TO HELL AND BACK – The Salomon X-trail run experience

Whatever I write in my blog is my own account of what I experienced during a particular race or event. I always show my admiration to good race organizers as well as to all finishers of long distance races. If ever I rate a race highly, that would be because I feel that the organizers must get the accolades they rightfully deserve. I critique some races that were poorly organized but I never disrespected the organizers. Constructive criticism, fellas, is the least that I could throw to these organizers. For the first time, however, I have to say something about the Salomon trail run held last November 13, a Saturday. And for the first time in this blog, I have to call a spade a spade. Here is how I saw this race from my vantage point.

Overall, I am dissatisfied with how the organizers presented the race and with how they conducted the race. This was supposed to be the first Salomon trail run in Subic but the “wisdom of Solomon” was simply not there.

Before the race

I was intrigued with what the Pamulaklakin forest reserve can offer to trail runners. There was no other way to find out how good the trail is unless one joins the Salomon race. While one can see the posting of the Salomon trail run in Takbo.ph, accessing it would require you to look at more postings only in Salomon’s facebook account.

Despite our initial apprehensions, we still registered for the race because of our passion for trail runs. The registration fee was quite high. You get a plastic Salomon bottle, 3 small stickers, a small face towel, a race bib and an ID lace for a registration fee of P700.00. But we didn’t mind the fees. What we mind before the race is whether or not the race organizers would deliver their promises.

This was how the race was presented to us at the time we registered at R.O.X. First off, they said that the trail route is for newbies. Second, exposure to the sun would be minimal since runners would be entering the forest reserve a few minutes after the gunstart. Third, the 1 P.M. gunstart was perfect because the forest reserve offers enough shade to runners while traversing the entire route.

During the race

Route

For sure, the route was very challenging, even more challenging than some of the trail runs I’ve been through. For year 2010, I’ve done two Nuvali trail runs [Feb. 14 and June 20], the Biodiversity Run and Makiling Challenge 9 in Los Baños, and the Mayon trail run]. Perhaps, the Salomon trail is just a shade lower than the Mayon trail insofar as level of difficulty is concerned.

Very steep uphills greeted the runners as soon as they entered the forest reserve. Runners had to endure steep climbs and dangerous downhills for more than half of the route. This would have been perfect for me and the rest of my group had the race been done in the morning. Even if we have to crawl these climbs, we won’t budge and we won’t complain. But climbing these uphills under the intense heat of the sun from 1 P.M. to 3 P.M. makes this race one hell of an experience. The relief came only during the last 5 kilometers where the participants passed through narrow paths surrounded by bamboo trees. Just imagine going to hell-like heat for three-fourths of the race and back to sanity during the last quarter of the race, only to be greeted with ankle-deep mud a few hundred meters before the finish line. Not really a good choice, if you ask me.

After the race

I met Neville Manaois [my daughter’s prof at the Ateneo] at the finish line. Seeing that I was dirty with mud all over my shoes, he pointed to one direction and told me that I could take a shower. What he did not tell me was that it was a public shower, with a hulking marshall holding a hose and spraying water towards the runners who had just finished the race!

We were not given any finishers’ medals. When I asked Neville about the medals, he simply shrugged off his shoulders and gestured that he had no idea.

How I rate this race: a two-star race because of the following:

1. The challenge that the route had to offer was overcome by so many negative factors.
2. Why expose the runners under the intense heat of the afternoon sun when the race could have been done in the morning?
3. Contrary to the postings in the internet by the organizers themselves, there were no medals given to the participants. Medals were given only to the podium finishers.
4. Water stations were located at very long intervals. No water station anymore throughout the last 5 kms. of the race.
5. Lack of marshals who actually knew how to instruct the participants.
6. At the middle part of the route, we met some runners on their way back. I was surprised to find out that there was actually no “U-turn”, otherwise I would have met my friends along the route. Either the runners we met were lost/were misguided by the race marshals or we were the ones who erred. But why is it that the route we took was the same way taken by the majority of the participants?
7. No freebies or lootbags.
8. No certificates for finishers.

Just a few photos from the trail run. I will publish some more photos soon.

Filipino finishers - Chicago Marathon 2010

So much has been written about the NYC Marathon. Equally popular though is the Bank of America Chicago Marathon held on October 10, 2010. This posting may have been a little bit late but as the saying goes, "better late than never". There were 31 Filipino participants in that race. My classmate and fraternity brod, Atty. Bayani Chua, together with his partner Atty. Rudolph Capuchino [a regular runner at the UP Oval], submitted very decent clockings of 05:25:44 and 04:36:06. Congratulations to these 31 road warriors! Click on the icon below to see the list of our kababayans.

BACM Results: "Bank of America Chicago Marathon - Marathon Participants"