the course is well established and almost an exact distance for marathon. I even mentioned to RD Jonel that if he had this sub-4 challenge then the distance should be spot on. The winner is an elite Baguio runner and came in 4:17. Sub-4 is doable but it will be hard to do so. One has to train for it preferably on the same route based on the principle of specificity of training and to avoid getting lost like some runners did during the race. When one has a target time, it sucks to to deviate from the course.

POST RACE

I took the risk of getting a massage when I came back home which I normally do 1 or 2 days after a race. This time I was just curious. The next day I was able to do a recovery workout (more like jog-walk-jog type of thing) around the grassy part of the Parade Ground. There is no absolute certainty whether the light massage worked but I was a little sore. My right heel was tender though and the only explanation I could come up with was the probability of my right foot hitting a rock during those killer downhills while being chased by Thumbie, Almar and Rey :) My heel during the recovery run last Tuesday was already okay.     


RUMINATION

The challenge I set up for myself was well worth it. I had more energy and speed for this race than during PSA. It is obvious from the finish time. 5:48 in PSA whereas 6:11 for KOM inspite of the disparity in the distance. A good prospect for TNF100 given I have 2 more weeks to tweak my training. Race results here: http://bugobugo85.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/2980/

Overall, the race was well-organized except for insufficient marking on some critical junctions (or perhaps we were not looking enough). Some runners did get lost. Some of us had to stop at major intersections just to find the right turn. Good thing there were some locals present to point the right way. Other than that, majority of the course was well marked. I am happy to note that Jonel is the RD who listens and welcomes observations from runners because that is the only way to improve the succeeding editions of KOM. Even CM50 had some lapses on markings despite our best effort to mark the course the day before the race. As they say, no matter how well you mark the trail course some will always veer off and complain later on. Believe you me, it is not easy to organize, manage and conduct a trail race. Been there, done that.

Also, the RD might want to consider putting up structured aid stations with sufficient fluid and fuel stations once this race gets popular both for local and foreign runners. It is to be noted that runners from other countries avoid initial editions of races because of kinks in the organization, management and conduct of these races. Most often than not, it is in the subsequent episodes of these races that those kinks get sorted out. Perhaps, all these observations will help in the conduct of the inaugural opening of the Four Lakes 100K / Old Spanish Trail 60K ultramarathon races on 26-27 May 2012.


So RD Jonel, FrontRunner and his team did a fantastic job. I will definitely recommend the succeeding edition of Mt. Ugo King of the Mountain race to my fellow runners. It is a blast! To the people of Kayapa, thank you for your hospitality.

Cheers,
Jon (aching to feel the burn in his quads)
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Sagada, Mountain Province

April 15, 2012, 10:26 pm
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En route to Sagada

THE RUN

After almost 15 years, I finally came back (this is my 4th time to visit it). Last weekend, our office held its annual team building in the faraway highlands of Sagada, Mountain Province around 350kms or 11 hours of driving north from Clark. It was worth the long trip!

Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Busy weekend market

of the famous photographer Masferre

The morning of Saturday, we were scheduled to see Sumaging cave and the nearby falls but I declined and told them I would run instead. I have seen some of the best tourist spots here and more. The joke now is I did a "one-man building" and not "team building". Anyway, I started my run from Rock Inn (500 meters or so from the town) where we were billeted, passing through the town (where there was a weekend town market), down the way leading to Sumaging but took the right instead going up to Smart Tower. I am not sure but I could have summitted Mt. Ampacao which is not that high. Perhaps, those who have been there could tell whether it is Ampacao based from the pictures below. (Thanks to Andrew of PUR for the guide)



Can you see the bird?
Ingenious but ineffective wooden gate





One of the fantastic views

Some sort of shelter from the harsh weather?

Looking at the guide map, there seems to be a trail connecting Mt. Ampacao to Lake Danum so tried to trace it and went deeper in the mountain using old trail paths but in vain. It was only when I came back down and asked a local guide that I realized it was the wrong path. 

So I found myself back again in town this time planning to trace the connecting trail via the road leading to Besao. For what seemed like an endless climb, there was no lake in sight. All around me were pine trees and mountain ranges. Sagada or Mountain Province in general is literally a region of mountains. One beautiful, majestic mountain after another. Breathtaking.  

After being on my feet for almost 4 hours, I found this off the beaten path to my left from the road. My curiosity diverted me to it and lo and behold, what a surprise! The views from this height were astounding! They were like the ones in UTMB or perhaps even better. The only thing missing is the snow-capped, towering Mont Blanc in the center of the region. Finding this trail path is by far the best part of my run. There was even a nearby mini falls! I shot a short video but the problem is I have to figure out how to upload it here.


So I left the place and continued with my quest to see Lake Danum. As soon as I exited the trail, a Toyota pick up stopped and the man behind the wheel asked:

Driver: "Ano meron diyan" (What can you see there?)
Me:  "Just a fantastic view!!!"
Driver: "Do you know where Lake Danum is?"
Me:  "No. I am also looking for it and got lost too. Perhaps down this road."

The driver just left. Oh well.



My run continued until I reached this junction. My feet took the uphill road on my right but close to 20 minutes of running, the Lake was nowhere in sight. It was now past 1PM since my start at 7:30AM. I decided go back and ended my run for 5 1/2 hours. The blueberries I paid for at the town market before my run, I picked them up on the way to the Rock Inn where I had a sumptuous "pinikpikan with etag" with boiled potatoes and the berries as dessert. The ultimate reward was a dinner buffet later that day at the classy French resto - Log Cabin  with my office mates. It was a perfect way to end the day despite being sunburned to perfection. Ouch and ouch here and there even as of this writing. It was hot for the past few days. I hope the weather will improve during TNF.    
     





OBSERVATION

As usual, the trip from Baguio City to Sagada was simply beautiful. Mountains after mountains! As I have said, this is literally a region of mountains. I could not help but think of trail running here to one's heart's content. Even 250 kilometers or more of trail or mountain running is very much possible. The weather is just perfect.

15 years ago, most of the road was not paved but now 90% is. So the travel is now faster. But I prefer the old way to travel before where folks had to take the old buses and stopped along the road to drink or wash from the spring water. I still remember how precarious the travel was then since the road passed and still passes through some of the mountain sides and cliffs.

But what I easily noticed is how populated Sagada town is now. I am not saying it is wrong. Houses are everywhere which somehow marred the images I had of Sagada of the days of yore. Rustic, serene and mysterious. Now it is too commercialized. They are many inns (not called hotels) to accommodate visitors both local and foreigners. At least the curfew of 9pm is generally still being followed to this day.

So I was glad I visited Sagada 15 years ago which memories are now forever etched in my mind. 

I wonder if there is a way to connect Sagada to Kayapa? That will be one heck of a run! Perhaps, I should maintain separate small huts both in Sagada and Kayapa for that perfect training ground :)

WILLIAM HENRY SCOTT

The night before our departure, I was looking for "pasalubong" for my kids mostly indigenous anklets and bracelets.  I thought of giving Don an anklet to give him faster legs for TNF100 this Saturday :) I got several ones for myself. They are of different colors depending on my mood and distance and difficulty of the race. I though it is only fitting to wear something from Sagada for the upcoming TNF100 and all other trail/mountain races.

So while I was checking several stores, there was this book inconspicuously displayed. The moment I saw it I knew I had to buy it. It was quietly screaming " buy me, buy me!" and why should I not? For only Php150 pesos, the decision was easy. 

I highly recommend this book if you want to find about our brothers and sisters in the highlands. Ironically, it is written by an American, the much-loved writer, scholar, historian, musician and writer - William Henry Scott who died in 1993 and was buried in Sagada, Mountain Province. 

Did you know that for 350 years, Igorots, the brave warriors that they are, resisted and fought the Spaniards for their independence? Now that is something that was never taught in our schools! Ironic is it not?

All I can say is my faith in the true potential of the Mountain Province as the perfect venue for ultrarunning is now further strengthened. This is a fitting celebration for the courage, strength and persistence of our highlanders.

(NOTE: Considering the sensitivity of the topic, the last part was of this post was written without regard to politics. This content of this post is entirely the personal observation of the blogger.  If the reader feels that some of the entries need to be corrected, please let me know.)

Cheers despite sunburned skins,
Jon (ready for TNF100 this Saturday)
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TNF100 , MT. MATUTUM, PEAKING FOR WS100

May 16, 2012, 8:26 am
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Whew, I finally had the time!

TNF100

This was the 5th edition of TNF100 here in the Philippines. The first one was in 2008 in Batangas which was my first 100K. That 2008 race was hard and painful for me but I was hooked since then :) I ran all editions except the CamSur in 2011. The race last April highlighted for me the importance and significance of proper tapering. I did not do that because I considered the 2012 edition as a training run for WS100. Coming into the race, my legs were tired and the strength was not 100%. So my wish to come under 18 hours (established in 2010 also in Baguio but different route) to best my previous time was unwarranted. Ultrarunning is really a learning process notwithstanding you have been at it for years.  

So the expectations or improvements in all facets of the race for the 2012 edition were high and for obvious reasons. This was the most competitive and star-studded edition given the fact that no less than Iker Carrera and Julia Bottger of Salomon Team showed up and topped the race albeit their respective time was below their usual standards. Race results here:   

http://www.thrillofthetrail.ph/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/TNF-100-2012-100k-Overall.pdf

With 55 finishers out of 200 who signed up speaks volume on how hard this race was. The heat primarily is the culprit. It could be 34C way up in the mountain during the daytime. There were some exposed parts which made the conditions very hard for the runners especially the 12K or so downhill route to Kenon Road. That was one hot and exposed road (yes, mostly concrete) mixed with loose rocks. Very hard to run.

When we got to Kennon Road (KM50) to pick up and access our drop bags, we noticed they were hot. Meaning, the bags seemed to have been left to fry under the sun which was obviously a mistake. All our solid fuels which were sensitive to heat turned into squidgy, slimy substance and our fluids, tepid. Imagine a lukewarm bottle of Pocari or Gatorade to greet you after running for several hours in extreme heat. It ain't fun. One runner even quipped that it was "lame" to cross the hanging bridge just to drink some cold water after accessing the drop bags. It was only reasonable to expect from the race organizer to put everything the runners needed in one place or station. Also, the aid stations have not improved a bit in terms of the fluid and fuel they offered. There is a  simple reason why they call it 'AID' stations. They are meant to AID runners from station to station. Offering measly bananas and kamotes as fuel was, to put it mildly, wanting. One can argue that I don't have to right to speak up since I got a free entry into the race. Well, somebody has to do it and besides, I mean well. How can they learn?             

On the bright side of things, the location of the Start/Finish line is nice. The quality of the race shirt is superb!  Even the material and design. Really at par or even better than what other international races offer. So it is a shirt I can proudly wear ... anywhere. Another good news is that this race earned a massive 3 points for UTMB (starting in 2013, 7 qualifying points are required instead of 5). Wow!




MT. MATUTUM

Two weeks after TNF100, I got the chance to climb Mt. Matutum down south. I have now this habit of always searching for a place to run whenever I get the chance to travel. The idea of Mt. Matutum came from Joe Matias of ARC through Facebook. So when my wife said that I could hitch on her trip to General Santos City (tuna capital of the Philippines) which I had not visited yet then, I had to know where I could run some trail.

At 5AM of 6 May 2012, I was in a cab (on special arrangement) heading to the mountain. From the highway, it is still more or less 8-9km on a single motorbike. The way is a dirt road and hilly. It passes through the biggest pineapple plantation I have ever seen. I was told it belongs to Del Monte ... no wonder. After registration at the DENR/Barangay station, I headed out together with the guide for hire. For backpack, he was just carrying a improvised bag made of "sako". Amazing. Details on Mt. Matutum:


MT. MATUTUM
Tupi, South Cotabato
Major jump-off: Sito Glandang, Brgy. Kablon, Tupi
LLA: 6°22'N, 125°06.5'E, 2293 MASL Days required / hours to summit: 1-2 days / 4-6 hours
Specs: Minor climb, Difficulty 5/9, Trail class 3
(Source: http://www.pinoymountaineer.com/2008/01/mt-matutum-2293.html)

Honestly, I was not really so keen on visiting the place. I just needed some training and figured this was the best place to do so. As it turned out, one of the best runs I have had mostly on account of my guide. He said this was the fastest climb he did after years of being a guide. We reached the summit in 2hours and 20 mins and finished in 4 hours and 18 mins (16 minutes at the peak ... more than necessary really) and broke his shoe from running (picture below). So he was one foot bare during the last 1-2 kilometers Too bad it was too foggy at the top to see the entire landscape. What I dislike about the climb was leeches. Small but terrible. However, the town folks seemed used to seeing climbers from out of town.   The town exudes a certain serenity like Kayapa. Anyway, so one can imagine how nice it was to devour some tuna after the climb in GenSan. Yum!



Phase/Camp 1. Guide was eating.

The guide said I could see Mt. Apo from here. Nada. Too foggy.


In 4:18. Sorry, your shoe gave in.

PEAKING FOR WS100

WS100 is around the corner and most likely, all of the 417 runners selected to run the 39th Annual Run of Western States on 23-24 June 2012 are peaking now in their training. Last week, I was feeling good to cap off my training week at 100k - 70% or so on trail and the remaining percent on hilly road with  speed workouts thrown in here and there. The highlight of the week was the weekend back to back of around 40K at Miyamit and double climb at Mt. Arayat. 

MIYAMIT

Don and I managed to start at 3:30 in the morning for the Miyamit run minus the falls last Saturday. From the junction leading to the falls and the peak, the trail was covered with overgrown grasses that mutilated our bare legs. It was a mistake on our part not to have anticipated it and to quite figure out with accuracy the fluid needed for the run. The view was still beautiful though. We met some 40 or so climbers along the way heading to Pinatubo. One of their guides was the same Aeta who helped us to clear the trail for CM50. Now that Jerry Guiao is not around, I can ask him to show me the trail to reach  Mt. Pinatubo to make CM50 a 100K or so race :) The 2nd edition of CM50 is set on 25 November 2012, Sunday. 

Don at the peak (find him)

Our lousy way to protect our legs from scratches.
For CM50, the trail will be cleared. 10K to the peak is not that long.


One of the views I missed.

From Crow Creek to the falls, most of the dirt road have been widened like this.

MT. ARAYAT

Simon and I had done the double climbs before at Mt. Arayat in preparation for UTMB. Last Sunday was different though. Despite the Miyamit run the day before, my legs were fresh and I strangely had more energy for these climbs. The trail was dry but not slippery. The mountain seemed "relaxing" and "inviting". Also, it seems we have managed to establish what could be the fastest climb so far.  First peak in 1 hour and 20 mins and 1st round at 2:26. Of course, these times are far from world-class time. So please bear with us as this is just part of our amusement :) We enjoy running after all. Details here: 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/177584188

Summary

Distance: 11.40 mi
Time: 5:04:24
Avg Pace: 26:49 min/mi
Elevation Gain: 8,268 ft
Calories: 762 C

Time: 5:04:24
Moving Time: 3:31:45
Elapsed Time: 5:04:31
Avg Pace: 26:49 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace: 18:34 min/mi
Best Pace: 6:17 min/mi

Elevation
Elevation Gain:8,268 ft
Elevation Loss:8,251 ft
MinElevation:358 ft
MaxElevation:3,301 ft

We could have made it in sub 5 hours but the detour to "white rock" (lower elevation peak) cost us those extra minutes. Anyway, next time. It was a blast running downhills. What an exhilarating feeling! Simon is training for TNF50 in Washington DC on 02 June 2012 and UTMB on August. Pictures below:

Round 1 at the peak with Simon

Climbers at the white rock

Simon at white rock (which is not white)

Group of French climbers in the background. 


Any attempt to break 1:20 (peak) or total 2:26 should start at this mark/area.

Cheers,
Jon (excited for WS100 as things are coming into play :)

   








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WS100 RACE REPORT

August 2, 2012, 4:30 pm
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There are events in our lives that blow us away. This is one of them.

Rick Gaston (real name is Enrique Gaston :) did a good job of narrating what actually happened during the race . . . pacer’s point of view at http://365ultra.blogspot.com/2012/06/western-states-100_28.html. So I will not go into details he has eloquently spoken of. It took me this long to finally realize I must write down my experience. The risk however is there is no easy way to do it because it will necessarily entail reliving what actually transpired. Even before beginning this report, I was already uneasy (certainly NOT traumatized!).  For the most part, I will delve into anything and everything at the risk of being incoherent and incongruous. No worries; everything was hazy anyway during the race :)

TRAINING

Training went well (except for occasional bouts of peroneal tendonitis in my right foot which annoyingly replaced my plantar fascitis). I focused more on trail/mountain running. Specificity of training. There is so much fun in downhill running or climbing mountain for that matter.  Mt.Matutum is the farthest mountain I climbed prior to the race. Staples are Mt.Arayatand Miyamit – closer to home. I doubt I could do this if I lived in Manila. I got to chance upon a group of climbers in some of my runs and I think gone are the days when mountaineers carried too much gear. Minimalism is viable.

JET LAG

It is best to travel and come early for an overseas race to shake off the jet lag and settle in gradually. For UTMB and GNW100, I came 5 days before the race and felt good. WS100 merely 3 days. Not enough. It might entail additional cost though. It is certainly not a good feeling not knowing whether one has fully recovered before a race as big and prestigious as WS100. I mean there are more important things to consider and worry about than jet lag. I suggest a minimum of 4 days to zone in.

PRE-RACE STRESSES

I should have known this would be epic. All my big races were preceded with stressful weeks because of work, etc. and this is no exception. For this race, the process of looking and soliciting for sponsorship was really stressful. Following up is another matter. I need to place a bet on lotto. Winning it will make my life so much  easier :) You know when you have a family and have this passion like running which takes you to different continents, it is wise not to touch the family budget just to avoid any discussion with your spouse. Believe me it makes things easier for everyone. So this explains why I go out looking for sponsors to help with the financial costs of travelling abroad. Besides, I am not rich.

Another stress was the USvisa. I have heard stories of applicants who are very qualified but get denied for some convoluted reasons. I made it to WS100 lottery even before I applied for US Visa. So you could imagine my utter consternation and frustration if for some reason my application got denied. So I have learned my lesson and that is to get a visa as early as possible. The only consolation is I can get in and out of US territory for the next 10 years. Cool since there is B ... next year or S ... :)

So the days before the race, Rick and I basically hanged out in his place following the old saying – stay off your feet. The farthest I went to is the Sports Basement, so huge it will take you at least half day to check out all the items. It is like a big warehouse. If you happen to be around the area, go check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Lots of items and gear on sale.




THURSDAY STRESS… again

I remember posting in FB relaying my concern about my left knee getting twisted while taking a bath but it proved to be nothing compared to what I would experience later during the race. I thought it would give me a problem. It did not because the race threw a bigger monkey wrench.

FRIDAY … RACE BRIEFING


WE bumped into Wayne Plymale before leaving for Squaw. He was running and it was cold :)

As soon as we reached Squaw Valley (the registration site) after more than 4 hours of driving, I knew the weather was not to my liking. This is another reason why it is important to come to the race early – acclimatization. Others were enjoying it though. Wind was too cold. While others were just wearing a shirt, I had to wear the hoodie WS100 sweater giveaway. Registration was easy. My race packet included a cool Official Mountain Hardwear, a cool WS100 shirt (bought a souvenir made by Asics), dark blue sweater with hood, race bib, Udo’s oil, tumbler, Moeben, Headsweat visor and Mountain Hard Wear knapsack. It was nice to finally meet Jose Nicolas in person and to get introduced to other runners via Rick.

It was nice to finally meet Jose Nicolas in person. No, that wasn't our finish time. It says 16+ hours to go before start :)

Squaw Valley used to be the 1960 Winter Olympic venue and sits at 6,200ft asl.

During the briefing, there were runners with their crew, friends and/or family. It was like a mini Woodstock type of gathering – the kind that unites all people of similar interest. So much energy, excitement and anticipation. It was in the air. There is no mistaking about it. I was just glad and thankful to be part of it. When the male elite runners and from the distaff side were presented, one could not help but in awe - these are the best or some of the best or the best in the world.



Elite men
Elite women

While listening, we bought sandwiches from Mountain Nectar Juice and Bagel. The queue was long and I knew they must be good. Indeed they were! Huge sub-type sandwiches good for 2 persons. I could only finish half of it. Rick, on the other hand, has an impressive appetite. After he ate his, he was able to devour the other half of my sandwich with such gusto :) It looked like he was the one running the next day and needing all the calories :) Met a lot of folks here – Dave Mackey, Ian Sharman, Tim Twietmeyer, RD Greg Soderlund, Andy Jones Wilkins of irunfar.com and other folks. Rick seemed to know everyone and I was not surprised given his ultra running experience and exposure.

See the qeue?

Rick with the HUGE sandwich

With Dave Mackey - an amazing athlete for over 40 years old. He broke the Master's record held by Tsuyoshi Kaburaki for a long time


Speedy Ian Sharman (more famous as Elvis runner)


LAKE TAHOE

We stayed in a hotel around 15-25 minutes drive  from Squaw and it was the right decision. The drive from San Francisco is more than 4 hours so it was only wise to stay in the vicinity the day before the race. We paid almost US$80 for the hotel and around US$209 for car rental of 3 days. As soon as I stepped into the room I knew right away it was an old one. You know the kind that you see in the movies circa 70's. It smelled like one too! :)



The Lakethough is magnificent. Huge, expansive and very cold. It looked like an ocean to me. We did not leave the hotel and just brought food with us like sandwich, banana, water, etc. I forgot to bring the jar of almond butter. Try it. It is heavenly! I should have brought back home some with me. Needless, to say my left knee was bothering me. I thought it would pose a problem during the race but fortunately it did not. As it turned out, I had bigger and more pressing problems after all.

GEAR

Okay, here is quick rundown of my gear:

Shoes & socks - INOV 8 Roclite, My old pair. Tried and tested in UTMB. Wide enough for my duck feet. I had to fix the holes in the pinky toe part which only reminded me to retire them after the race. That was what Rick said after the WS100. My cobbler did a good job by covering the holes with leather patch. Socks – Injinji, a pair courtesy of Rick’s friend (Hey Rick sorry but what was his name again?!)

Shirt – Special shirt with the Philippine flag on it, etc. courtesy of The Perfect White Shirt of Philip Arenillo. Thank you!

Shorts – TNF Flight series.

Windbreaker – courtesy of Rick. I  forgot from what ultra race Rick got it. Very light and packable. This item has seen Rick through some ultras.

Visor – Ultrasign.Up brand. I wished I brought my Mountain Hard Wear but I could not find them before flying out.

Shades – Julbo Ultra which reminds me I need to fix the lenses so they won’t misalign from their sockets during the race.

I used a pair of hand-held bottles for hydration and a lightweight vest courtesy of Rick. The vest helped me to store gels, etc.

WAKE UP!

I remember posting in FB when I woke up. It was Jonel who quickly replied and quipped that it was too early. Rick was still asleep though. Both of us had no idea how epic our day would turn out. It appeared that there were runners who stayed in the same hotel because we saw them heading out ahead of us. I normally take a bath  before the race to get that feeling of freshness but this time I did not. It was done last night before going to sleep. I figured I need all the natural oil or moisturizer on my skin to protect me from the cold elements. As soon as I woke up, it was plain brewed coffee that came first into my mind.

SQUAW VALLEY

See the trail path behind the Start line? It goes up and up.


Runners were greeted by what I call the “silent frantic mood” in the air. There was no doubt about it. We were all excited, runners, pacers and friends alike but there was this certain calmness to it. I think most of us have learned to be calm under pressure. Something that we have learned by joining some difficult races. Now, first in my agenda was coffee then breakfast which was available for all the participants. But I had to get first my race bib. In some video clippings that I watched prior to the race, I noticed the race bibs of the participants were simple as it showed the numbers.  Only to realize that they merely folded the bib to reveal the numbers only. It made sense from minimalism point of view. Also, the 4 corners of the bib to which the pins are attached are not prone to tearing. Rick was busy talking to people. He enjoyed being around them.

Rick said he would film the start and would position himself a few meters up from the Start line. I agreed and just nodded. In a big and long race like this, it seems talking is an effort. So the tendency is to remain silent like it is an unconscious effort to preserve one’s energy. I had to pee and as soon as I came out, I could not find Rick. So I stepped outside and was greeted by chilly windy morning. Runners huddled at the Start line and around campfire. Where I came from, this was COLD already. Some were just wearing shorts and shirt. I think the last 5 minutes before the Start will always be the longest time. It is like you want to start right away so you can get the race over with but at the same time, you want it to last a little longer because once the race has started, there is no turning back. It is either you finish it or DNF.

I kept looking at my Timex and tried to remain relaxed. It is like the calm before the storm both figuratively and literally for this race. Well, we had rain, hail and some nasty weather conditions up there during the race. So that fits.

START TO KILOMETER 35

Going to Watson’s Monument 5-7 kilometers from the Start was a steep climb of more than 2,000 feet. We just kept on climbing and climbing. It started to drizzle which later on turned into rain and hail. The wind just kept blowing freezing wind. It was so cold that the skin on my face felt numb. I felt stupid also for being underdressed. The windbreaker was utterly insufficient and how I wished I brought a thicker jacket and something to cover my face. I was freezing out there and had to keep moving.  Good thing I bought a pair of cheap pair of gloves from the supermarket the day before. There was even a very strong wind that blew the dust on the ground covering us with thick layers of dust as if we bathed in it. I could still feel the dust on my scalp for the next 29 hours. So for the next several hours, we were chilled, blown, battered, and harassed by freaky weather conditions. One runner described it as “it was nasty back there”. By this time, the fog started to thicken so much that we could hardly see the beautiful landscape.

ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! Part 1 (KILOMETERS 36-58)

Weather was now getting better. It still rained but not enough to drench us. The trees around us protected us from the chilly wind unlike when we were in altitude and on exposed course back there.

Upon climbing Robinson Flat (roughly 43K mark), I noticed now the deterioration in my vision. It started like it was being hazy but it was still okay to navigate the course. I remember enjoying the downhill and running with such ease. I was still enjoying the race. Passed a lot of runners too especially going down and on pace for sub-24 hours. Fog still covered the course and we could hardly see the beautiful terrain. So after Robinson Flat was a short climb and it went really down all the way to Last Chance passing through 2 aid stations (Miller’s Defeat and Dusty Corners).

1-2 hours from Robinson Flat, my vision was really bothering me. I kept squinting and trying really hard to recover my vision. By this time I had lost 50% of my visual capacity but it was still enough to see the terrain and that was all that mattered. My vision impeded my pace but I always kept a positive attitude that it would get better. Keeping a positive attitude and calmness when things are not going your way during the race is significantly important.

At Miller’s Defeat station, I approached some volunteers for help but they could not figure out what was wrong with my vision. So instead of dawdling, I moved on but before doing so, I washed my eyes with plain water hoping eyes would get better. They were never the same and continued to deteriorate.

CRYING OUT TO HIGH HEAVEN

It was like looking at a frosted glass. Milky and blurry. You know you can see but it is useless. It is like in a hot spa and the only mirror you can see is always foggy even if your face is just a few inches away from it. So I was reduced to walking now. Runners I passed hours ago were now passing me. It was so frustrating because you knew you still had the strength and power in your legs but you just could not run.  

This was where I cried to high heaven … BEGGING for vision even at least 50% capacity!!! I knew I could run well because I trained for this. I was already sad, dejected and disappointed. Asking myself if I was being punished and why I deserved it. Telling myself it was cruel for this to be happening. I even debated within myself and demanded to HIM why I deserved to have my vision restored because I came to represent my country and all the ultrarunners in the Philippines! I was getting angry. But I had none of it (even got waorse later on). Amidst all of these, I maintained my faith in myself. If it seemed HE abandoned me, I would certainly not abandon myself.  

Right now, I had only 20-40% vision. I just could not see the grade, rocks, terrain and even trees. My face had to be really up close to see the details. There were several times I almost smashed myself against a tree. Like my face was a few inches from the trunk and I just had to make a complete sudden retreat.  In areas where the sun shone against the exposed course, my vision got reduced to 10%! The sun blinded me completely. So blurry that the acuity of my vision was nil. There was no choice but to stop because I could not figure out which way to go. The only solution was to wait for runners to come by and followed the direction they were headed. Sometimes I had to wait for 10-15 minutes and could only manage to gingerly walk the course for fear of getting injured which could end my race on a snap. Several times, I asked some passing runners for my condition. Some responded and others just ignored me. I understood they were focused trying to make it to the finish line. Some old folks I came across said it was altitude. This went about for several hours. The goal to finish under 24 hours had to be realistically abandoned now.

DUSTY CORNER

This was the worse part. 200-300 meters approaching Dusty, a runner took my arm to help me get to the station. I did not know that I was on standing on an elevated uneven ground and as soon as he took my arm, I missed my step  and sprained my left ankle! I quietly cursed and felt stupid for getting injured right now.

Rick did a fantastic job in narrating the details of what happened in Dusty Corner Station. So go to his blog momentarily now :) This was where DNF became a real possibility. With more than 100k of trail to go, getting blind now put a big dent on my confidence. You know there was so much in your mind like why this condition is happening, time is ticking, prospect of recovery, difficulty of night running ahead, race doctor pulling me out of the race, weather, etc., etc. All stressful. It was just hard to digest all those things. Funny thing is I was not tired at all.

Again, I kept on praying even though nothing good was happening. More than 1 hour had passed before my vision had improved to 40-50%. Okay I could now see some of the details of the terrain but my eyes had to stare down on the ground to see well. Good thing Rick was around to hand over my headlamp for the night running ahead. Funny thing is it took me more than 30 minutes before I finally realized it was him all along. I did not tell the doctor about my sprained ankle because that and my poor vision might be the recipe for a NO GO = DNF.

Amidst all of these, I told myself I had to give it a try. If I was going down, I would go down with a fight. I told the doctor and volunteers I did not travel several thousand miles to DNF. Not now. So much was at stake. The adrenaline rushing through my body had dulled the pain in my left ankle.

BEAR OR COUGAR? (KILOMETERS 60-100)

The next section of the course would be challenging in terms of terrain (up and down, up and down and night running). I would reach Foresthill by nighttime. With poor eyesight, it was no use delving into it. Rick would be available now as pacer at Foresthill. I am not sure If I told him but I was hoping he could pace me early on from Michigan Bluff around 80K mark instead. A companion at this time would surely be comforting.


At nighttime, my vision was a little better because of not too much ambient light. The problem was my headlamp. It had a strong focused beam which impaired my vision again. Damn it! It was stressing me again.

Running alone on a switchback passing through rugged forest, I distinctly remember getting paranoid when I heard some commotion in a bush above me. I immediately realized this was not Philippines. Here, bears and cougars are real! (Come to think of it, the emblem of WS100 includes an image of cougar on it!) I stopped just to see if it was a bear or something. So I ran up ahead, picked up a tree branch and made a spear out of it. If a bear or cougar decided to have me as a meal, I sure as hell would put up a fight. When you have a family of 4 kids, you will understand where I am coming from :)   



FORESTHILL (KILOMETER 100 or SO)

Rick was kind enough to fetch me before reaching Foresthill. He immediately told me he bought some Starbucks Double Shots. As you know, strong coffee during the night with cold weather is heaven sent. I took one and it tasted great. The bitterness of coffee provided a  contrast to sugary food I had been taking. After doing some stuff, we got going. I traded my headlamp for Rick’s Black Diamond with wide beam. Better for my vision. My spirit soared and felt better with Rick tagging along. First order of business was to determine the pace and distance vis-à-vis cut-off of 30 hours. We entertained ourselves with some chit chat, humor, etc. but the reason why we were there never escaped us. It was always there at the back of our mind.                                                                                                                                                            

(KILOMETER 101-140 OR THEREABOUT)

Both Rick and I were doing just fine running when the terrain allowed it  and picking it up on the down hills except when it was too rocky in which case we (actually I did)  really had to slow down for fear of aggravating the sprain in my left ankle. The sprain was showing some deterioration now and I supposed that was to be expected. Things were okay until we got lost. I mean all those efforts to put a margin to our time was wasted. Rick and I kept quite because deep inside we felt disconceretd  on how things turned out. Personally, I did not delve on it as far as how it happened. Just thinking of it made me tired though. No use and a complete waste of time. By this time, runners we passed were now leading. By merely seeing them in front of us again was discouraging to say the least. Just the same we refocused on the urgent task at hand until we reached Rucky Chucky. Crossing the famous Ruck Chucky river was not hard but really icy. The water was sure as cold! Rick has more on this on his blog. We were the last few runners who crossed it.

The effort now to make up for the lost time started to stress me again to the point my vision started to dim even further. More on this in Rick’s blog. We passed by a runner on a trail who was injured and had to DNF. Since I could not see, it was later on I realized it was Jose Nicolas who successfully ran the Comrades 3 weeks ago. Rick talked to him and from what he gathered, it was stress fracture. Jose was supposed to do the Grand Slam.

OH NO NOT AGAIN!

I just could not figure out why and no amount of prayer would turn things around. Running 100 miles, whether for experienced and newbies, is challenging and hard enough. However, running with way less than 100% vision is something else altogether. The stresses from getting lost and trying to make up for the time were enough to cause further degradation to my vision. I remember running with 20-30% visual capacity at the most critical part of the race. By this time, we were supposed to be flying on the course. Instead, we were like walking in a park. I was just trying to contain my mixed emotion of indignation, frustration and doubt. Doubt is a killer if one dwells in it. If you allow doubt to take a hold of you, it is a sure recipe for DNF.


Now on some rocky portions, I had to hold on to Rick’s shoulders like they were my walking canes or something. Otherwise, I might traverse the course by crawling just so I would not fall down. Did you know how frustrating this was? The word 'frustration' is an understatement here. Oh yes I was praying hard and wanted to cry. Crying out to high heaven again to give me even 50% capacity of my vision. The thought of not making it within the cut-off time of 30 hours because of my inability to pick up the pace at this critical phase of the race was so stressful! 

LAST 15K!

We breezed through aid stations. There was just not enough time to tarry. Whatever conditions we were in, it never escaped me to keep up with my fuel, hydration and electrolytes. This is very important! As I wont to say, control things that you can in a race and not those you cannot like weather, etc. Right now, my visual acuity was pathetic at its 20% capacity. Sunshine blinded me completely and in some areas where there was shade I could see a little. I had to place my complete trust in Rick and in fairness, he did a fantastic job at it.

As if fate was playing its sick joke on me, I sprained my other ankle! We were on a single track with small holes on the ground caused either by dislodged stones due to the number of runners who passed by or simply by erosion. In one of those holes, I accidentally planted my right ankle and I came down shrieking in pain! I still vividly recall the painful stretch in my ankle beyond its normal range as I fell to the ground. It was quick, sharp and really painful. The thought that came into my mind was this could be the end of my journey. I was blind with sprained ankle and this. Probably, the next one could be a detour off a cliff.

As if those weren’t enough, I sprained my right ankle 15 minutes after. My God! What is this?! My ankle swelled even more. I could feel some painful sharp twitching inside.  I told Rick I needed to take a break for 1 minute or so. My left ankle was also beginning to show substantial wear and tear. I told Rick one more slip and we would be going home. So I requested him to just warn me of the terrain conditions ahead. I did realize even more how difficult his job was at this point.

So you could imagine how our hope plummeted so low like it was a rubble caused by a Ritcher scale 10 earthquake.

ONE HOUR TO GO!

Despite my condition, we managed to put ourselves within the cut-off time. The huge challenge would be the hilly terrain to the finish line from the No Hands Bridge. I was sick and tired of the stress of trying to mitigate my physical condition with sanity. Sanity in terms of thinking through things and just ignoring the constant pain I was in. Rick and I discussed what needed to be done to be within the contention for the Buckle. I was amazed at how Rick handled things from his end. He seemed to be in panic but it was the calm type of panic. He had the composure and made me feel as if I was on pace for the buckle. It was the subtle of balance of reminding me to be vigilant but composed. Perhaps his years of ultrarunning and pacing duties made him what he is now. He was my eyes during the critical stage of my race. Who else could do that out there? He said "I never had a runner whom I paced who did not finish".

So we left No Hands Bridge to tackle the last difficult part of the race. You know what? We were running even how hilly the terrain was! We had to. I remember how strange it was for me to be very calm while going uphill. Like I was controlling my breathing Yoga style and heartbeat. I was in the zone and meditating. Telling myself whatever strength I have now, I have to stretch it to the finish line. Do not overdo it! I told myself “Jon, do not f#@% this up now! This is the only challenge that stands between you and the buckle. You have come this far!”.

Rick said “Dig deep Jon! which advise I dispensed to other runners before. I did not realize I would be the recipient of it this time. While writing this down I was feeling so emotional again. It was incredibly hard on that last part of the course. How to dig deep when you are already spent and broken is something you alone can figure out when the time comes. This reminds me of the saying:

"Out of sufferings have emerged the strongest souls; the massive characters are seared with scars"- Khalil Gibrain   

Finally, Rick and I both felt confident and vigilant at the same time. One false move or accident would be seriously disastrous. Rick asked me to look for a gel inside his back pack as he needed the fuel to bring us over some hills. It was getting hot also as we were on exposed terrain. We just ran fast and power walked really some steep hills. Some runners with pacers were strangely calm on those hills. I muttered how they would ever make it to Auburn at such a slow pace.

My hope buoyed up when I started to see more houses on left and right. I knew we must be very close to the track but we just kept on running. I muttered again how hilly Auburn is, thinking when would these hills end. And then there it was - the oval! I grabbed Rick’s hand and raised to high heaven, uttered a simple prayer and graciously thanked Rick.

Even as I entered the oval track, I warned myself to be careful lest I trip and fall. That would be embarrassing. All of you know the feeling associated with seeing the finish line. One word – LIBERATING!. The contrast of red tartan and white line guided me to the finish arc. Something fell to the track and I wanted to pick it up. Problem was I could not distinctly see it. I just heard a thud. Some people shouted “Forget the shades, just run. Run!”. As I crossed the finish line, I was enveloped with the feeling of utter release and was temporarily in disbelief that it was over. I was feeling bad that I could not see the people around me since this would only happen once. Somebody placed a medal around my neck as soon as I crossed the line. On the other hand, I knew a few minutes from now my adrenaline would subside and would start to feel the fatigue and exhaustion. I was asked to go to the chute for blood sample. Problem was I could not see clearly. Even finding a chair was such a chore! It was when I gingerly sat down that it all came down on me – I finished it! Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to bow my head to hide my emotions. I just wanted to release it in private and quietly.

IN HINDSIGHT



I had been eyeing WS100 since 2009. Running my first 100 mile trail race in 2010 in Australia - GNW100 was all part of a design. It was only after UTMB (I did enjoy this race even how hard it was!) last year that I decided to try my luck in WS100. I said these two big races should be enough to convince the WS100 screening committee to give a slot for the Philippines even if my name was not lucky in the lottery. When my name was picked, I had this strange feeling something big was in the offing.  My other option was Hardrock.

Days after the race and over some beer (some of the best out there), we kept on discussing over and over how the hell we managed to finish within the cut-off. Guess Rick and I will be forever wondering and honestly, I do not think we will ever get a straight answer. Frankly, I like it that way. Mystery is good. Also after 24 hours my ankles were swollen beyond recognition. The race must have pretty banged them up!  Well I did.

Swollen ankles. This after 24 hours!




I have done several tough ultras but nothing compared them to WS100. The stress especially in the last few hours to cut-off was almost debilitating. So much was going on! It was bad enough to be blind with two sprained ankles and on top of that, I still had to manage the terrain, station cut-offs, fuel, hydration, etc. The combination of these things really was wearing me down. The hardest part was psychological. I mean the thought of making it that far into the race just to find out later on that I missed the cut-off by a few seconds or minutes would be horrible. I could have just quit at Dusty Corner and avoided the pain and suffering.

Admittedly, my condition was a valid excuse to DNF and that is understandable. This race is different though. I represented something bigger (my country and Pinoy ultrarunners) other than the personal goal to secure that buckle. This, among others, is perhaps where I got my strength from. I have always said that if you are running a race of this distance and difficulty, you have to represent something higher or loftier. There must be an inspiration. Something to rescue or pull you out from your shittiest or lowest points during the race. Something to jolt you and to remind why you are in the race in the first place. For how can you do that, when you yourself is broken and dejected. Meaning, you must draw your strength from other source and most of the time, that strength is inside you. There are ways to achieve that strength. One is LIFE lessons. Also training-wise, doing long runs ALONE in some rugged hilly terrain and away from the comfort of modern civilization and people. No 7-eleven, stores or taxi. That is why I love Miyamit (and other similar training grounds) not only for its rolling terrain but for its seclusion. You reach its peak (21km from the base including the Falls) and whatever condition you are in, you have to make your way back down because no one will help or rescue you. Pardon me but I am against constant group runs if one is training for big ultras.

Rick as a pacer is one tough dude and generous as well. He never gave up nor hinted that I should. I am sure it was also very stressful for him guiding a blind runner on such distance and terrain. That is something you don’t train for. Calm under pressure and can manage to adjust and handle what the race throws at him. That is a hallmark of a veteran runner/pacer. What can I say, Rick is the best and because of what happened, I will be always bonded and thankful to him. I have always said friendship is forged in the fire of despair, hardship, problem and difficulty and never in the refuge of comfort, joy or happiness. The latter produces peers (barkadas) but not friends. Friends are hard to come by and the relationship takes years to develop. If you have many friends like you can’t count them in your fingers, I will just wonder. So Rick thanks man. I remember Rick telling me how sad it would be to drive home without the buckle. I can’t agree more!

Could I have finished even without Rick? I don’t know. I have to admit though that the chances would be almost nil. Did I take unnecessary risk when all reasons (and sanity) dictated that I should quit? Okay it was risky but it was calculated risk. Besides, no risk is too big when you represent your country and the people you love. Did it ever cross my mind to quit? Oh yes several times! What pulled me through then? The inspiration that I represented the Philippines, its ultrarunners and my family. Why do you think you went blind? I am not sure but it seems it’s the combo of elevation, stress, cold weather, low sugar/carb diet and I might add jet lag. Did you lose your faith in the ONE up there? Almost. Will you do it again? Heck yes provided there is enough sponsorship and this time I will come with a vengeance! Sub-24 since the course is conducive to faster time (if one is not blind and well-trained in that order of importance :).

At the end of the day, ultra race is one of the perfect places to discover yourself and what innate strength lies in you. It is like life itself in a more compact, abbreviated, dramatic and colorful package. You only travel one way and once you have started, there is no going back.  

Longboard is great! Rick bring some here! :)


THANK YOU

These are the people who made things possible:

My wife Lanie, kids and family (thank you for understanding the reason for the time spent away from you), Governor Pineda of Pampanga, CDC OIC/OP Oban Jr., CDC Board of Directors Honrado, Villanueva and Mendoza, CIAC Pres. Luciano, Mayors of Angles City and Porac, Atty. Roldan, Engr. Arcilla of ANGLO, HRPC, CDC Sonny Lopez, Philip Arenillo of The Perfect White for the shirt (awesome!), ARC (Joe Matias was kind enough to ship my Julbo), my Mother for her prayers (they really work!) and friends. Best of all, Rick Gaston. You’re the man! To Pinoy ultramarathoners ,  folks you will always be an inspiration. PUR and those who monitored my progress via webcast, my gratitude. I will refrain from mentioning their particular names names since If I missed one, others would not feel good about it. Those who printed my stories like Heidi and Marie. Merci! So this is a general thank you note!  

Cheers,
Jon (loving the downtime and has started running 1 1/2 weeks ago)
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LIST OF 2012 CM50 RUNNERS

October 23, 2012, 2:16 am
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      50 MILES 

FEMALE 
1.       Maria Angela Stephanie Hefti (XS)
2.       Maria Josephine G. Liao (XS)
3.       Jonnalene S. Dorin (XS)
4.       Daphne Codilla (S) 

MALE 
1.       Philippe Arenillo (?) (I suppose he knows his size given he is the shirt supplier :)
2.       James H. Roldan (L)
3.       Jonel Mendoza (L)
4.       Zosimo "Jon Las" Bruce (S)
5.       Jose Miguel  Villapando Limos (M)
6.       Simon Pavel T. Miranda (M)
7.       Carlos Angelo "Chips" S. Dayrit (M)
8.       Brian Roy A. Tan Seng (M)
9.       Alex Jones (L)
10.   Jeffrey Aquatin Diaz (M)
11.   Ed Redona (M)
12.   Jerome Lagumbay (M)
13.   Bong Bernadez (S)
14.   Francisco 'Kokoy' R. Delmo, Jr. (L)
15.   Camilo R. Paran, Jr. (L)
16.   Edilberto M. Yonzon (M)
17.   Ronaldo O. Sulapas (M)
18.   Joseph Sibal (S)
19.   Junar "Jj" Layug (L)
20.   Bennett Silario (L)
21.   Jose Lorenzo M. Mina, Jr. (S)
22.   Ronnel Go (L)
23.   Romy Doctolero (?)
24.   Jerry Peralta (M)
25.   Jael Wenceslao (M)
26.   Ronald M. Illana (L)
27.   Dindo M. Diaz ((L)
28.   Calvin John Escandor (M)
29.   Melvin P. Pangan (L)
30.   Barry Reonal Red (M)
31.   Mark Anthony V. Rodica (M)
32.   John Andrew M. Alcedo (M)
33.   Michael P. Dauz (M)
34.   Ruben P. Acebedo II (M)
35.   Jojo N. Dela Cruz (S)
36.   Mark Jay Bago Sidamon (S)
37.   Vener F. Roldan (free size)
38.   Jessie Alindogan Llarena (M)
39.   Raul C. Tapia (M)
40.   George G. Javier (S)
41.   Joseph G. Pineda (S)
42.   Joseph Adrien B. Soriao (M)
43.   Mark Carlo V. Villafuerte (L)
44.   Edrick I. Nicdao (S)
45.   Kirk Patrick S. Ang (M)
46.   Alden Philip Lim (S)
47.   Marcelo Bautista (S)
48.   Ejercito Suyo (S)
49.   Roy G. Ochavo (M)
50.   Rod U. Gotos (L)
51.   Jon Borbon (L)
52.   Romeo R. Cordova III (M)
53.   Benjamin Termulo (M)
54.   Mark Bryan G. Grey (S)
55.   Nicolas B. De Leon Jr. (M)
56. Meljohn Tezon (M)

60K

FEMALE
1.       Carmeli Anne Ortega (S)
2.       Jinkee M. Guerrero (S)
3.       Imelda B. Laron (M)
4.       Meriam C. Torres (S)
5.    Marie Anne Cruz Constantino (S)
6.   Juvy Pagtalunan (S)
7.   Lady Dianne G. Palogan (XS)
8.   Aileen Manat (M)   

MALE
1.       Harold R. Lorete (M)
2.       Benson Ray E. Morales (L)
3.       Marcos "Mccoy” Lontoc (M)
4.       Arman N. Garcia (M)
5.       Nixon "nick" Q. Pasiken (L)
6.       Aladdin B. Cordero (L)
7.       Danin Arenzana (S)
8.       Jericho "Jig" De Jesus (M)
9.       Ronaldo SP Robles (M)
10.   Alex Yap (M)
11.   Teodoro M. Mallen (L)
12.   Ryann Requitud Sison (XL)
13.   Henry E. Laron (S)
14.   Mar Marilag (M)
15.   Bong Alindada (S)
16.   Jan Michael C. Flores (M)
17.   Jhon Raymar Israel A. Magcalas (S)
18. Michael Lafuente (L)  
19. Jeyson De Ocampo (L)
20. Dante Sagayap (S)
21. Glairold Recella (L)
22. Andrew Aquino (S)
23. Arnel Distor (XS)
 
 
 

 
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Search

2013 CM50 RACE DETAILS & RULES

November 13, 2012, 1:55 am
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2013 Clark-Miyamit Falls Trail Ultra (CM50)Philippines3rd edition
("The Backyard Ultra")
Distance: 50 miles and 60 kilometers
                
Description: This is an out-and-back course on footpath connecting Clark to the scenic Miyamit Falls in Porac, Pampanga. It is an old trail used primarily by Aetas. The route will take runners from Tennis Court area of Clark Parade Ground (Start/Finish line) at Clark Freeport Zone (formerly Clark Air Base), Gate 14, Sacobia River, Puning Spa, Sitio Target, up the dirt road covering the sugar cane plantation,  Sitio Ebus (Aeta community), down to the expansive Pasig-Potrero River (river crossing), parallel dirt road along SCTEX, Crow Creek (Sapang Uwak), passing through the Aeta community, then up to Miyamit Falls and the peak (about 3kms to caldera of Mt. Pinatubo) and back to Clark.

Course condition: Gravel road, fire trails, dirt road, river and lahar crossings, single tracks and partly asphalt/concrete road.
 
 
 
 (courtesy of Simon Sandoval)
 
Here is the link to Garmin details (elevation, distance, etc.) of the 2nd placer Simon Sandoval (2011 winner) for the 2012 50 mile race: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/246623983  
 
NOTE: As a result of the re-routing in 2012, the total distance for 50 milers based on the map above is 82kms (could be 84kms when GPS inaccuracy is taken into account) and 64kms for the other category.

50 MILES only
Elevation gain: 13,369 feet or 4,074 meters
Elevation loss:  14,554 feetor 4,436 meters
Registration: Paperless, that is, online via email to atty.jonnifer@gmail.com. Required details are full name, gender, birthdate, contact number, email address, what distance, qualifying race, shirt size, contact person and number in case of emergency and brief reason why you are joining this race (for statistical purpose only) in that order. In the subject of your email, please type CM50 2013 for easy access. RD recieves multiple emails everyday due to clips from ultra groups. So thank you.

Registration fee: Php (to be updated) for 60k and Php (to be updated) for the 50 miles, non-refundable.

Deadline for registration and payment:  (to be updated). No on-site registration and no race distance switching.

Payment: Upon confirmation of your qualifying entry (you will receive an email), please pay through Security Bank Acct # 0273-442218-200 under Jonnifer M. Lacanlale. Please scan and email the deposit slip to the RD (+639175660106) for validation. Please keep and show the deposit slip when claiming the race packet. 
 
For foreign runners, they may pay on or before the pre-race registration - 9:30PM, 23 November 2013, Saturday

NOTE: You must register and pay on or before (to be updated), 12 noon. Otherwise, your slot will be invalidated.

IMPORTANT: Pre-qualification: Runners must have finished at least a 42.2k mountain or trail race (with SIGNIFICANT ELEVATION GAIN & LOSS). No road race is acceptable before attempting the 50 miles. For the 60K, a minimum distance of 21K mountain or trail or at least 42.2k road is a must.  If you don't have a qualifying race, please state the reason why you should be allowed to participate in the race.

 Race date:  24 November 2013, Sunday

Pre-race registration: 9:30PM, 23 November 2013, Saturday

Assembly time: 10:30PM, 23 November 2013, Saturday

Pre-race briefing: 12AM, 24 November 2013, Sunday

Start/Finish line: Clark Parade Ground, Tennis Court Area, Clark Freeport Zone, Philippines.

How to get there: Runners may get to Clark via the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark then hire an airport cab (CM50 venue is only 3-4 kms away from the airport!) or by provincial buses from Manila or other neighboring places by alighting at Dau bus terminal in Pampanga and commute (jeepney, taxi or tricycle) to get to the Tennis Court area inside Clark. 

Time:             1am to 5pm for 50 miles
                       1:30am to 4:30pm for 60K

Time barrier: 18 hours for 50 miles
                       16 hours for 60k

TRAINING/FAMILIARIZATION RUN: 10 November 2013, Sunday at 4AM start from Clark-Crow Creek-Clark 38K run or thereabouts. This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to minimize getting lost during the race. All runs are free of charge (of course, you bring your own fuel and fluids). RD might schedule other date for training/familiarization run as he sees fit and/or depending on the request of runners. This is at the discretion of the RD.

Station Cut-Offs: 

Falls - All runners (both 50miles and 60kms) must reach Miyamit Falls not later than 1PM of 24 November 2013.

Peak - All 50 milers must reach the peak  not later than 2PM. This is to allow the crew/marshals to safely go down to reach Aid Station 4 to go back to Clark.

Aid Station 3 - After turn around, all runners en route back to Clark must be able to reach Aid Station 3 (Sapang Uwak) before 3pm and leave the said Station not later than 3PM. Otherwise, they will not be physically allowed to continue and be declared DNF. This is for the safety and security of the runners as extraction can be very difficult in the areas between Aid Stations 1 and 3. Thus, Aid Station 3 cut-off will be strictly enforced. 

Runners leaving the Aid Station 3 within 1 hour before the 3PM cut-off must carry the mandatory headlamp and/or flashlight. This is mandatory. No headlamp, no run back to Clark.  

Turn around points: All runners must go to the Falls as it is the turn around point for 60km runners while 50 milers must get there BEFORE heading to the peak, which is the u-turn for 50 milers.  

Weather forecast:

For Sunday, it is partly cloudy with temperature ranging from 19'C to 31'C and 0% chance of precipitation. 

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/PH/Angeles_-_Pampanga.html

Aid Stations:

Aid Station 1 (AS1) is located at Puning Spa, 7kms from Start/Finish line
Aid Station 2 (AS2)is at river bank of Pasig-Potrero river or KM16 (after river crossing)
Aid Station 3 (AS3) is at Sapang Uwak or KM23
Aid Station 4 (AS4) is at the junction going to the Falls and peak or KM30.
(Distances are approximate)

NOTE: All 50 milers must bring enough fluids and fuel going to the peak after coming from AS4 (after passing through the Falls) as there is no aid station between AS4 and the peak which is 10 kms one way or a total distance of 20kms. The landscape between AS4 and peak is very hilly, rugged and remote but very scenic. Runners, thus, should bring more fluids and fuel than they anticipate because of added exertion. Please do not ask water or food from the marshals at the peak. Runners are allowed to stash water or food along the route between AS4 and the peak but NOT in any other part of the course, whichis a ground for DQ.   

Food and Fluids: All stations will have peanut butter and jam, bread, choco milk drinks, watermelon, boiled eggs, water, softdrinks, and other assorted food. Nutella is only available at Aid Station 4.

Drop Bags:   Runners will have to deposit their drop bags on 23 November 2013 not later than 11:00PM at the Start Line. Drop bags are accessible at Aid Stations 3 (Sapang Uwak) and 4 (junction going to the Falls and peak). Drops bags must be made of sturdy material to withstand rough handling and transportation. Runners will have to mark their drop bags with their race number and which aid stations they will be deposited at. (Do not put your name on your bags because the crew will only look at your bib number). Incomplete markings on drop bags will be automatically deposited at Aid Station 4. Drop bags will have to be retrieved by the runners after race at the Finish Line. Otherwise, they will be disposed off accordingly if not retrieved until 9AM, 25 November 2013 and the race organizer, staff, crew or volunteers will not incur liability therefor. Race organizer, his staff, crew and/or volunteers will not be responsible for damage of the drop bags or spoilage of their contents.      

Loot: All finishers will receive a medal, shirt (certified BADASS logo for 50 miles) and copious amount of respect from his fellow runners.

Course Record (CR)
50 miles

Marcelo Bautista (M)         11:09:28   (Phil) 2012
Maria Josephine Liao (F)  17:52:32   (Phil) 2012
60K
Julie Green (F)    9:14:00 (F)  (Aus) 2011
Danin Arenzana  9:15:37 (M) (Phil) 2012
Race bibs must be worn in front and visible at all times. 2013 top 3 runners (both male and female and if they race again) have reserved bib nos. 1, 2 and 3 respectively. RED bib for 50 milers and GREEN for 60km runners. Running groups who volunteered during the 2012 edition is entitled to 1 free race entry.

(Sample only. Dorsal print is not included)

Mandatory gear (will be checked before distribution of race bib):
 -Fully-charged working mobile phone containing the number of the RD +639175660106. It is required that the mobile phone is on at all times during the duration of the race.
- Headlamp and/or flashlight with battery power to last for at least 8 hours. On the way to Miyamit, runners are advised to deposit their torches/headlamps at Aid Station 3 (unless it is still dark) in compliance with the rule on Station Cut-Off above.
 - Water carrier (bladder, hand-held bottles, etc.) of at least 500ml for 60km and 1,000ml for 50 miler.

- Water cup - Please be reminded that the aid stations will not provide water cups to protect the trail and you should not drink from the bottles! (happened in 2011). Crew will be advised not to serve any drinks unless water cups are presented by runners.

- Whistle

Failure to present any of the above mentioned mandatory gear before race bib/kit distribution or when demanded, will disallow the runner from starting or continuing with the race unless the missing item is presented.

Trekking poles are allowed but optional. Runners may include trekking poles in their drop bags to be accessed either in AS3 or AS4.

Course Marking:  Course is primarily marked with RED flourescent rectangle blazes with dimension of 2 inches x 6 inches  in size and red blinkers as additional marking along Sacobia River.  Both ways of the CM50 course are marked.  Follow the trail blazes to which it is pointed at and backtrack if one gets lost. At every junction or intersection, stop for a while and look for confidence marking to indicate the correct path. On straight path or trail, it is normal to see no marking for several meters since it is indicative of correct heading. Unusual absence of blazes or markings after several minutes or hours of running is clearly indicative of incorrect direction. BLAZES ARE ALL STRATEGICALLY MARKED ON THE RIGHT SIDE WHEN GOING TO MIYAMIT AND CONVERSELY, ON THE LEFT  SIDE WHEN GOING BACK TO CLARK. Thus, runners should run on the right side going to Miyamit and opposite the traffic when going back to Clark. Blazes or markings can be found on tree trunks, electric post, ground, road, walls, leaves, plants, stones, rocks, etc. Runners should focus or closely pay attention both on the topography  and markings. If one gets lost, please do not call the RD to ask for one's current location. Backtrack and look for the last marking. This and more will be included in the pre-race briefing at 12AM, 24 November 2013.

CRITICAL JUNCTIONS:

SACOBIA RIVER - From Clark to Miyamit, runners are advised to follow the blazes but if one is having a hard time looking for the markers, stay on the left side. The entrance to the AS1 is on the left side marked by red blinker.

SITIO TARGET - This is the place after AS1 and is around 9.5KM from the Start. There is a partially hidden steep stairs on your right. Take it.

SUGAR CANE PLANTATION - Please look for blazes on the leaves, (even shades of red) tree trunks, on the ground, stones, rocks, etc. for proper heading.

AFTER PASIG-POTRERO RIVER CROSSING - This is after AS2 (Sitio Ebus). This river is 2KM wide. On the other side is an entrance to Sapang Uwak. From the river entrance, there are two (2) dirt roads on your left, take the 2nd one. Landmark is a makeshift open house for workers on the right. You should be running along the cane plantation on your right.

FIRST TUNNEL - After passing through it (going to Sapang Uwak)  make sure you make a right turn. Going straight will bring you to SCTEX. There is another tunnel after 1KM or so which goes (desdending dirt road) to the left heading to Sapang Uwak

STEEL BRIDGE - Follow and cross the bridge about 1.5KMS after the 2nd tunnel. Make a left after crossing the bridge. There should be a stone bridge a few meters after making the left turn.

INTERSECTION AFTER THE STONE BRIDGE - Just go straight to Sapang Uwak as there is a fork. Do not take the left road. Just go straight. Follow the main dirt road.

SAPANG UWAK - You will know when you are in Sapang Uwak because there is the Sapang Uwak elementary school on your left. This part is on cemented road (short only).

MIYAMIT - From Sapang Uwak is mostly uphills and downhills of paved dirt road. From AS4 to the peak is single track.

Potluck: All runners are encouraged to bring or donate food and drinks for the post-race meal. A big tent with tables and chairs will be set up for this purpose.     

Miscellaneous:

- Littering is absolutely prohibited and is a valid ground for outright disqualification (DQ).
- Runners should be mindful to stash their waste in a plastic bag which they should carry until the end of the race. 
-Runners must sign the waiver and be able to present the mandatory items before claiming the race packet.
- Race packet distribution starts at 10PMon 23 November 2013. No race category and bib switching pre-race and during the race which are all grounds for DQ.
- Pacers are not allowed.
- Support vehicles and outside aid/help are only allowed at Aid Stations but NOT at any part of the course. They should take caution not to impede, block or disrupt the operation of the aid station or the ingress and egress of runners. Any form of help, individually and/or by any group/team outside of Aid Station is a valid ground for DQ unless in case of emergency. At such event, the RD should be notified immediately of the accident, the name of the runner involved in the accident, place and the one who is extending assistance.
- As indicated above,there will be 4 aid stations (excluding Start/Finish line) strategically located along the course with fluids and food which are exclusive for runners.
- Runners must stop at every aid station for race crew to note their time and bib number.

RD reserves the right to modify the course, placement of aid stations and any other aspects of the race. Decision of the RD on all matters affecting the race is final and not appealable.

For any queries, please email the RD at atty.jonnifer@gmail.com

Hotelsinside Clark (not yet CM50-accredited):

CLARK HOSTEL
ADDRESS : 2041 N. Aquino Avenue corner M. A. Roxas Highway, Clark Freeport Zone
Tel. Nos. : (045) 599-7500; 599-7501
Telefax No. : (045) 599-7462
Mobile No. : 0917-517-0725
e-mail : nini_bautista@clarkhostel.com; operations@clarkhostel.com
website : www.clarkhostel.com

HOLIDAY INN CLARK PHILIPPINES
ADDRESS : Mimosa Drive, Mimosa Leisure Estate, M. A. Roxas Highway, Clark Freeport Zone
Tel. Nos. : (02) 845-1888; (045) 599-8000
Fax Nos. : (02) 843-1363; (045) 599-2288
website : www.holiday-inn.com/clark
STOTSENBERG LEISURE PARK AND HOTEL
ADDRESS : Gil Puyat Avenue, Clark Freeport Zone 
Tel. Nos. : (045) 499-0777; (02) 584-4042 to 43
Telefax No. : (045) 599-7868
website : www.hotelstotsenberg.com
WIDUS HOTEL
ADDRESS : Bldg. 5400 M. A. Roxas Highway, Clark Freeport Zone 2023
Tel. Nos. : (045) 49WIDUS/499-4387; (02) 584-4046
Fax No. : (045) 499-0762
Mobile No. : +63928.506.8435 (c/o Ms. N. Delos Reyes)
e-mail : ngdelosreyes@widus.com
OXFORD HOTEL
ADDRESS 1 : along M. A. Roxas Highway, Clark Freeport Zone
Tel. Nos. : (045) 599-7888; 499-7888
Fax No. : (045) 599-7878
Mobile No. : 0918-356-1730
ASIAN GREEN VILLE
ADDRESS : Jose Abad Santos Avenue, Clark Freeport Zone
Tel. Nos. : (045) 893-4262/63
Fax No. : (045) 893-4264
e-mail : starainp@yahoo.co.kr
NEW WELL BEING SPA CITY
ADDRESS : Redwood Club House, Clark Freeport Zone
Tel. Nos. : (045) 499-0811 to 14
Fax No. : (045) 499-0810

↧

OFFICIAL RESULTS: 2012 CM50

November 26, 2012, 7:13 pm
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      STATISTICS

     93 runners registered for both 50 miles and 60K

      50 miles - out of 59 starters, 33 finished (passing rate of 55% or attrition rate of 45%)

      60kms - 30 starters, 25 finishers (passing percentage is 83% or attrition rate of 17%)          

                                         50 MILES  
                                             (Cut-off 18 hours)

                                                      WINNERS
                                                  
 1.  Maria Josephine G. Liao
                  (FEMALE)
17:52:32
Course Record (CR)
1. Marcelo Bautista
                     (MALE)
11 :09:28
New Course Record
2.  Simon Sandoval
                     (MALE)
12:37:38
(Broke his own CR of 13:28 in 2011
3. Mark Carlo Villafuerte
                     (MALE)
13:24:00
Broke also the 2011 CR
                                          
                                        OVERALL RESULTS

RANKING
            NAME
  TIME
1
Marcelo Bautista
11:09:28
2
Simon Sandoval
12:37:38
3
Mark Carlo Villafuerte
13:24:00
4
Alden Philip Lim
14:26:47
5
Mark Bryan Grey
14:36:20
6
Jael Wenceslao
15:09:54
7
Zosimo Las Bruces
15:52:16
8
Jessie Alindogan Llarena
16:00:50
9
Jerome Lagumbay
16:16:51
10
Simon Pavel T. Miranda
16:17:02
11
Calvin John Escandor
16:26:12
12
Vener F. Roldan
16:42:50
13
Jeffrey Diaz
16:47:50
14
Romy Doctolero
16:51:15
15
George Javier
17:03:21
16
Jose Lorenzo Mina Jr.
17:12:49
17
Carlos Angelo Dayrit
17:12:53
18
Bong Bernadez
17:13:07
19
Francisco Delmo Jr.
17:13:11
20
Kirk Patrick Ang
17:34:45
21
Jojo Dela Cruz        
17:35:37
22
Joseph Adrien Soriao
17:36:08
23
Edilberto Yonzon
17:36:40
24
Junar Layug
17:36:41
25
Melvin Pangan
17:36:42
26
Raul C. Tapia
17:45:32
27
Camilo Paran Jr.
17:47:28
28
Dindo M. Diaz
17:48:27
30 (F)
31
Maria Josephine Liao
Meljohn Tezon
17:52:32
17:52:35
32
Benjamin Termulo
17:53:49
33
Ronald Sulapas
17:53:50

                                       60K
                                    (Cut-off 16 hours)

                                            WINNERS
                                              FEMALE
 
1.  Marie Anne Constantino
12:43:46
(CR: 09:14)
2. Meriam C. Torres
14:03:05
3. Aileen Manat
14:56:03

                                               MALE

1. Danin Arenzana
09:15:37
New Course Record (Old: 11:00)
2. Marcos Lontoc
11:00:40
 
3. Alex Yap
11:27:55
 

 

 

 
                                         OVERALL RESULTS
 
RANKING
            NAME
   TIME
1
Danin Arenzana
09:15:37
2
Marcos Lontoc
11:00:40
3
Alex Yap
11:27:55
4
Jose De Vera
11:52:22
5
Bong Alindada
11:57:07
6 (F)
Marie Anne Constantino
12:43:46
7
Aladdin B. Cordero
12:55:13
8
Jhon Raymar Magcalas
13:33:20
9
Glairold Recella
13:45:44
10
Dante Sagayap
13:57:57
11 (F)
Meriam Torres
14:03:05
12
Andrew Aquino
14:23:46
13
Jeyson De Ocampo
14:43:58
14 (F)
Aileen Manat
14:56:03
15 (F)
Imelda   Laron
14:59:11
16
Arman N. Garcia
15:13:51
17
Mar Marilag
15:16:40
18
Ryann Sison
15:18:53
19
Michael Lafuente
15:18:54
20 (F)
Jinkee Guerrero
15:29:51
21
Harold Lorete
15:29:52
22
Jan Michael C. Flores
15:33:32
23 (F)
Lady Dianne Palogan
15:39:53
24
Teodoro M. Mallen
15:48:51
25
Ronald Robles
15:59:44

 
    NOTE: For any correction, please email the RD at atty.jonnifer@gmail.com.
 

 

 
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2013 FAT ASS Guidelines

December 3, 2012, 1:26 am
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Happy Holidays, folks!

Here we go again! Below is the set of guidelines and other useful information. Please read them carefully.
 
DETAILS

Categories:    24, 12 and 6 hours (NO MORE 36 hours)
When:              5-6 January 2013
Start:                (No irregular start time please)
Start:                                         24 hours-  6AM of 05 January to 6AM of 06 January 2013 
                                                 12 hours -   6AM or 6PM of 05 January 2013
                                                  6 hours -    6AM, 12 noon and 6PM of 05 January or 12 midnight of
                                                                   6January 2013   
Where:              Clark Parade Ground, Clark Freeport Zone, Philippines
Course:              Asphalt and grass loopof 2.2kms
Weather:           Cool in the evening and morning but hot around noontime
Registration fee:  not applicable, zero, nada, zilch
Registration process: First registration, first entry basis through the comment section below.
Awards:             2013 FAT ASS Kings and Queens for each category


NOTE:       

DONATION  

LIMIT = Maximum of 400 participants SUBJECT to availability of at least FOUR (4) portalets which is tied up to our permit to use the venue (hygiene issue). Payment for portalets will be shouldered collectively by the participants through their cash donation. No portalets will mean less number of runners allowed since the comfort room at the Tennis Court can only accommodate so much number of runners. We were able to raise enough amount last year, so I am confident it can be done this year.  We also need to raise some amount to pay for 1 timer or clock and the services of our utility boys who make sure everything is in order and to clean the the comfort room for 24 hours! 

CR = Course Record

 
36 HOURS
  2012 FAT ASS KING & QUEEN		  
# of Loops Completed
 
Total Distance
Km.

Rubio, Randy (Ranne)
 
81

178.2 (CR)

Magtibay, Ma. Jhustine Dolor (Jade) - Female

38

83.6 (CR)
 
  
24 HOURS
2012 FAT ASS KING & QUEEN
  		  
# of Loops Completed
   
  Total       Distance
Km.

Diaz, Dindo (Dindo)

57

125.4

Reblora, Aleth   - Female

48

105.6 CR

  
12 HOURS
  2012 FAT ASS KING & QUEEN
 
# of Loops Completed
  
Total Distance
Km.

Balaba, Benedict (Dick)
 
42

92.4 (CR)

Fule, Keisha (Keisha) - Female

33

72.6


6 HOURS
2012 FAT ASS KING & QUEEN
   
 # of Loops Completed

Total Distance
Km.

Green, Julie (Jules) – Female

28

61.6 CR

Miranda, Simon (Simon)
      (more info below) 
23

50.6 (CR)
























MAPS: Please check the above map on how to get to the venue.
 
The Map below shows where to park and camp. No camping on the other side of the tennis court. So this means, camping and parking are only allowed on the left of the tennis court when facing it from the Parade.

GUIDELINES

NATURE OF FAT ASS:
This is not your typical race (this is not even a race) where you pay for the registration fees, run the distance you choose and get some rewards as a matter of right like medals or shirts or both after the race. Fat Ass is basically an organized run. It is pretty summed up in: NO FEES, NO AWARDS, NO AID, NO WIMPS (http://www.coolrunning.com.au/fatass/joeoakes.shtml). May we add also, NO WHINING, NO PRESSURE, NO HASSLE. And since no fee is collected to join this event, participants should think twice before comparing or complaining. Even the donation you want to make does not give rise to any demandable right as it is basically done on your own volition. Thus, all prior thoughts, concepts or comparison of what Fat Ass is to a race should be banished from one’s mind. What we can guarantee though are CAMARADERIE and FUN! 
DIRECTION & LOOP: Start of the run for 24-hour runners will be counterclockwise and every 6 hours, runners will have to reverse their loop. Runners joining the 12 and 6 hour runs, will be in counterclockwise and clockwise directions, respectively. In this way, all runners will be going the same direction and can pace or keep each other's company. Most importantly, this direction will have the sun behind the runners. The loop (see image below) is covered by trees on both sides. 
COURTESY TO NON-FAT ASS RUNNERS USING THE SAME LOOP: Clark Parade Ground is a public place and thus, there will be non-FAT ASS runners using the same loop during the early morning and late afternoon of Saturday and even more on the 2nd day (Sunday). These are locators, residents, non-competitive runners (who perhaps have never joined a race) and joggers who just want to exercise. Some of the runners will be with their family and children playing and/or out on a picnic at the same venue. Please be courteous when passing them. A simple "Excuseme" or "Passing" will suffice. Do not be rude. We do not want any complaint from them and risk subsequent editions of FAT ASS being banned. The sight, however, of these joggers, children, sports enthusiasts, et. al. will lend a family-feel to our event and make you run stronger, faster. At least, that was our experience. Who knows these non-FAT ASS runners might be motivated to take up running as part of their lifestyle when they see us having fun.

Moreover, we will not tolerate unruly, disruptive, annoying and/or noisy behavior during the event. Team or group  leaders are advised to watch over their teammates and friends. Anyone found violating this courtesy rule will be bodily removed from the venue and banned from subsequent editions of Fat Ass.  

KEEP THE NOISE DOWN: You, your friends and crew can hold a BBQ party (the smell of which makes every runner salivate :), have a few drinks and have fun but keep the volume low. No rowdy and unruly behavior. This is self-explanatory. While you are at it, cheer on the runners as they pass by.

KEEP THE AREA CLEAN: Used gel wraps and other garbage/litters must be disposed of properly. We should know any better. All runners and crew must clean the area where they camped after the event.

RUNNING AT NIGHT: Some sections of the loop are not well lit. Runners may want to bring their headlamps as the loop is uneven asphalt lane. Please be careful at night by watching your footing.

RUN “nickname” BIB: All runners are required to provide and create their own unique run bib with their nickname before the event. Bib is uniform in size: 10x6 inches of any material (except paper because it will dissolve in sweat). RED for 24 hours, BLUE for 12 hours and GREEN for 6 hours on a white background. This must be worn at all times. The reason for this is simply to carry on the tradition of FAT ASS for the past 3 years and that is camaraderie. In the last 3 editions, we almost all knew each other's name. We cannot achieve this however if we are all strangers during the 4th edition. Again, your bib will contain your nickname in the designated color. No run bib, no runpolicy will be enforced.

CHECKPOINT: There will be only 1 checkpoint. Runners' loops will be recorded on log sheets. Log sheets will be the official records. All runners will log in their time/loop every time they reach the checkpoint. All entries will be countersigned by the organizer or authorized staff. Entries with no countersign of the organizers will not be counted. Please call the attention of the organizer or any of the volunteers on this. So it will be the primary responsibility of each runner to make their loops official and counted. No "dagdag-bawas" or padding.

MUSIC: Just like last year, a sound system blaring energetic/rock/lively/tempo songs will be played for 24-hours especially during the late evening and wee hours in the morning. If you want any song included, please email me or bring your iPod or CD during the race. Discretion will be exercised by the organizer.
*
FOOD & FLUID DONATION: Runners are encouraged to donate foods and fluids. These will be placed on a table near the checkpoint. All donations will be duly recorded and acknowledged. Please call our attention before doing so. NOTE: The foods and fluids on the table are not meant to sustain the runners during the entire duration of his chosen event. These are just "additions". For emphasis, runners will be responsible to bring their own food for himself and his crew, if any, for the entire duration of the run. Please observe this rule properly. Also, the organizer reserves the right to manage this donation as they deem fit for the benefit of the runners especially those on longer events.

CASH DONATION: Ideally, it should be done before the event. This way we can order the necessary items and equipments (tents, timer, tents, chairs, etc.) and settle the expenses also. For those who want to donate in advance, please use this: Jonnifer M. Lacanlale, Security Bank, Acct. No. 0273-442218-200. We would appreciate if you could scan and email the deposit slip to atty.jonnifer@gmail.com. Thank you. Others can donate during the event proper. Just like in the past events, we will provide donation box and log book.
 
PACER: Pacers are NOT allowed. Only registered Fat Assers can run along with co-Fat Assers but they are prohibited to carry anything for the runner to encourage self-sufficiency. No need to carry anything anyway since it is only a 2.2k loop.

BANDIT:Bandits are not allowed. Please respect the event.
 
TENT: Runners can put up their own tents if they so wish ideally in the designated area as shown in the map. Several tents however will be put up and runners can use them. Please share the same with other runners as these are limited in numbers.

RESTROOM & PORTALETS: The Tennis Court restroom will be opened. Per Clark regulation, we are also required to provide at least four (4) portalets due to the number of Fat Assers in the 2013 edition. Some have already pledged monetary support. So thank you. Do we need to tell the guys not to pee beside a tree or anywhere else for that matter? Please use the restroom and portapotties properly.

BREAK: Runners can always take a break and even sleep but should bring their own sleeping mat, etc. Organizers do not mind how you spend your breaks. You can watch a movie, play casino (others did this!), crosstrain like biking, swimming, shop at the duty free stores, etc. We do not mind at all. It is your call. Runners who take a break and leave the designated loop will have to return to the same spot before proceeding again. If your break will take longer as usual, please advise the organizer accordingly.

PARKING LOT: The designated parking lot is the only area where all runners and their respective crew should park their own vehicles which is very convenient for runners. This is just a few feet away from the checkpoint.

SECURITY: Please do not be lax. Always secure your belongings even if you are in the company of fellow runners. It is your obligation to protect your properties even if there are security guards in the area. Organizer, crew and volunteers will not be answerable for loss or damage to Fat Assers' properties.
 
GEAR: It is cold during the night and early morning in January… at least in Clark. So plan accordingly.

CERTIFICATE: This will be on best-effort basis (depending on the amount of donation). So no promises. Certificates may be given at the end of the event on 06 January 2013 after the awarding.

LAST LOOP BEFORE CUT-OFF TIME: The last completed loop before the cut-off time for each category will be considered as the official recorded loop. Uncompleted loop will not be counted.

WAIVER: As standard in all Fat Ass runs of this nature, all participants will sign a waiver before running. Runners are advised to come at least 30 minutes before their chosen event to register and sign the waiver. No waiver, no run policy will be imposed.

DRINKING BOTTLES, CUPS, ETC: To avoid unnecessary trash during the event, runners will have to bring their own bottles, cups (for coffee), etc. and use them for refill. We have seen too many plastic litters (cups, bottles) during and after running events. It is time to help the environment.

RUNNING CLUBS' BANNERS/TARPAULINS: Running clubs or groups whose members are joining the event may hoist their banners near the checkpoint for promotional purposes. Please coordinate with the organizer before doing this. Banners of corporate sponsors will have to be approved by race organizers.

COMMEMORATIVE SHIRT: More details later on how to order.

MONETARY DONATION FOR UTILITY PERSONNEL: Please feel free to donate cash for our at least four (4) hired utility boys. Just like the last 2 editions, we pooled our resources just so we could pay them justly as they were up the whole 24 hours and beyond. It made our jobs easier and the runners happier. Please note that they would be away from their families and in essence, working. Their tasks are to clean the area during and after the event, run some errands, bring back the site into its original condition which includes dismantling what needs to be dismantled, etc. Thus, it is only just and proper that they should be reasonably paid. Names of donor will be duly acknowledged and again, organizer reserves the right to manage this donation as they deem fit.

So see you soon!

Cheers,
Jon
↧

2013 FAT ASSers

December 4, 2012, 12:52 am
$
0
0

This is an all-time high number of participants! Within 5 hours from its opening, the slots were filled up fast and furious! We, however, have reached over and above the 200 cap. Again, run organizer reserves the right to trim down the number of participants subject to availability of portalets, etc. Please post in the comment section below if you are helping with the expenses for portapotties, utility personnel, tents, chairs, timer, etc. By doing so, we can perhaps accommodate all the runners in the list. No need to mention the amount. We have a log book for that during the event.Thank you.


24 hours - 80
12 hours - 165
6 hours - 102
_________________

TOTAL = 347

For any correction, please post it in the comment section below (under moderation now). Runners only have 1 chance to change their category after which it is final (because we are implementing an innovative way to record loops of runners). Deadline is on or before 15 December 2012. Here is the list:

2013 FAT ASS Participants
 

24 HOURS


12 HOURS


6 HOURS


1.CJ Paran
2.Thea Sangrador
3.Leo Tugade
4.Jay De Jesus
5.Simon Miranda
6.Reuben Miranda
7.Raul Tapia
8.Mar Tomas
9.Rene Miranda
10.Marc Philip Ellazo
11.Kharl Ocampo
12.Lyra Rosario
13.Napoleon Ocampo
14.Maxell Flores
15.Jess Agoo
16.Judy Aguilar
17.Maan Estanislao
18.Sarah Oinal
19.Ariane Legarte
20.Ronel Medina
21.Jerome Jamili
22.Ramil delos Reyes
23.Bernard Ilaga
24.Alan Tauyan
25.Jayson King Tan
26.Christian Francia
27.Carmeli Anne Ortega
28.Stephanie Hefti
29.Evelyn Mondragon-Lopez
30.Ceres Nido
31.Bong Alindada
32.Tholits Hernandez
33.Christian Oting
34.Marc Conrad Molina
35.Kim Maurice Flores
36.Barry Red
37.Hermie Saludes
38.Rizal Boy Ortega
39.Klein Chua
40.Raymund Canta
41.James Garcia
42.Puto Pao
43.Krishna Hernandez
44.Lanie Lubay
45.Shiela Martinez
46.Jhey Lapuz
47.Mean Manalansan
48.Ian Stevenson Yu
49.Jsin Starks
50.Rod Gotos
51.Art Virata
52.Irene Ong
53.Hanna Rose Pua
54.Susan Jael
55.Albert Salazar
56.Francis Santiago
57.Alex Jones
58.Trodge Lorenzo
59.Nicolas De Leon
60.Jhon Magcalas
61.Liza Paule
62.Ronaldo Robles
63.Bong Leaño
64.Edwin Vicente
65.Reginald Santos
66.Bong Bernadez
67.McCoy Lontoc
68.Wesley Noel Orana
69.Michelle Angela Maravilla
70.Brian Tan Seng
71.Joen Soriao
72.Norberto Mortel
73.Dindo Diaz
74.Dennis Chavez
75.Juvy Pagtalunan
76.Richard P. Toledo
77.Vivian Cerrer–Toledo
78.Elmar Bob Tolete
79.Peachy Tamayo
80.Carlito Buenaventura
81. David Aquino
82. Tess Miranda






1.Daphne Rose Codilla
2.Allan Ray Enriquez
3.Doodsie Mallari
4.Edmund Cornelius Manlangit
5.Richal Paul Maling
6.Jessica Tiu-Laurel
7.Samuel Tiu
8.Ruth Ann Tiu
9.Mich Crisol De Ocampo
10.Ron Cabanlig
11.James Lee Escasinas
12.Jill Magbanua Alcibar
13.Ronald Rey Cruz
14.Jon Las Bruce
15.Sharon Sandoval
16.JB Pacia
17.Leigha Pacia
18.Jeyson De Ocampo
19.Bheng Maaliw
20.Ron Maaliw
21.Allan Gregor Bulos
22.Mark Anthony Diaz
23.Andrew Llanes
24.Jhunbie C. Serna
25.Angelito Hernandez
26.Jomelo Zagala
27.Rexcie Jane Saldivar
28.Joseph Pineda
29.Quintin Atienza II
30.Iris Rivera
31.Jonathan Villasin
32.Hendy Cheung
33.Reese Rogel
34.Phillip Fiarod
35.Ramie John Tuando
36.Jesus Llarena
37.Perkins Briones
38. John Brian Pacia
39.Leigha Pacia
40.Francis Señores
41.Orlando Picardo
42.Merwin Ilagan
43.Marcelino Abaya
44.Danny Yamio
45.DIno Yamio
46.Jhet Yamio
47.Rommel Damo
48.Jhey Lapuz
49.Juan David
50.Jun Torred
51.REnz Marion Soguilon
52.Lee Rivera
53.Aaron Martinez
54.Lanie Lubay
55.Francisco Dela Cruz
56.Paolo Francisco
57.Jovito Yanga
58.Mean Manalansan
59.Beng Maaliw
60.Ron Maaliw
61.Cristina Culata
62.Manny Ocampo
63.Adel Torres
64.Jason Masayon
65.Julie Rodulfo
66.Reylynne dela Paz
67.Alfred delos Reyes
68.Rona Saludes
69.Japhet Grande
70.Chaps Grande
71.Mark Grande
72.LA Tomas
73.Heidi Mamangon
74.Ressie Mallari
75.Nikki Cepe
76.Michael Santos
77.Amos Adalim
78.Nikko Peralta
79.Faye Jacoba
80.Arvin Quilloy
81.Romel Espinoza
82.Ryan Moral
83.Jayson Antonio
84.Caryll Ferrer
85.Zarina Segundo
86.Raffy Gabotero
87.Warren Evangelista
88.Ryan Andrew Salcedo
89.Joel Balagtas
90.Jake Victorio
91.Joey Mendoza
92.Jess Saluta
93.Glen Velasco
94.Gil Sabinay
95.Paul Ablaza
96.Icar Hiponia
97.Jughead Jobars
98.Jeyson Ocampo
99.Charlie Ting
100.Marilou Ting
101.Nestor Huerno Jr
102.Catherine Huerno
103.Beatrix Kathleen Huerno
104.Jonathan Isaac Sana
105.Michael Sadim
106.Elizabeth Sadim
107.Camille Karen Bernabe
108.Rona Dizon
109.Yan Dizon
109A. Jomz Caguioa
110.Jennybave dela Cruz
111.Julie Perez
112.Chie Angeles
113.Allen Gaspar
114.Ramon Flores
115.Benson Ray Morales
116.Jeje Ajusto
117.Jigs Sabaricos
118.Jeffrey Diaz
119.Edrick Nicdao
120.Ej Madella
121.Glenda Mags Almejas
122.Cherry Bautista
123.Marlon Saracho
124.Harold Lorete
125.Ofelia Lorete
126.Jon Banaag
127.Lori Llamado
128.Sheryll Quimosing
129.Jing Guerrero
130.Zaldy Santillan
131.Gia Estrella
132.Mark Anthony Delumen
133.Bee Yen Soberano
134.Jake Pescador
135.Dindo Cabatingan
136.Carlyle Noel Balagot
137.Joy Vargas
138.Cindy Sevilla
139.Ronnie Provido
140.Aileen Manat
141.Andrew Aquino
142.Ariel Tuto Aquino
143.Dan Alvarez Sagayap
144.Dexter Cruz
145.Glairold Recella
146.Lady Dianne Palogan
147.Maria Josephine Liao
148.Paolo Tambo
149.Myla Go
150.Bennett Silario
151.Ayesa Polias
152.Maria Theresa Bolloso
153.Benj Termulo
154.Jerry Peralta
155.Cyril Magajes
156.Wap Forbes
157.Joseph Sibal
158.Chito Carreon
159.Mel Severino
160.Donald Ancheta
161.Ace Anzures
162.Jennifer C. Yamio
163.Edward Pascual
164.Arnel Distor
65.Danica Linda Mancenido








1.Ronnel Go
2.Jasor L. Oronce
3.Marquis Albert Minlay
4.Mary Gold dela Cruz
5.Jun Ealdama
6.Nora Montillano Ealdama
7.Rechel Palces
8.Jasmine Faltado Omaña
9.siosan baysa
10.Michelle Estuar
11.Joanne raquel
12.Noel Contreras
13. Nonito Agana
14.Veluz Niel
15.Rex Martin Superiano
16.Nelson Trevor Garcia
17.Nelyonel Supertramp
18.Rey Jimenez
19.Arnold ?
20.Mark Aethen G. Agana
21.Violeta L. Flores
22.Jenny Aggangan
23.Calvin John Escandor
24.Karlene Sebastian
25.Claridel Guanseng
26.Richard Guanseng
27.Elvin Evalla
28.Alvin Te Tan
29.Dave Rey de Castro
30.Christopher Guilas
31.Marilyn Guilas
32.Ria Zagala
33.Ed Escueta
34.Julito Pauly
35.May Angela Pelayo
36.Ian Q.Piza
37.Day G. Gabiola
38.Arlene Cheryl Oting
39.Jenny Red
40.Imee Palogan
41.Lestre Abrenica
42.Arvin Paredes
43.Mitch Regalado
44.TJ Taburico
45. Eena Navarrete-Cantos
46.John Almendralejo
47.Luigi Munsayac
48.Jeri Brucelo
49.Leila Torres
50.Rommer Ryan Torres
51.Leilani Rodriguez
52.Leila Punzalan
53.Irish Chua
54.Boy Ramos
55.Michael John Nera
56.Cris dela Cruz
57.Allen Roy Martos
58.Malou Ajusto
59.Red Mateo
60.Bien Santiago
61.Jebel Cristal
62.Quillan dela Cruz
63.Jarowin G. Villaruel
64.Hayde Hernandez
65.Aileen Piacos
66.Irhys Piacos
67.Kristine Piacos
68.Dianne Alano
69.Mark Steven Alano
70.Alfredo Vedarozaga
71.Dado Perlas
72.Jonathan Nava
73.Melanie Sarao
74.Paula Bianca Colao
75.Nadine Guillema
76.Rachiel Evangelista
77.Amer Capisan
78.Joselito Bauza
79.Faye Antolin
80. Heather Bauza
81.Romel J. Espinoza
82.Gary Basilio
83.Gerry Miranda
84.Pie Valencia
85.Charles Custodio
86.Arnold Salinas
87.Joyce Ramos
88.Andrew Custodio
89.Ragan Maning
90.Roselle J. Rodriguez
91.Theresa Andres
92.Marites Andres
93.Francisco Andres
94.Mary Grace Andres
95.Veronica Andres
96.Elizabeth Andres
97.Rene "Jazzrunner" Villarta
98.Betty Rosario
99.May Santos
100.Olivia Dimaano-Llanillo
101.Rolly Tolentino
102.Junn Besana





 
↧

Final List of 2013 FAT ASSers and New Guidelines

December 5, 2012, 10:13 pm
$
0
0

Thank you to those (names are noted) who have expressed suppport for the 2013 edition of Fat Ass. As a result, we have more runners on the list below. 

Please read the new Guidelines on security, cash donation, bandit, pacer, etc. here :

http://jon-ultra.blogspot.com/2012/12/2013-fat-ass.html
 
24 hours -      99
12 hours -    215
6 hours  -    159
_________________

TOTAL =  473 (NOTE: We expect this number to shrink close to 400 during the event.)

For any correction, please post it in the comment section below (under moderation now). Runners only have 1 chance to change their category after which it is final (because we are implementing an innovative way to record loops of runners). Deadline is on or before 10 December 2012. See you all folks after the holiday merriment! 


24 HOURS
12 HOURS
6 HOURS
 
1.       CJ Paran
2.       Thea Sangrador
3.       Leo Tugade
4.       Jay De Jesus
5.       Simon Miranda
6.       Reuben Miranda
7.       Raul Tapia
8.       Mar Tomas
9.       Rene Miranda
10.    Marc Philip Ellazo
11.    Kharl Ocampo
12.    Lyra Rosario
13.    Napoleon Ocampo
14.    Maxell Flores
15.    Jess Agoo
16.    Judy Aguilar
17.    Maan Estanislao
18.    Sarah Oinal
19.    Ariane Legarte
20.    Ronel Medina
21.    Jerome Jamili
22.    Ramil delos Reyes
23.    Bernard Ilaga
24.    Alan Tauyan
25.    Jayson King Tan
26.    Christian Francia
27.    Carmeli Anne Ortega
28.    Stephanie Hefti
29.    Evelyn Mondragon-Lopez
30.    Ceres Nido
31.    Bong Alindada
32.    Tholits Hernandez
33.    Christian Oting
34.    Marc Conrad Molina
35.    Kim Maurice Flores
36.    Barry Red
37.    Hermie Saludes
38.    Rizal Boy Ortega
39.    Klein Chua
40.    Raymund Canta
41.    James Garcia
42.    Puto Pao
43.    Krishna Hernandez
44.    Lanie Lubay
45.    Shiela Martinez
46.    Jhey Lapuz
47.    Mean Manalansan
48.    Ian Stevenson Yu
49.    Jsin Starks
50.    Rod Gotos
51.    Art Virata
52.    Irene Ong
53.    Hanna Rose Pua
54.    Susan Jael
55.    Albert Salazar
56.    Francis Santiago
57.    Alex Jones
58.    Trodge Lorenzo
59.    Nicolas De Leon
60.    Jhon Magcalas
61.    Liza Paule
62.    Ronaldo Robles
63.    Bong Leaño
64.    Edwin Vicente
65.    Wesley Noel Orana
66.    Michelle Angela Maravilla
67.    Brian Tan Seng
68.    Joen Soriao
69.    Norberto Mortel
70.    Dindo Diaz
71.    Dennis Chavez
72.    Juvy Pagtalunan
73.    Richard P. Toledo
74.    Vivian Cerrer–Toledo
75.    Elmar Bob Tolete
76.    Peachy Tamayo
77.    Carlito Buenaventura
78.    David Aquino
79.    Tess Miranda
80.    Myla Go
81.    Carlo Serrano
82.    Mac Azanes
83.    Alex Galapin
84.    Mon Gillego
85.    Rosalia Castro
86.    Alvin Rodriguez
87.    Ejercito Suyo
88.    Caloy Nobleza
89.    Faar Nobleza
90.    Cedric Nobleza
91.    Chessie Nobleza
92.    Chino Nobleza
93.    Chayil Nobleza
94.    Vener Roldan
95.    Jan Michael Flores
96.    Jinky Yray
97.    Hazel Arnaiz
98.    Don Gutierrez
99. Rocky
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  1.       Daphne Rose Codilla
2.       Allan Ray Enriquez
3.       Doodsie Mallari
4.       Edmund Cornelius Manlangit
5.       Richal Paul Maling
6.       Jessica Tiu-Laurel
7.       Samuel Tiu
8.       Ruth Ann Tiu
9.       Mich Crisol De Ocampo
10.    Ron Cabanlig
11.    James Lee Escasinas
12.    Jill Magbanua Alcibar
13.    Ronald Rey Cruz
14.    Jon Las Bruce
15.    Sharon Sandoval
16.    JB Pacia
17.    Leigha Pacia
18.    Jeyson De Ocampo
19.    Bheng Maaliw
20.    Ron Maaliw
21.    Allan Gregor Bulos
22.    Mark Anthony Diaz
23.    Andrew Llanes
24.    Jhunbie C. Serna
25.    Angelito Hernandez
26.    Jomelo Zagala
27.    Rexcie Jane Saldivar
28.    Joseph Pineda
29.    Quintin Atienza II
30.    Iris Rivera
31.    Jonathan Villasin
32.    Hendy Cheung
33.    Reese Rogel
34.    Phillip Fiarod
35.    Ramie John Tuando
36.    Jesus  Llarena
37.    Perkins Briones
38.    Francis Señores
39.    Orlando Picardo
40.    Merwin Ilagan
41.    Marcelino Abaya
42.    Danny Yamio
43.    DIno Yamio
44.    Jhet Yamio
45.    Rommel Damo
46.    Jhey Lapuz
47.    Juan David
48.    Jun Torred
49.    Renz Marion Soguilon
50.    Lee Rivera
51.    Aaron Martinez
52.    Lanie Lubay
53.    Francisco Dela Cruz
54.    Paolo Francisco
55.    Jovito Yanga
56.    Mean Manalansan
57.    Cristina Culata
58.    Manny Ocampo
59.    Adel Torres
60.    Jason Masayon
61.    Julie Rodulfo
62.    Reylynne dela Paz
63.    Alfred delos Reyes
64.    Rona Saludes
65.    Japhet Grande
66.    Chaps Grande
67.    Mark Grande
68.    LA Tomas
69.    Heidi Mamangon
70.    Ressie Mallari
71.    Nikki Cepe
72.    Michael Santos
73.    Amos Adalim
74.    Nikko Peralta
75.    Faye Jacoba
76.    Arvin Quilloy
77.    Romel Espinoza
78.    Ryan Moral
79.    Jayson Antonio
80.    Caryll Ferrer
81.    Zarina Segundo
82.    Raffy Gabotero
83.    Warren Evangelista
84.    Ryan Andrew Salcedo
85.    Joel Balagtas
86.    Jake Victorio
87.    Joey Mendoza
88.    Jess Saluta
89.    Glen Velasco
90.    Gil Sabinay
91.    Paul Ablaza
92.    Icar Hiponia
93.    Jughead Jobars
94.    Jeyson Ocampo
95.    Charlie Ting
96.    Marilou Ting
97.    Nestor Huerno Jr
98.    Catherine Huerno
99.    Beatrix Kathleen Huerno
100.Jonathan Isaac  Sana
101.Michael Sadim
102.Elizabeth Sadim
103.Camille Karen Bernabe
104.Rona Dizon
105.Yan Dizon
106.Jomz Caguioa
107.Jennybave dela Cruz
108.Julie Perez
109.Allen Gaspar
110.Benson Ray Morales
111.Jeje Ajusto
112.Jigs Sabaricos
113.Jeffrey Diaz
114.Edrick Nicdao
115.Ej Madella
116.Glenda Mags Almejas
117.Cherry Bautista
118.Marlon Saracho
119.Harold Lorete
120.Ofelia Lorete
121.Jon Banaag
122.Lori Llamado
123.Sheryll Quimosing
124.Jing Guerrero
125.Zaldy Santillan
126.Gia Estrella
127.Mark Anthony Delumen
128.Bee Yen Soberano
129.Jake Pescador
130.Dindo Cabatingan
131.Carlyle Noel Balagot
132.Joy Vargas
133.Cindy Sevilla
134.Ronnie Provido
135.Aileen Manat
136.Andrew Aquino
137.Ariel Tuto Aquino
138.Dan Alvarez Sagayap
139.Dexter Cruz
140.Glairold Recella
141.Lady Dianne Palogan
142.Maria Josephine Liao
143.Paolo Tambo
144.Bennett Silario
145.Ayesa Polias
146.Maria Theresa Bolloso
147.Benj Termulo
148.Jerry Peralta
149.Cyril Magajes
150.Wap Forbes
151.Joseph Sibal
152.Chito Carreon
153.Mel Severino
154.Donald Ancheta
155.Ace Anzures
156.Jennifer C. Yamio
157.Edward Pascual
158.Arnel Distor
159.Danica Linda Mancenido
160.Randy Rodriguez
161.Aldean Philip Lim
162.Andrei Philip Lim
163. Earl Quero
164. Reginald Santos
165.Bong Bernandez
166.McCoy Lontoc
167.Mark Anthony Diaz
168.Gerry Lita
169.Mac Azanes
170.Greggy Galicia
171.Aris Paolo Mapanao
172.Roberto Hernandez
173.Ina Estoesta
174.Francis Frio
175.Marco Montaos
176.Victor Viola
177.Alfred Paiso
178.Fracisco Delmo, Jr.
179.Ana Fernandez
180.Frederick Gabriel
181.Joey Baladad
182.Benedict Meneses
183.Ramoncito Pestano
184.Dioscoro Garing
185.Shiela Antiga
186.Mark Jay Sidamon
187.Leopoldo Esquilona Jr.
188.JJ Layug
189.Ted Mallen
190.Chari Sevilla
191.Dennis Matias
192.Anna Bautista
193.Janette Candelario
194.Jerson Patron
195.Rholand Adaya
196. Jun Bautista
197.Merwin Torres
198.Myla Rostrat
199.  Rey Evarista
200.  Gino Tsobota
201.Melvin Basilio
202.Jhon Russel Sandiua
203.Samuel Montevirgen Jr.
204.Rodel Dollaga
205.Romelson Pring
206.Nathaniel Reyes
207. Lorenzo Mina Jr.
208. Vicente Delima II
209. Ruben Fajardo, Jr.
210.Ernesto Badong
211. Ed Balcueva
212. Rolando Nerona
213.  Bob Castilla
214. Jonel Mendoza
215. Christian Nell Poquinto

 

1.       Ronnel Go
2.       Jasor L. Oronce
3.       Marquis Albert Minlay
4.       Mary Gold dela Cruz
5.       Jun Ealdama
6.       Nora Montillano Ealdama
7.       Rechel Palces
8.       Jasmine Omaña
9.       Siosan Baysa
10.    Michelle Estuar
11.    Joanne raquel
12.    Noel Contreras
13.    Nonito Agana
14.    Veluz Niel
15.    Rex Martin Superiano
16.    Nelson Trevor Garcia
17.    Nelyonel Supertramp
18.    Rey Jimenez
19.    Mark Aethen G. Agana
20.    Violeta L. Flores
21.    Jenny Aggangan
22.    Calvin John Escandor
23.    Karlene Sebastian
24.    Claridel Guanseng
25.    Richard Guanseng
26.    Elvin Evalla
27.    Alvin Te Tan
28.    Dave Rey de Castro
29.    Christopher Guilas
30.    Marilyn Guilas
31.    Ria Zagala
32.    Ed Escueta
33.    Julito Pauly
34.    May Angela Pelayo
35.    Ian Q.Piza
36.    Day G. Gabiola
37.    Arlene Cheryl Oting
38.    Jenny Red
39.    Imee Palogan
40.    Lestre Abrenica
41.    Arvin Paredes
42.    Mitch Regalado
43.    TJ Taburico
44.    Eena Navarrete-Cantos
45.    John Almendralejo
46.    Luigi Munsayac
47.    Jeri Brucelo
48.    Leila Torres
49.    Rommer Ryan Torres
50.    Leilani Rodriguez
51.    Leila Punzalan
52.    Irish Chua
53.    Boy Ramos
54.    Michael John Nera
55.    Cris dela Cruz
56.    Allen Roy Martos
57.    Malou Ajusto
58.    Red Mateo
59.    Bien Santiago
60.    Jebel Cristal
61.    Quillan dela Cruz
62.    Jarowin G. Villaruel
63.    Hayde Hernandez
64.    Aileen Piacos
65.    Irhys Piacos
66.    Kristine Piacos
67.    Dianne Alano
68.    Mark Steven Alano
69.    Alfredo Vedarozaga
70.    Dado Perlas
71.    Jonathan Nava
72.    Melanie Sarao
73.    Paula Bianca Colao
74.    Nadine Guillema
75.    Rachiel Evangelista
76.    Amer Capisan
77.    Joselito Bauza
78.    Faye Antolin
79.    Heather Bauza
80.    Romel J. Espinoza
81.    Gary Basilio
82.    Gerry Miranda
83.    Pie Valencia
84.    Charles Custodio
85.    Arnold Salinas
86.    Joyce Ramos
87.    Andrew Custodio
88.    Ragan Maning
89.    Roselle J. Rodriguez
90.    Theresa Andres
91.    Marites Andres
92.    Francisco Andres
93.    Mary Grace Andres
94.    Veronica Andres
95.    Elizabeth Andres
96.    Rene Villarta
97.    Betty Rosario
98.    May Santos
99.    Olivia Dimaano-Llanillo
100.Rolly Tolentino
101.Junn Besana
102.Jeffrey Abenina
103.Imee Abenina
104.Isko Lapira
105.Emily Lapira
106.Abet Henson
107.Al Santos
108.Hannah Sanchez
109.Joma Galauran
110.Aleli M. Delos Santos
111.Earl Quero
112.Wilnar Iglesia
113.Angela Mae Abad
114.Virgil Manago
115.Karen Capio
116.Phil Smithson
117. Raymon Flores
118.Mark Labit
119.Dexter dela Cruz
120.Mj Dagat
121.Ryan Albino
122.Majul Maccay
123.Mark Joseph Ramos
124.Angie Lacaba
125.Valen Co
126.Keena Mabiog
127. Gladysmay Pascua
128.Aumelio Pascua
129.Raselle Lita
130.Jerimiah Balgua Jr.
131.Jap Arevalo
132.Tony Zerudo
133.Joshua Carbon
134.George Co Jr.
135.Raul Soriano
136.William Hernandez
137.Edmund Kagahastian
138.Neri Valero
139.Carlo Jay Hernandez
140.Noel Malco
141.Dennis Cumal
142.Migo Limos
143.Ryan Faith Tan
144.Francis Castaneda
145.Ernesto Sabado
146.Harry Docena
147.Herson Favis
148.Mitch Garcia
149.Chie Angeles
150.Ramon Flores
151.Aris Paolo Mapanao
152.Camilla Brooks
153.Charlie Chua
154.Abell Chua
155. Aureo Pascua
156. Kairhun Poquinto
157. Aaron Cano
158. Roel Subagan
159. Ronald Arabit


 


 
 
 

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