COMPLETE RESULTS OF THE MAYON TRAIL RUN 2010

In my own humble opinion, the level of difficulty in this race is so high that it is actually 20 times tougher than the biodiversity, makiling and nuvali trail runs combined. Even the Kenyans and the other elite runners had a hard time in this trail run. When I asked the overall winner [a Kenyan] what he can say about the race, he sheepishly answered that "it was like hell".
During the pre-race briefing the night before the race, all runners were informed that there would be no cut-off time and that all finishers would be given their respective medals and certificates. Ironically, the race organizer added that only those finishers who would be able to reach the finish line in four hours would be included in the list. Talk about cut-off times! Those who fail to do it in 4 hours would not be included in the list anymore.




Our bib numbers, 121 and 122, were there in the list with respectable clockings of 03:42:52.70 [ranked 91st] and 03:58:55.01 [ranked 105th].
Here are the complete results of the toughest 21k trail run in the Philippines.
21k TRAIL RUN

CAMSUR CHRONICLES – CONCLUSION

It took me a long time to update this blog about my CAMSUR experience. Work consisting of the almost daily hearings, preparation of pleadings and other legal documents, professional commitments and meetings with clients, got under way. But for now, I have to conclude the Camsur chronicles by thanking Coach Rio, Gov. El-ray and the rest of their team for a job perfectly done.

MY FAILURE, ONE’S LESSON

Camsur Marathon 2010 was a learning and humbling experience for me. I had mixed emotions about this race. I was happy that I finished the race, never entertaining the concept of quitting even if my legs suffered cramps. Quitting was not in my vocabulary at that time. I felt sad because I committed so many mistakes in this race. The long and short of it is that I failed. I underestimated the distance. My leg muscles were not yet accustomed to a full marathon. Muscle memory wasn’t there yet.

I was in race mode for the 1st half of the route but got nowhere during the 2nd half. At the start of the race, I was tempted to run at an average pace of 11k per hour, slower than my usual 21k pace.

At the latter part of the race, I had to adopt the walk and run strategy, not minding what people would say about my performance. At the 35th km. mark, it was a pity that I could not match the strength and stamina of the much older runners. The “older’ marathoners were a joy to watch. They were taking it very easy – enjoying the full route without suffering any injuries. It’s as if they already know that all the fast runners, especially the ones like me and the first timers who were tempted to run at a fast pace during the early part of the race, will hit the wall early and suffer during the latter part of the race. They were the ones who finished way ahead of me. It’s a case of the monkey being outsmarted by the donkey [pun intended for the rhyme] figuratively speaking, if ever there is one such figure of speech.

The bare truth is that I was already in survival mode during the last few kilometers of the race. It dawned on me that the last 10k was really where the actual marathon began.

While suffering from severe leg cramps, I convinced myself that even if I have to crawl going to the finish line, I would do it. I did not go to Camsur all the way from Manila just to quit. Coach Rio saw me shrugging my leg pains with barely 800 meters to go. With Coach Rio egging me on by saying the words “kaya natin po iyan”, I could only thank him for such words of encouragement.

NEVER again should I commit the same mistakes. In my next 42k, I plan to be a lot smarter, always taking some pointers from the “older” runners who are not only mentally tough but also very patient and smart. For me, I may have lost the CAMSUR battle but I still have a chance to win the war.

KUDOS TO COACH RIO

Despite his successful stints in previous races organized by his team, Coach Rio has remained soft-spoken, very accommodating, friendly and always concerned with the welfare of the participants. It cannot be disputed that he is simply the best race director and organizer right now. He has set the bar up so high that other organizers would find hard to equal.

Coach Rio was all over the race route. He went back and forth with his black motorcycle. Other people would have simply stayed under the roof and avoid the sweltering heat, but not Coach Rio. He was a hands-on director, no doubt.

Unforgettable experience for our group

Our group had such a wonderful time in Camsur. The Slimmers Adriatico group is composed of the following: four 10k runners – Toi, Cheryl Dexter and Dr. Kenz; six 21k runners – Rod, Herbert, Kit, Grace, Ram and Teody; five 42k runners – honorary members Odie S., Alex M., Red S.; and of course, June and myself.

Every hour, every minute and every second of our stay in CAMSUR was enjoyed by everyone in the group. Funny moments could not be avoided because of the presence of 2 clowns – Ram and Teody. Dr. Kenz was the one who laughed the loudest when the 2 jesters delivered their punchlines. It was a show of camaraderie at its best.

This group will be very eager to go back to CAMSUR for the next edition. Hope to see you all in 2011.

CAMSUR CHRONICLES Part 3

September 26, 2010, Sunday
By 3 A.M., we were already at the starting line. Our bus took us from the CBD hotel at around 2:40 A.M. I was jittery because I am a first timer for a 42k full marathon.
At the starting line, I met a lot of friends. I had my pics with Attys. Audie Samar, Red Samar and Alex Martin. I also had my pics with the Davises [Chad and Natasha].
Judge Henry Laron [Makati MTC] was also there to run his first 42k.
Fireworks preceded the gunstart. While everyone was dazzled and amazed with the fireworks, I didn’t realize that the race clock had already started.
Anyway, running the first few kilometers going to the Pili Diversion Road was a breeze. I was running at a speed of 11 kilometers per hour and slowed down to 10.5k/hr after the Pili Diversion Road. I finished the 21k point in a fraction below my 2 hour target. Still feeling well and enjoying the race route, I maintained a 10k/hr pace. Then, disaster struck as I reached the 26km mark. I suffered cramps on my left calf muscle. I slowed down to a 7 km. pace, even walking for a kilometer stretch. At the 30th kilometer mark, I was able to run again with a much slower pace. However, at the 34th km. mark and with only 8 kilometers to go, both my calf muscles have tightened. It was then that I told myself to forget about having a 4:20clocking. It was survival mode from then on. 3 hammer gels, a banana at each water station and Gatorade were really of no help at this point. Adding to the pain on my legs is the intense heat from the sun above.
The last 2.5 kilometers was the most difficult for me. If it was just a five kilometer race, I could finish 2.5k in less than 10 minutes, but no, this is a full marathon. Surviving the last stretch was the only thing in my mind. In my Garmin 305, I still had about 22 minutes to finish the last 2.2 kilometers to get a sub-5 hour clocking. It wasn’t my day, really. I could barely run the last portion of the race. My upper body and my mind were still okay. My mind was willing to go but both my legs would not cooperate anymore. Whenever I ran for about 50 meters, the leg cramps would just aggravate the situation. Run and walk was the only strategy left for me. But when I saw the finish line, I forgot that I had leg cramps. I felt like I wanted to cry. I didn’t though because my friends Cheryl, Ram, Toi, Dok Kenz and Teody were waiting at the finish line. Cheryl and Ram took pictures while I was a few meters from the finish line. ◊◊◊◊◊ - A five-star race because of the following:
[a] just like any RUNRIO races, this CAMSUR marathon is a very organized race;
[b] water stations were so plenty that I lost track in my count;
[c] marshals were located at strategic points of the race route;
[d] very friendly and accommodating staff;
[e] very nice and friendly people, young and old, lined up throughout the entire race route and were cheering the runners.
[f] scenic environment unlike the polluted areas of Metro Manila.
[g] medals were given to the 42k finishers right after crossing the finish line.
[h] freebies and lootbags were easily available to the runners.

Complete results of the 34th National MILO Marathon Dumaguete City Elimination Run ...

To my kababayan runners from Dumaguete City, congratulations to all of you!

34th National MILO Marathon Dumaguete City Elimination Run ...

Best Times

2010 RACES

2010 Road races

42K Dec. 5, 2010 Quezon City Int'l. Marathon 04:38:20
[clock showed 04:32
when I crossed the finish line]
32K Nov.21, 2010 UNILAB 2 (Runrio Leg 3) 03:09:07.73
21K March 7, 2010 UNILAB Run [Runrio Leg 2] 01:45:26
20K Dec. 11, 2010 ING RUN at the Fort, Taguig City 01:43:10
16K May 2, 2010 RUNEW Alabang Run 01:25:25
15K May 16, 2010 The Neutrogena Run 01:14:01
10K April 17, 2010 SLIMMERUN 00:46:57

2010 Trail Runs

24K Nov. 13, 2010 Salomon X-trail Run, Pamulaklakin
Forest Reserve, SBMA 03:13:10
21K Sept. 4, 2010 UPLB Biodiversity Run 02:13:04
15K June 20, 2010 NEW BALANCE Trail Adventure
Father's Day Run, Nuvali 01:25:55
11K Feb. 14, 2010 The Thrill of the Trail 11K
Couples Nuvali Run 01:07:09

2009 Road Races

10K Nov. 29, 2009 New Balance Run 00:47:15

TOTAL DISTANCE [KMS.]OF ALL THE RACES I'VE PARTICIPATED IN: 580.39 kms.

REVISED results of the FS Fortstriders run

I salute the Fortstriders group for promptly acting on my request for a correction of the results. Kudos to Melvin of the FS group. In the initial results, my daughter Tin was inadvertently placed in the middle of the pack with a different race bib number. With the revised results, Tin got her true ranking with a time of 56 minutes and 31 seconds. She ranked No. 69 out of 455 runners. My other daughter, Cham, submitted a decent time in the 5k category with her 00:35:25 and the 73rd rank out of 662 runners.
10K
16K
5K

CAMSUR CHRONICLES Part 2

September 25, 2010, Saturday
By 6:30 A.M., our gracious host Atty. Audie Samar [a native from Naga; took up his pre-law in UP Diliman; finish law at San Beda, Batch ‘92] fetched us from our hotel in order to familiarize ourselves with the race route. By 6:45 A.M., we were at the starting line. Of course, the usual photo-ops came next.




With our host, Atty. Audie Samar







We then proceeded to traverse the race route, stopping every now and then to ask the city folks for directions even if we had a race map. At distinct points of the route, we went down the vehicle to take pictures.


42k runners Atty. Alex Martin [future prosecutor of Malolos, Bulacan], Atty. Audie Samar [better-half of RTC Judge Olive Escubio-Samar], and myself



Past 7 A.M. and at the 18k mark, we saw a vast field covered with fog.
We reached the finish line before 10 A.M. Wondering why my Garmin 305 registered only a distance of about 34.5 kilometers, we all concluded that we certainly missed a certain stretch of the race route. Nonetheless, we decided that what we had was just about enough to guide us with what to expect during race day.
So off we went to have our breakfast at a coffee shop along Magsaysay street.
We saw a group of runners from Manila having their breakfast at the other table. While I was thinking that I was done for the morning, Atty. Audie said that our trip to Naga won’t be complete if we don’t go take a look at the foot of Mt. Isarog, a volcano which has remained dormant for hundreds of years.















Next stop was the Basilica de Minor located in the heart of Naga City.
From there, we had an unexpected “bisita iglesia” as we transferred from the Basilica to Peñafrancia church then to some other churches in Naga. To the left is the inner portion of Basilica.



The Penafrancia church.



With topnotch lawyers Alex Martin and Audie Samar.



The front portion of the Basilica.








We ended the short trip with a sumptuous lunch courtesy of our host.
The rest of the afternoon was “sleeping time”. In the evening, the Slimmers Adriatico group had dinner at Shakey’s SM Naga. Back at the hotel, it was time to prepare everything – attire, bib number, rubber shoes, watch, hydration belt, socks, timing band, sunblock, sunglasses……



The supposed rest and sleep turned out to be a case of restlessness…… tik… tak… tik….tak….