As I mentioned in my previous posts, I’ve been reading the book, “Getting To The Point: In A Dozen Pairs of Shoes” by Brian Stark who did his 5,000-mile solo trail run for 238 days from March to November 2008 along the newly designed American Discovery Trail from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to Point Reyes, California.
Since the activity was a solo run, he did not have any support crew or pacer during the run. He just carried with him a 10-pound pack which included his water hydration system, making sure to run along the trails across America.
What I admire with this guy was that he really prepared for the said run. It took him one year to coordinate with the organizations that maintain the American Discovery Trail; compile at least 500 maps; arranged for logistics drop-off point in selected Post Offices of towns & cities along the way; created his personal website for the event; and saved $ 10,000 cash to finance his trip. He even arranged for his shoe sponsor making sure that a brand-new shoes as replacement would be picked-up in a pre-designated Post Office along the way. Even media outlets (newspapers, radio and TV) were coordinated and informed about his running event.
Brian Stark, in his daily runs along the trails, would be able to finish at least 30-40 miles and then look for a decent place to stay if a trail is located near a town or city at the end of the day. Sometimes, he would sleep in parks, Fire Stations, churches, schools, and in the homes of strangers who are willing to offer dinner & breakfast, bed and shower.
To update his website and reply to messages in his e-mail address, he would go to Public Libraries along the way to use their computer. The following excerpts was taken from a post from the Internet describing the feats of Brian Stark:
After driving back from the Boston Marathon, where his dad had run, Brian Stark, then 7, got out to use the bathroom during a stop for gas somewhere in Pennsylvania. No one took note, not even when Stark ran up and banged on the family van as it pulled away. “When my parents stopped for breakfast 300 miles away, they noticed I was missing,” he says. These days, Stark could have just kept running until he caught up with them. In 1998, he ran 4,800 miles across the country on the American Discovery Trail, which runs along America’s trails and back roads. It began in a sleet storm in Delaware and ended 238 days later at the Golden Gate Bridge — followed by a drive to L.A. and an appearance on “The Price Is Right.” “I won eight stuffed teddy bears and two trips, one to Hawaii, one to Canada,” says Stark, 36, who frequently pulls experiences from his trek while teaching gifted language arts at Corona Foothills Middle School in the Vail School District. And yes, he sometimes jogs to school, all 35 miles. “I have to get up at 1:30 a.m.,” says Stark, who is married and a father to two little girls, ages 2 and 3. He kept a journal while on his run and afterward wrote a book about the experience, “Getting to the Point: In a Dozen Pairs of Shoes.” “I picked out 12 pairs of running shoes and mailed them to 12 post offices 400 miles apart,” says Stark. When he arrived at each post office — each about three weeks apart — a new pair of shoes would be there to replace his worn-out ones. Along the way, local newspapers and TV stations chronicled his trek through their towns and CBS “Sunday Morning” broadcast a brief telephone interview. Sometimes he slept in motels. Other times he slept under bridges, in barns, even in outhouses. More than once, he’d just knock on a door. More often than not, he’d be invited in for a meal, and maybe a bed. Not once, he says, did anyone slam a door in his face. “No one ever threw anything at me, or tried to run me off the road.” Eight policemen, however, did inquire as to what he was doing, the first in Kansas. “I was sitting on a guardrail looking at a map and he pulled up in his squad car. He asked me what I was doing in the middle of Kansas without a car. I said, ‘I’m running to California.’ ” Even though he handed the cop a card explaining his circumstances, “He still checked me out.” Born in Indiana, Stark ran cross-country in middle school, continuing through high school and then at Hanover College in southern Indiana. After graduating in 1995, he rewarded himself with a five-month, 2,000-mile hike from Maine to Georgia along the Appalachian Trail. In Massachusetts, he met a man who hiked nude every Tuesday. Naturally, it was a Tuesday. Even so, Stark continued on. For the next three years, he lived as a caretaker in a primitive cabin in southern Indiana. “There was no running water and the only heat came from a fireplace,” he says. “After that, I thought I needed a break.” The “break,” of course, would be running across the country. “I’d never been west,” he says. A brother dropped him off at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on the morning of March 8, 1998. It was 43 degrees and sleeting. Stark was carrying a 10-pound backpack filled with a sleeping bag, jacket, water bottle, cheese crackers, credit card, maps and “one Band-Aid, just in case.” As his brother rolled away, he cracked the window and told him to call if he wanted to quit. Stark never did, aiming to get to the Rocky Mountains after most of the snow had melted. He mostly ran and sometimes walked about 10 hours a day, trying to space it about 25 to 35 miles between towns. That proved impossible in Nevada, where the towns were more than 100 miles apart and he had 37 mountain ranges to cross.
In 2001, Stark did the Arizona Trail between Mexico and Utah in 39 days. In 2004, he ran across Iowa.
While reading this book, the following thoughts came to my mind:
1) Did Cesar Guarin of BOTAK come up with a book or a written account of his Run Across America in the 80s? I knew that he is one of the consultants of Joy Rojas and Mat Macabe during their planning preparation for the Takbong Pangarap Run Across America. A running experience as big as Running the Continental USA is worth to be printed in a book.
2) I thought of Joy Rojas and I tried to find out from the Internet if there is any word about the progress of her Takbong Pangarap. Since I could not see any information after she started her run in Eagle Rock, California almost 60 days ago, I posted the question in my Twitter as to where she is right now. Ben Gaetos had the initiative to answer my question by sending an e-mail to Joy Rojas and it led to Mat Macabe’s call to him.
3) Why did Joy Rojas thought of not creating a blog or website on her own instead of relying to the website of www.thepoc.net? After leaving Eagle Rock, California, POC had never updated her running activities. Being a news editor and news writer, she would have known the importance of the Internet in order to “journalize” her daily runs and let her readers know where she is and her daily experiences. In the book, Brian Stark would update his running journal in his website at the end of the day if he had an access to the Internet, if not, he would write his journal in a notebook and later wrote his updates whenever he had an access to the Internet. As compared now and the time when Brian Stark did his run across America’s trails, every town or city has its own public library with a computer, if not, there are so many Internet Cafes in every commercial establishment, even Motels now have Wi-Fi connections in every room with a very minimal additional cost. Access to the Internet right now is very common, cheap, and accessible. I am sure that every house in every big town or city has an Internet connection. Even cellphones nowadays have access to the Internet to include social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
4) One of my readers made a comment in my post about Joy Rojas and he/she has doubts about her running adventure to the point that she is suspected to be riding and running along the way. There goes the another “controversy” again! The following is the comment from cutierunner about Joy Rojas’ run from Las Vegas, Nevada to Denver, Colorado:
i too wondered where she was after she reached las vegas on may 23 and then silence until she pops out in denver for the western union shindig on june 23/ is she running or riding part of the way? google maps say that from las vegas to denver is a good 844 miles / from reports she says she takes a break every six days that leaves her with only 25 running days going from the desert to the state with the highest mean elevation in my country/ that’s uphill all the way to Colorado (during a season when flash thunderstorms occur), at 30 miles a day which is more than a marathon a day, she would still be short by 94 miles, so she must do something like 20% more to be statistically in denver by the date/ To set records, it would have been better if she wore one of these tracker gps items available here so that we do not have to rely on the word of her trainer who i hear is her boyfriend anyway and guess whether she is actually running or riding part of the way – also strange is having a crew of one
(Note: In my previous post on the pictures of Joy Rojas, I did not notice if she is wearing a Garmin watch, have you?)
I strongly believe that Joy Rojas could also do ala-Brian Stark running adventure across America if she has the necessary preparations, contacts along the way, and updated information about her daily activities.
5) In one of the Ultrarunning Magazines that Rick Gaston gave me, I read about Dean Karnazes plan to run across America using the American Discovery Trail from San Francisco to the East Coast and it is presently on the “drawing boards”. I guess, this will be fully supported by sponsors, marketing stuffs, and good PR support. What I like about Brian Stark is that he did it on his own without any “gimmicks” or marketing stuffs and even without any crew or support and pacer along the way, most especially while he was running the winding roads and trails of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains reaching an altitude of 12,000 feet above sea level.
6) Brian Stark did not set a deadline for him to finish his run and he did not pressure himself to reach a designated place. He had to take a lot of rest for his body to recover during the early part of his run and as the days and weeks have passed, he became stronger. He would find time to visit museums, tourist attractions, historical places and even enjoy the food distinct to every place he stayed while recovering from his rigorous runs. This a good example of a running adventure where you have enough time to explore the places you are passing through by visiting their tourist attractions, museums, and other historical places. Hence, he was able to write a book with all the pictures and clippings of newspaper accounts on his run.
If you have plans of running a multi-stage/multi-day running adventure, Brian Stark and his book is a good inspiration and source of experiences and a guide to a successful running adventure. I am highly recommending every runner to read this book.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
CamelBak (Hands-Free Hydration System)
The first time I saw a CamelBak Water Hydration System was in an advertisement in one of the pages of Bicycle Magazine in the mid-90s. It was featured in a one-page picture of a mountain biker where the said pack was worn on the back of the cyclist. When I went to the United States to visit my family in 1996, Colonel Alan Cabalquinto (later became a 3-star general), then my immediate “boss” requested me to buy him a Camelbak which he intended to use in his running workouts. At that time, Camelbak was only popular to mountain bikers and some road cyclists. Of all the sports stores in Los Angeles area, the only store that had Camelbak was a Cyclist Store in Beverly Hills. I bought one piece which costs me $ 85.00 + tax.
According to its history, the contraption was invented by a cyclist, Michael Edison, who participated in a bike race in Texas during summer and he was bothered with the constant pulling and putting back the water jug on its rack which is screwed to the bike frame and drinking water from his jug with use of his hands. He wanted to be hydrated while riding on his bike without using his hands. So, he got an I.V. bag and its tube and placed the bag in a bike socks and had it stitched at the back of an old t-shirt, wore it and later came up with a nozzle that controls the flow of water from the I.V. bag thru the tube as he placed the nozzle in his mouth. And the rest is history. By August of this year, CamelBak will be 15 years in the business of hands-free hydration system.
In the later part of 2000, I was part of a delegation of the AFP to attend a bilateral talks with the US Armed Forces in Hawaii as preparation for our future training exercises with them. In their PX Commissary, I found out some CamelBak 2.1-Liter Hydrobak Classic with the color-green cloth casing and I bought 20 pieces at a price of $ 35.00 each without any tax. Out of the twenty pieces, I kept one piece for myself; gave one to my brother; and the rest of the 18 pieces were given to the members of the Philippine Army’s Shooting Team to compete in Brunei for the ASEAN Armies Rifle & Pistol Meet in November 2000. I was then the Team Manager of the said Shooting Team. The members of the Shooting Team were happy and surprised to receive such hydration pack from me as I was the one who first introduced such to them instead of using the old World War II vintage-aluminum water canteen which was the issued water container equipment to our soldiers up to the present. This Camelbak hydrobak was very useful to my shooters that they become the envy of other delegations from the other countries as they were the only ones sporting such hydration system during the 2000 Brunei Shooting Competition. Unfortunately, the CamelBak I issued to the shootes became their personal property and some were “traded” as souvenirs from their counterparts from other countries. Such initiative to buy another set of CamelBak Hydration System for the succeeding team members in the next year’s events was not done by the succeeding Shooting Team Managers up to the present.
Two years ago (I was already a two-star general), I had heated argument with a more ranking/senior general at the Headquarters Philippine Army with my suggestion/recommendation to entirely start changing the hydration system of the basic soldier from the WWII vintage aluminum water canteen to CamelBak Hydration System to be at par with the US, UK, and other ASEAN Armed Forces which had been using the CamelBak 5-6 years ago. The ranking general did not buy my idea, instead, he decided to “improve” the water canteen from an aluminum to a stainless steel one but still the same size, carrying almost one-half liter of water/liquid. It is sad to note that until I retired from the military service, I haven’t seen that “improved stainless steel” WWII vintage water canteen being issued/used by the soldiers in the combat areas/battlefield. Presently, the soldiers are still stucked to the “bottled water”/”mineral water” hydration system ( in plastic bottles).
At present, I have two sets of Camelbak Hydration System–the one that I bought in Hawaii and a newer version of the hydrobak classic which I bought at The Travel Club Store in SM Megamall 5 years ago which I haven’t used. It was the one which I bought in Hawaii that I’ve been using in my biking, hiking with 35-lb backpack, and other military exercises/activities. The difference between the old and the new Camelbak are the following:
1) The old one ( the one I bought in Hawaii) has no pockets in its Cordura cloth casing while the new one has zippered pockets and stretchable straps/strings where additional sports accessories could be strapped or carried.
2) In the old one, the nozzle/water tube is positioned on the left side with the left shoulder straps while the nozzle/water tube in the newer ones is located on the right with the right shoulder straps.
3) The old one has no cross-straps that connect the two shoulder straps on the breast area. The newer models has a cross-straps which make the Camelbak more hugged and stable with the body.
4) The old one has a bite nozzle that goes or connected directly with the water tube. The new one has its bite nozzle 90 degrees angled with the water tube.
Lately, when I was packing my things to Laoag City, I was able to find my new Camelbak Hydrobak Classic Hydration System which has a pocket enough for two powerbars or 3 packs of Skyflakes and I brought it here in Laoag City for my future long runs on roads, hill/mountain trails, and beach/sand dunes.
This is the “Rule of Thumb” in Hydration to the human body when involved in running and other endurance sports—drink one liter of water/fluids for every one hour of activity. Which means that my Camelbak is enough for a 2-hour running as my Camelbak can store only 2.1 liters of water/fluids. The military version and other later models have 3-liter capacity.
At present, more outdoor sports brands had copied the Camelbak’s concept of Hydration System. But I still prefer the original one. We will see how my CamelBak will help me in my next long run. I hope to do 33-35K non-stop long run next time.
“CamelBak: Hydrate or Die”
According to its history, the contraption was invented by a cyclist, Michael Edison, who participated in a bike race in Texas during summer and he was bothered with the constant pulling and putting back the water jug on its rack which is screwed to the bike frame and drinking water from his jug with use of his hands. He wanted to be hydrated while riding on his bike without using his hands. So, he got an I.V. bag and its tube and placed the bag in a bike socks and had it stitched at the back of an old t-shirt, wore it and later came up with a nozzle that controls the flow of water from the I.V. bag thru the tube as he placed the nozzle in his mouth. And the rest is history. By August of this year, CamelBak will be 15 years in the business of hands-free hydration system.
In the later part of 2000, I was part of a delegation of the AFP to attend a bilateral talks with the US Armed Forces in Hawaii as preparation for our future training exercises with them. In their PX Commissary, I found out some CamelBak 2.1-Liter Hydrobak Classic with the color-green cloth casing and I bought 20 pieces at a price of $ 35.00 each without any tax. Out of the twenty pieces, I kept one piece for myself; gave one to my brother; and the rest of the 18 pieces were given to the members of the Philippine Army’s Shooting Team to compete in Brunei for the ASEAN Armies Rifle & Pistol Meet in November 2000. I was then the Team Manager of the said Shooting Team. The members of the Shooting Team were happy and surprised to receive such hydration pack from me as I was the one who first introduced such to them instead of using the old World War II vintage-aluminum water canteen which was the issued water container equipment to our soldiers up to the present. This Camelbak hydrobak was very useful to my shooters that they become the envy of other delegations from the other countries as they were the only ones sporting such hydration system during the 2000 Brunei Shooting Competition. Unfortunately, the CamelBak I issued to the shootes became their personal property and some were “traded” as souvenirs from their counterparts from other countries. Such initiative to buy another set of CamelBak Hydration System for the succeeding team members in the next year’s events was not done by the succeeding Shooting Team Managers up to the present.
Two years ago (I was already a two-star general), I had heated argument with a more ranking/senior general at the Headquarters Philippine Army with my suggestion/recommendation to entirely start changing the hydration system of the basic soldier from the WWII vintage aluminum water canteen to CamelBak Hydration System to be at par with the US, UK, and other ASEAN Armed Forces which had been using the CamelBak 5-6 years ago. The ranking general did not buy my idea, instead, he decided to “improve” the water canteen from an aluminum to a stainless steel one but still the same size, carrying almost one-half liter of water/liquid. It is sad to note that until I retired from the military service, I haven’t seen that “improved stainless steel” WWII vintage water canteen being issued/used by the soldiers in the combat areas/battlefield. Presently, the soldiers are still stucked to the “bottled water”/”mineral water” hydration system ( in plastic bottles).
At present, I have two sets of Camelbak Hydration System–the one that I bought in Hawaii and a newer version of the hydrobak classic which I bought at The Travel Club Store in SM Megamall 5 years ago which I haven’t used. It was the one which I bought in Hawaii that I’ve been using in my biking, hiking with 35-lb backpack, and other military exercises/activities. The difference between the old and the new Camelbak are the following:
1) The old one ( the one I bought in Hawaii) has no pockets in its Cordura cloth casing while the new one has zippered pockets and stretchable straps/strings where additional sports accessories could be strapped or carried.
2) In the old one, the nozzle/water tube is positioned on the left side with the left shoulder straps while the nozzle/water tube in the newer ones is located on the right with the right shoulder straps.
3) The old one has no cross-straps that connect the two shoulder straps on the breast area. The newer models has a cross-straps which make the Camelbak more hugged and stable with the body.
4) The old one has a bite nozzle that goes or connected directly with the water tube. The new one has its bite nozzle 90 degrees angled with the water tube.
Lately, when I was packing my things to Laoag City, I was able to find my new Camelbak Hydrobak Classic Hydration System which has a pocket enough for two powerbars or 3 packs of Skyflakes and I brought it here in Laoag City for my future long runs on roads, hill/mountain trails, and beach/sand dunes.
This is the “Rule of Thumb” in Hydration to the human body when involved in running and other endurance sports—drink one liter of water/fluids for every one hour of activity. Which means that my Camelbak is enough for a 2-hour running as my Camelbak can store only 2.1 liters of water/fluids. The military version and other later models have 3-liter capacity.
At present, more outdoor sports brands had copied the Camelbak’s concept of Hydration System. But I still prefer the original one. We will see how my CamelBak will help me in my next long run. I hope to do 33-35K non-stop long run next time.
“CamelBak: Hydrate or Die”
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Book Review: Extreme Running
“Extreme Running” is a book written by Kym McConnell and Dave Horsley. Both of the authors are well-respected ultramarathoners and had been going from one continent to another to participate to these extreme running events, all for their passion to test their body limits and challenge the environment. This book was published in London, UK last year, 2007.
I found and bought this book at PowerBooks (Glorietta) two months ago after failing to locate or buy the book, “The Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnasez.
This book takes the reader on a world tour of ultramarathon races. The book is divided into seven chapters looking at each continent’s ultra foot races. Each ultra race has its own history, pecularities, preparations, challenges, strategies, experiences/adventures and the characters/personalities involved in each race. Pictures, maps, race course routes, and other informative notes were included in each page of the book.
To mention some of the extreme running events, the following is the list of some ultramarathon races in every continent in the world:
Europe:
1) The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Tour DU MONT-BLANC (UTMB)—101-mile race (163 Km) in Mount Blanc trails that passes through France, Italy & Switzerland held in the later part of August. Cut-off time: 46 hours. Limited to 2,000 runners.
2) Spartathlon—Athens to Sparta Road Race which has a distance of 152 miles (245.3 Kms). This is the original ultramarathon from Athens to Sparta which the Greek messenger, Pheidippides, took in 490 BC to deliver Athen’s request for reinforcements to resist the Persian invaders. Cut-off time—36 hours. Regular number of participants—300 runners. It is being conducted during the month of September.
Africa:
1) Marathon Des Sables—In Sahara Dessert, East Morocco during the month of March or April. It is a 6-stage course which has a total distance of 220-240 Kms (135-150 miles). Number of participants—700 runners.
2) Comrades Marathon—It is a single stage race in South Africa, covering a distance of 56 miles or 90 kms being held in June. Number of Participants—11,000 runners.
3) Trans 333—It is a single stage race in a desert location which is being held in a different host country each year. It has a distance of 333 Kms (206 miles). This is considered as the “World’s Longest Single Stage Desert Race”. Number of Regular Participants—20 runners. Maximum Time Permitted to complete the race—108 hours
North America:
1) Badwater Ultramarathon—It’s a single stage race from Badwater, Death Valley to Mt Whitney in California covering a distance of 135 miles (217 Kms) which is done in mid/late July. Number of Participants is limited to 90 runners (by invitation only). Time Lite to Finish the race is 60 hours.
2) Wasatch Front 100 Miler—Single stage race in Kaysville, Utah, USA which is done in the month of September. Number of Regular Participants—225. Time Limit to Finish—36 hours.
3) Yukon Arctic Ultra—In Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada which is held in February. Distances are: 42K, 160K, 480K & 736K (26.2, 100, 300 & 460 miles).
South America:
1) Jungle Marathon—In The Amazon Jungle in Brazil. It is a 6-stage, 200-Km (125 miles) road race in October and participated by 80 participants.
2) Atacama Crossing—In Atacama Desert in Chile. It is a 6-stage, 250-Km (150 miles) road race which is participated by by 150-200 runners which is conducted in March/August (alternate by year).
Asia:
1) Everest Marathon
—In Nepal; 42.2 km, single stage with approximately 75 participants with 10 Nepalese runners. It is conducted during the month of November.
2) Gobi March—In Xinjang Province, China. The course is 6-stage foot race with a distance of 250 kms (150 miles). It is now on-going this week. Check out at www.thenorthface.com with Dean Karnazes participating in the said race. Number of participants—200 runners.
3) Lake Baikal International Marathon—In Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Russia. 42.2 kms, single stage with approximately 30 participants during the month of March.
Oceania:
1) Kepler Challenge—In Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand. It is a single stage 60-km run (37 miles) done in December with limited participants of 400 runners.
2) Te Houtaewa Challenge—In 90 Mile Beach in Kaitaia, New Zealand. It is running along the beach with a distance of 60 kms (38 miles), single stage held during the month of March. Approximate number of participants—30 runners.
3) Bogong To Hotham Trail Run—In Mount Bogong, Victoria, Australia. It is a single stage run with a distance of 64 kms (40 miles) held in the month of January. The race is limited to 60 runners.
Polar:
1) Antarctica Marathon—In King George Island, Antarctica. It is a single stage 42.2-km run held in February. It has a limited number of participants to 180 runners.
2) Antarctic Ice Marathon (South Pole Marathon)—In the foothils of Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. It is a single stage race with distances of 42.2 kms and 100 kms. It is held in December with a limited number of participants to 25 runners.
3) North Pole Marathon—It is located in 89N-90N, Arctic Ice Cap. It is a singlke stage race with a distance of 42.2 kms held in April. The number of participants is limited to 24 runners.
I found and bought this book at PowerBooks (Glorietta) two months ago after failing to locate or buy the book, “The Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnasez.
This book takes the reader on a world tour of ultramarathon races. The book is divided into seven chapters looking at each continent’s ultra foot races. Each ultra race has its own history, pecularities, preparations, challenges, strategies, experiences/adventures and the characters/personalities involved in each race. Pictures, maps, race course routes, and other informative notes were included in each page of the book.
To mention some of the extreme running events, the following is the list of some ultramarathon races in every continent in the world:
Europe:
1) The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Tour DU MONT-BLANC (UTMB)—101-mile race (163 Km) in Mount Blanc trails that passes through France, Italy & Switzerland held in the later part of August. Cut-off time: 46 hours. Limited to 2,000 runners.
2) Spartathlon—Athens to Sparta Road Race which has a distance of 152 miles (245.3 Kms). This is the original ultramarathon from Athens to Sparta which the Greek messenger, Pheidippides, took in 490 BC to deliver Athen’s request for reinforcements to resist the Persian invaders. Cut-off time—36 hours. Regular number of participants—300 runners. It is being conducted during the month of September.
Africa:
1) Marathon Des Sables—In Sahara Dessert, East Morocco during the month of March or April. It is a 6-stage course which has a total distance of 220-240 Kms (135-150 miles). Number of participants—700 runners.
2) Comrades Marathon—It is a single stage race in South Africa, covering a distance of 56 miles or 90 kms being held in June. Number of Participants—11,000 runners.
3) Trans 333—It is a single stage race in a desert location which is being held in a different host country each year. It has a distance of 333 Kms (206 miles). This is considered as the “World’s Longest Single Stage Desert Race”. Number of Regular Participants—20 runners. Maximum Time Permitted to complete the race—108 hours
North America:
1) Badwater Ultramarathon—It’s a single stage race from Badwater, Death Valley to Mt Whitney in California covering a distance of 135 miles (217 Kms) which is done in mid/late July. Number of Participants is limited to 90 runners (by invitation only). Time Lite to Finish the race is 60 hours.
2) Wasatch Front 100 Miler—Single stage race in Kaysville, Utah, USA which is done in the month of September. Number of Regular Participants—225. Time Limit to Finish—36 hours.
3) Yukon Arctic Ultra—In Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada which is held in February. Distances are: 42K, 160K, 480K & 736K (26.2, 100, 300 & 460 miles).
South America:
1) Jungle Marathon—In The Amazon Jungle in Brazil. It is a 6-stage, 200-Km (125 miles) road race in October and participated by 80 participants.
2) Atacama Crossing—In Atacama Desert in Chile. It is a 6-stage, 250-Km (150 miles) road race which is participated by by 150-200 runners which is conducted in March/August (alternate by year).
Asia:
1) Everest Marathon
—In Nepal; 42.2 km, single stage with approximately 75 participants with 10 Nepalese runners. It is conducted during the month of November.2) Gobi March—In Xinjang Province, China. The course is 6-stage foot race with a distance of 250 kms (150 miles). It is now on-going this week. Check out at www.thenorthface.com with Dean Karnazes participating in the said race. Number of participants—200 runners.
3) Lake Baikal International Marathon—In Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Russia. 42.2 kms, single stage with approximately 30 participants during the month of March.
Oceania:
1) Kepler Challenge—In Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand. It is a single stage 60-km run (37 miles) done in December with limited participants of 400 runners.
2) Te Houtaewa Challenge—In 90 Mile Beach in Kaitaia, New Zealand. It is running along the beach with a distance of 60 kms (38 miles), single stage held during the month of March. Approximate number of participants—30 runners.
3) Bogong To Hotham Trail Run—In Mount Bogong, Victoria, Australia. It is a single stage run with a distance of 64 kms (40 miles) held in the month of January. The race is limited to 60 runners.
Polar:
1) Antarctica Marathon—In King George Island, Antarctica. It is a single stage 42.2-km run held in February. It has a limited number of participants to 180 runners.
2) Antarctic Ice Marathon (South Pole Marathon)—In the foothils of Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. It is a single stage race with distances of 42.2 kms and 100 kms. It is held in December with a limited number of participants to 25 runners.
3) North Pole Marathon—It is located in 89N-90N, Arctic Ice Cap. It is a singlke stage race with a distance of 42.2 kms held in April. The number of participants is limited to 24 runners.
The North Face Customer Service
It is amazing to be wearing the best and the latest trail shoes from The North Face for FREE! The following is my story.
I bought a TNF Arnuva 50 BOA running shoes last August 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. I used it during my training runs and on the day of the competition for the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run. I also used it during my two trail running workouts at Mt Wilson with my kids and other “runabouts” at Griffith Park and Los Angeles. It is a versatile running shoes as it could be used as trail shoes and a road running shoes. Aside from being durable and light, it has a BOA Lacing System which is dependable for quick tightening of its shoe laces or quick removal from one’s feet. It takes few seconds to wear or unwear it due to the presence of a screw knob at the rear heel portion of the shoes.
Last November 2008, I joined the members of the Pinoy Ultra Runners with Jonel aka Bugobugo, George aka The Talkative Runner, Nickko & Maj Ferdie Espejo for an ultra run from Brgy Sta Juliana, Capas to Mount Pinatubo and back. Since I expected that the run would be on trails along the lahar areas, I used the TNF Arnuva 50 BOA. At first, it was very fast and comfortable removing it before crossing a river and then wearing it as soon we are on a dry land. But later during the run, I opted not to remove my shoes whenever we crossed rivers along the way. I was happy then that the shoes would easily dry up, after having it wet on those dozens of river crossings, while running on the dry lahar area.
We finished the 55-Km ultra run and I did not encounter any blisters with my feet and I was satisfied with the performance of the shoes. After washing it and having it dried, I observed that the left shoe’s screw knob could not tighten the shoe laces and it was very hard to turn it. I immediately brought to the attention of the sales staff in one of the TNF Stores in Metro Manila and they requested me to have it repaired/brought to their store. So, sometime in December, I gave my Arnuva Shoes to one of the TNF Stores in Manila.
After a few weeks, I received an update about the situation of my shoes through SMS and they need to replace the BOA Laces. Later, they told me that they were able to acquire or find replacement laces for my shoes which I thought would cost me for $ 10.00 a pair. Last February, TNF told me that there is something wrong with the tube where the laces would pass through but they were trying to fix the problem. After few exchanges of SMS with TNF, the service/sales staff of TNF finally informed me that my shoes has no chances of being repaired and there is no way that it would be given back to me! But, they told me to proceed to any of their TNF Stores and choose any of the available shoes on their display/stock for a FREE replacement of my Arnuva 50 BOA shoes! Very nice!
And so, I got the lastest and the best trail shoes of TNF with the BOA Lace System…The TNF Hedgehog GTX XCR BOA!!! I can safely call it the ”HUMMER/HUMVEE” among my trail shoes. It is WATER-PROOF as it is made of GORE-TEX/XCR breathable membrane and its upper/outer materials are abrasion-resistant.
Outers are Abrasion-Proof unlike The Rocky Chucky whose TNF Logo was erased after weeks of trail running.
The BOA Screw Knob: Push & Turn to Tighten & Pull to Loosen
If you want the best customer service in your running shoes, get the best, The North Face!
Note: I am not an official product endorser of The North Face. Even if TNF did not support or sponsor the Bataan 102, I still believe in the quality of their products and its superb/outstanding customer service.
I bought a TNF Arnuva 50 BOA running shoes last August 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. I used it during my training runs and on the day of the competition for the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run. I also used it during my two trail running workouts at Mt Wilson with my kids and other “runabouts” at Griffith Park and Los Angeles. It is a versatile running shoes as it could be used as trail shoes and a road running shoes. Aside from being durable and light, it has a BOA Lacing System which is dependable for quick tightening of its shoe laces or quick removal from one’s feet. It takes few seconds to wear or unwear it due to the presence of a screw knob at the rear heel portion of the shoes.
Last November 2008, I joined the members of the Pinoy Ultra Runners with Jonel aka Bugobugo, George aka The Talkative Runner, Nickko & Maj Ferdie Espejo for an ultra run from Brgy Sta Juliana, Capas to Mount Pinatubo and back. Since I expected that the run would be on trails along the lahar areas, I used the TNF Arnuva 50 BOA. At first, it was very fast and comfortable removing it before crossing a river and then wearing it as soon we are on a dry land. But later during the run, I opted not to remove my shoes whenever we crossed rivers along the way. I was happy then that the shoes would easily dry up, after having it wet on those dozens of river crossings, while running on the dry lahar area.
We finished the 55-Km ultra run and I did not encounter any blisters with my feet and I was satisfied with the performance of the shoes. After washing it and having it dried, I observed that the left shoe’s screw knob could not tighten the shoe laces and it was very hard to turn it. I immediately brought to the attention of the sales staff in one of the TNF Stores in Metro Manila and they requested me to have it repaired/brought to their store. So, sometime in December, I gave my Arnuva Shoes to one of the TNF Stores in Manila.
After a few weeks, I received an update about the situation of my shoes through SMS and they need to replace the BOA Laces. Later, they told me that they were able to acquire or find replacement laces for my shoes which I thought would cost me for $ 10.00 a pair. Last February, TNF told me that there is something wrong with the tube where the laces would pass through but they were trying to fix the problem. After few exchanges of SMS with TNF, the service/sales staff of TNF finally informed me that my shoes has no chances of being repaired and there is no way that it would be given back to me! But, they told me to proceed to any of their TNF Stores and choose any of the available shoes on their display/stock for a FREE replacement of my Arnuva 50 BOA shoes! Very nice!
And so, I got the lastest and the best trail shoes of TNF with the BOA Lace System…The TNF Hedgehog GTX XCR BOA!!! I can safely call it the ”HUMMER/HUMVEE” among my trail shoes. It is WATER-PROOF as it is made of GORE-TEX/XCR breathable membrane and its upper/outer materials are abrasion-resistant.
Outers are Abrasion-Proof unlike The Rocky Chucky whose TNF Logo was erased after weeks of trail running.
The BOA Screw Knob: Push & Turn to Tighten & Pull to Loosen
If you want the best customer service in your running shoes, get the best, The North Face!
Note: I am not an official product endorser of The North Face. Even if TNF did not support or sponsor the Bataan 102, I still believe in the quality of their products and its superb/outstanding customer service.
Joy Rojas' Newspaper Feature On Takbong Pangarap
Ode to Joy’s 10 million steps
By Francis T.J. Ochoa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:39:00 12/20/2009
MANILA, Philippines—On May 11, 2009, Joy Rojas celebrated her birthday in California with freshly picked oranges and cool water drawn from a backyard well courtesy of a stranger she remembers only as Tim.
“It’s my birthday today,” she told Tim. She had asked the stranger for directions earlier that day and they bumped into each other inside a gasoline convenience store.
“Well, happy birthday,” he told her.
And then she was off. Running.
Typical. Joy Rojas, a 44-year-old wisp of a woman with a sun-cooked complexion, always had to be somewhere else. You could tell by the restlessness that would seep into her body once she sat down for even a minute. She would shift almost uncontrollably—a bundle of boundless energy that refuses to be contained.
That’s why even if there were sumptuous birthday celebrations surrounded by family and friends, No. 44 won’t be forgotten for quite a while. On that day, she embarked on a transcontinental run across the United States.
Called “Takbong Pangarap” Rojas planned to run 5,000 kilometers or roughly 50 km every day for 100 days with only 20 days for rest.
Out of the several hundreds who have run across America, only 11 are women. Among them is another Filipino, running gear maker Cesar Guarin, who crossed the continent from New York to Los Angeles in 1985, completing the run on June 12, Independence Day.
Moving in place
“People keep asking me why I even thought of doing it,” Rojas said. “I just tell them I’m a stubborn runner.”
Stubborn, as she refuses to believe there are distances she cannot span with her two legs. She had previously, after all, covered Davao City in Mindanao to Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte. What’s another 5,000 kilometers to add to her body odometer?
“There were other choices, actually, like Australia. But we figured, why not go for the United States,” she said.
After starting off from Eagle Rock Plaza in Glendale, California, in May, Rojas finished her transcontinental run, reaching Central Park in New York in November, although a few weeks off schedule.
She arrived in the country on Dec. 11 and was feted at a luncheon last Thursday, hosted by Western Union at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City—a celebration of the indomitable spirit of a woman who, quite simply, refuses to stay in one place.
At the luncheon, she moved from table to table, saying thanks to the people who supported her—bringing them to tears with each show of gratitude. She posed for a photograph—head always slightly bowed and cocked to the right—and then she’d be gone, off to another group for yet another photograph.
A writer starts running
Rojas is a writer by profession. Freelancing for several publishing companies—the Philippine Daily Inquirer
, included—she has written sketches about several personalities, confining herself to a cramped seat in front of a desk figuring out the right words to tell other people’s stories.
Now, it is her story being told.
It began almost 10 years ago, when Rojas finally decided to bust the hell out of sitting still.
“I started running only because all I did was sit down and write and I got tired of sitting down and writing,” she said.
Right attitude
It was that attitude that allowed her to conquer 16 states and 5,000 km of sometimes inhospitable and lonely terrain until she finally reached Central Park in New York. Psychoanalysts may sometimes infer meaning from a person’s passion for running, searching for a trigger in childhood that led to all that footrace.
While Rojas draws metaphors from her running, hers is not as complicated as people may think.
“My version of a runner’s high is really simple—it’s bringing myself from one point to … somewhere else,” she said.
And boy, did she end up somewhere else. What she accomplished wasn’t easy. Never mind the distance. The fact that two-thirds into her trip she felt something pop in her hip, which a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed to be a stress fracture, amped up the degree of difficulty.
“I think I was in Kansas at that time. I suddenly felt a pain in my hip. And you know, typical us, we self-diagnose. So I was just popping ibuprofen like they were M&Ms and I was telling my team, let’s continue,” Rojas related.
Fracture, torn muscle
Danny Titus, a professional photographer she described as a “guardian angel in disguise,” suggested she undergo an MRI and that’s when her stress fracture was discovered. Further probing revealed she had a torn muscle, too. And she had been running with both conditions for about two weeks.
“Even when they told me that, I wanted to continue,” she said. “I kept asking, ‘can I run slowly? Can I walk?’”
“I told them I wasn’t quitting. I may not be the fastest runner or the most graceful, but I am the most stubborn runner.”
It wasn’t that she was thinking of her beneficiaries. Western Union pledged $5,000 to the Social Services Division of the Philippine Heart Center and to the Anti-Tuberculosis program of the Inner Wheel Club in Quezon City—practically a dollar for every kilometer she ran. It wasn’t just the commitments to every pit stop along the way.
Although she admitted that “it would’ve been a great disservice to the people who supported me if I quit because I felt a little pain,” Rojas wanted to go on quite simply because she had to be somewhere else.
Six weeks of rest
Only when doctors told her she needed six weeks of rest and a steady diet of Vitamin D and calcium pills lest she completely break her hip bone did she finally agree to stay still. Only then.
“I guess I realized that when you have an injury, you have to slow down,” Rojas said.
The rest period set back her timetable but nobody really cared. Not even those who were financing her trip. Western Union’s Mike Morelos told her not to worry about anything. “There is no doubt in my mind that you will finish the run,” Morelos told her.
Besides, measuring Rojas’ feat against time would diminish her accomplishment. She was, after all, measuring herself against the limits of human endurance.
Finish line
Finally, on a cool sunny Sunday on Nov. 22, she reached Central Park in New York City.
She hauled with her tons of memories to the finish line. “Too many,” she said, “that you will need three notebooks to write them all down.”
She also kept mementos of the long trip. The piece of paper where the stranger named Tim “squiggled” a map to set her off on her long journey. Snapshots of the places her sturdy legs took her. And pens. Lots of pens “from all the inns and motels I stayed in during my pit stops.”
But more than that, she brought with her inspiration.
As an ultra-marathon (anything past the marathon or 42 km) runner, Rojas said economy of movement was very important. “You have to achieve a certain pace to cover really long distances.”
0-M steps
Judging by her running stride, she averaged about half-a-meter per step. That means she made roughly 10 million steps on her coast-to-coast journey.
But judging by the tears that fell from the eyes of the people she thanked and the openness of strangers who supported and encouraged her throughout the run, that number is nothing compared to the lives Rojas will have touched every time her story is told.
By Francis T.J. Ochoa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:39:00 12/20/2009
MANILA, Philippines—On May 11, 2009, Joy Rojas celebrated her birthday in California with freshly picked oranges and cool water drawn from a backyard well courtesy of a stranger she remembers only as Tim.
“It’s my birthday today,” she told Tim. She had asked the stranger for directions earlier that day and they bumped into each other inside a gasoline convenience store.
“Well, happy birthday,” he told her.
And then she was off. Running.
Typical. Joy Rojas, a 44-year-old wisp of a woman with a sun-cooked complexion, always had to be somewhere else. You could tell by the restlessness that would seep into her body once she sat down for even a minute. She would shift almost uncontrollably—a bundle of boundless energy that refuses to be contained.
That’s why even if there were sumptuous birthday celebrations surrounded by family and friends, No. 44 won’t be forgotten for quite a while. On that day, she embarked on a transcontinental run across the United States.
Called “Takbong Pangarap” Rojas planned to run 5,000 kilometers or roughly 50 km every day for 100 days with only 20 days for rest.
Out of the several hundreds who have run across America, only 11 are women. Among them is another Filipino, running gear maker Cesar Guarin, who crossed the continent from New York to Los Angeles in 1985, completing the run on June 12, Independence Day.
Moving in place
“People keep asking me why I even thought of doing it,” Rojas said. “I just tell them I’m a stubborn runner.”
Stubborn, as she refuses to believe there are distances she cannot span with her two legs. She had previously, after all, covered Davao City in Mindanao to Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte. What’s another 5,000 kilometers to add to her body odometer?
“There were other choices, actually, like Australia. But we figured, why not go for the United States,” she said.
After starting off from Eagle Rock Plaza in Glendale, California, in May, Rojas finished her transcontinental run, reaching Central Park in New York in November, although a few weeks off schedule.
She arrived in the country on Dec. 11 and was feted at a luncheon last Thursday, hosted by Western Union at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City—a celebration of the indomitable spirit of a woman who, quite simply, refuses to stay in one place.
At the luncheon, she moved from table to table, saying thanks to the people who supported her—bringing them to tears with each show of gratitude. She posed for a photograph—head always slightly bowed and cocked to the right—and then she’d be gone, off to another group for yet another photograph.
A writer starts running
Rojas is a writer by profession. Freelancing for several publishing companies—the Philippine Daily Inquirer
, included—she has written sketches about several personalities, confining herself to a cramped seat in front of a desk figuring out the right words to tell other people’s stories.Now, it is her story being told.
It began almost 10 years ago, when Rojas finally decided to bust the hell out of sitting still.
“I started running only because all I did was sit down and write and I got tired of sitting down and writing,” she said.
Right attitude
It was that attitude that allowed her to conquer 16 states and 5,000 km of sometimes inhospitable and lonely terrain until she finally reached Central Park in New York. Psychoanalysts may sometimes infer meaning from a person’s passion for running, searching for a trigger in childhood that led to all that footrace.
While Rojas draws metaphors from her running, hers is not as complicated as people may think.
“My version of a runner’s high is really simple—it’s bringing myself from one point to … somewhere else,” she said.
And boy, did she end up somewhere else. What she accomplished wasn’t easy. Never mind the distance. The fact that two-thirds into her trip she felt something pop in her hip, which a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed to be a stress fracture, amped up the degree of difficulty.
“I think I was in Kansas at that time. I suddenly felt a pain in my hip. And you know, typical us, we self-diagnose. So I was just popping ibuprofen like they were M&Ms and I was telling my team, let’s continue,” Rojas related.
Fracture, torn muscle
Danny Titus, a professional photographer she described as a “guardian angel in disguise,” suggested she undergo an MRI and that’s when her stress fracture was discovered. Further probing revealed she had a torn muscle, too. And she had been running with both conditions for about two weeks.
“Even when they told me that, I wanted to continue,” she said. “I kept asking, ‘can I run slowly? Can I walk?’”
“I told them I wasn’t quitting. I may not be the fastest runner or the most graceful, but I am the most stubborn runner.”
It wasn’t that she was thinking of her beneficiaries. Western Union pledged $5,000 to the Social Services Division of the Philippine Heart Center and to the Anti-Tuberculosis program of the Inner Wheel Club in Quezon City—practically a dollar for every kilometer she ran. It wasn’t just the commitments to every pit stop along the way.
Although she admitted that “it would’ve been a great disservice to the people who supported me if I quit because I felt a little pain,” Rojas wanted to go on quite simply because she had to be somewhere else.
Six weeks of rest
Only when doctors told her she needed six weeks of rest and a steady diet of Vitamin D and calcium pills lest she completely break her hip bone did she finally agree to stay still. Only then.
“I guess I realized that when you have an injury, you have to slow down,” Rojas said.
The rest period set back her timetable but nobody really cared. Not even those who were financing her trip. Western Union’s Mike Morelos told her not to worry about anything. “There is no doubt in my mind that you will finish the run,” Morelos told her.
Besides, measuring Rojas’ feat against time would diminish her accomplishment. She was, after all, measuring herself against the limits of human endurance.
Finish line
Finally, on a cool sunny Sunday on Nov. 22, she reached Central Park in New York City.
She hauled with her tons of memories to the finish line. “Too many,” she said, “that you will need three notebooks to write them all down.”
She also kept mementos of the long trip. The piece of paper where the stranger named Tim “squiggled” a map to set her off on her long journey. Snapshots of the places her sturdy legs took her. And pens. Lots of pens “from all the inns and motels I stayed in during my pit stops.”
But more than that, she brought with her inspiration.
As an ultra-marathon (anything past the marathon or 42 km) runner, Rojas said economy of movement was very important. “You have to achieve a certain pace to cover really long distances.”
0-M steps
Judging by her running stride, she averaged about half-a-meter per step. That means she made roughly 10 million steps on her coast-to-coast journey.
But judging by the tears that fell from the eyes of the people she thanked and the openness of strangers who supported and encouraged her throughout the run, that number is nothing compared to the lives Rojas will have touched every time her story is told.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
NIKE Lunaracer: Running Shoe Review
I bought this new pair of NIKE Lunaracer at the NIKE Store at The Grove in Los Angeles last 10 September 2008, few days before I returned to Manila. The sales guy at the NIKE Store, who happens to be a black guy in his 30s, lectured to me the difference between the NIKE Lunarlite Trainer and this shoes. He suggested that I should try to wear both shoes and actually feel the difference between the two. As soon as I tried the shoes one at a time, I told him immediately what I felt. The NIKE Lunarlite Trainer has a wide forefoot area and I could feel that my foot and toes do not feel the tight snug I want for a running shoes. As for the NIKE Lunaracer, the shoes’ forefoot area is very narrow and I could feel a nice and tight fit for my feet in the said running shoes.
Aside from being the lightest racing shoes in the market, the Lunarlite cushion/sole is made of “high-tech” material which is very comfortable to the feet, and the lightweight remaining materials of the shoes is made from NIKE’s latest “Flywire” technology. Lastly, the color (yellow-green) is pleasing to the eyes and sends a message for the shoes to be “environment-friendly”. The shoestrings are very light, too! Most of the 2008 Olympic track athletes in Beijing sponsored by NIKE were using this kind of shoes.
I immediately decided to get the NIKE Lunaracer as my racing shoes because of its nice “snug” fit to my feet and for being light as compared to other racing shoes that I’ve tried. The sales guy warned me not to use this racing shoes for road races longer than 10K runs. I just smiled and told him that I’ve been running for quite sometime and I know how to choose what shoes to wear for a particular distance whether it is a marathon or ultramarathon race or lesser distance race. Then, he asked my age and I told him that I am 56 years old. He was surprised and called the attention of the other sales ladies of the NIKE Store by telling them that I am a runner who just finished the San Francisco Marathon and the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run at the age of 56 years old. He told me that he was planning to run also a 10K race and later experience running a marathon. I paid $108.25 inclusive of sales tax for the said shoes. While I was about to leave the store, I told him to visit this blog and for him to know my experiences and training in running. I hope the NIKE Store sales guy is presently one of my visitors in this blog.
The first time I used this shoes was during the Hope In Motion 3 Run at Ayala Alabang Village which I ran for the 10K race and another 10K for an easy long run with other runner-bloggers. In that run and initial “baptism” of this shoes, I felt I was running faster than my usual pace and the shoes was very light and comfortable.
I admit I perspire a lot during my runs, most especially running beyond the 10K race, and my socks are the ones that absorb my sweat but I observe that the shoes itself don’t get wet. I could feel that the shoes is still light even if my socks are wet but there is a “loud” pounding sound of the shoes every time my feet hit the ground. Although this is just a minor observation but such sound gives me “beat” or signal whether my legs’ turn-over/stride frequency is getting slower during the race.
The second time I used this shoes was during the Adidas KOTR 21K Race and I did not follow the advise of the NIKE Store sales guy. I ran a faster pace again for my half-marathon using this NIKE racer shoes and got my best PR time for the said distance based from the official results of the race.
While using this shoes during my tempo and interval runs at the ULTRA Oval Track, I was surprised that I was getting a better time for the whole running workout. Although I only used this shoes twice at the oval track, I know it can deliver as good as the “spiked” racing track shoes.
Lately, I used this racing shoes during the 4th October Run Festival 10K Run held last Sunday at The Fort. Well, what can I say? I improved my finish time again using this shoes. Whether it was the shoes or my “speed runs” at the ULTRA Oval Track that contributed to my faster finish times, the fact is…the shoes is very light and comfortable to my feet.
Officially, I am reserving the use of this shoes for my future weekend road races and I am even thinking of using it for the Milo Marathon Finals on 30 November 2008.
This morning, while I was doing my usual running workout at the ULTRA Oval Track, I saw a regular and daily “brisk walker” at the Oval Track sporting this kind of shoes and I could sense that he was enjoying his “walkathon” workout for the day. I guess, we belong to the same age bracket.
If you can find one of this NIKE Lunaracer Shoes in the NIKE Stores in Metro Manila right now, don’t hesitate and don’t think twice.
“Just Buy It!”
Aside from being the lightest racing shoes in the market, the Lunarlite cushion/sole is made of “high-tech” material which is very comfortable to the feet, and the lightweight remaining materials of the shoes is made from NIKE’s latest “Flywire” technology. Lastly, the color (yellow-green) is pleasing to the eyes and sends a message for the shoes to be “environment-friendly”. The shoestrings are very light, too! Most of the 2008 Olympic track athletes in Beijing sponsored by NIKE were using this kind of shoes.
I immediately decided to get the NIKE Lunaracer as my racing shoes because of its nice “snug” fit to my feet and for being light as compared to other racing shoes that I’ve tried. The sales guy warned me not to use this racing shoes for road races longer than 10K runs. I just smiled and told him that I’ve been running for quite sometime and I know how to choose what shoes to wear for a particular distance whether it is a marathon or ultramarathon race or lesser distance race. Then, he asked my age and I told him that I am 56 years old. He was surprised and called the attention of the other sales ladies of the NIKE Store by telling them that I am a runner who just finished the San Francisco Marathon and the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run at the age of 56 years old. He told me that he was planning to run also a 10K race and later experience running a marathon. I paid $108.25 inclusive of sales tax for the said shoes. While I was about to leave the store, I told him to visit this blog and for him to know my experiences and training in running. I hope the NIKE Store sales guy is presently one of my visitors in this blog.
The first time I used this shoes was during the Hope In Motion 3 Run at Ayala Alabang Village which I ran for the 10K race and another 10K for an easy long run with other runner-bloggers. In that run and initial “baptism” of this shoes, I felt I was running faster than my usual pace and the shoes was very light and comfortable.
I admit I perspire a lot during my runs, most especially running beyond the 10K race, and my socks are the ones that absorb my sweat but I observe that the shoes itself don’t get wet. I could feel that the shoes is still light even if my socks are wet but there is a “loud” pounding sound of the shoes every time my feet hit the ground. Although this is just a minor observation but such sound gives me “beat” or signal whether my legs’ turn-over/stride frequency is getting slower during the race.
The second time I used this shoes was during the Adidas KOTR 21K Race and I did not follow the advise of the NIKE Store sales guy. I ran a faster pace again for my half-marathon using this NIKE racer shoes and got my best PR time for the said distance based from the official results of the race.
While using this shoes during my tempo and interval runs at the ULTRA Oval Track, I was surprised that I was getting a better time for the whole running workout. Although I only used this shoes twice at the oval track, I know it can deliver as good as the “spiked” racing track shoes.
Lately, I used this racing shoes during the 4th October Run Festival 10K Run held last Sunday at The Fort. Well, what can I say? I improved my finish time again using this shoes. Whether it was the shoes or my “speed runs” at the ULTRA Oval Track that contributed to my faster finish times, the fact is…the shoes is very light and comfortable to my feet.
Officially, I am reserving the use of this shoes for my future weekend road races and I am even thinking of using it for the Milo Marathon Finals on 30 November 2008.
This morning, while I was doing my usual running workout at the ULTRA Oval Track, I saw a regular and daily “brisk walker” at the Oval Track sporting this kind of shoes and I could sense that he was enjoying his “walkathon” workout for the day. I guess, we belong to the same age bracket.
If you can find one of this NIKE Lunaracer Shoes in the NIKE Stores in Metro Manila right now, don’t hesitate and don’t think twice.
“Just Buy It!”
ASICS Kinsei-2: Running Shoes Review
I bought an ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2
running shoes on the first week of March (last month) after looking for some cure to the pain on the rear end of my right foot. I bought it at Athlete’s Foot Store Glorietta. This is the “top of the line” among the ASICS Running Shoes and it is supposed to be the best among the best.
After using it for my running workouts while in Metro Manila, the pain on the rear end of my right foot slowly disappeared and it became adapted to me feet. I used it in my first competition during the 6th Philippine Army Physical Fitness Test Challenge where I was awarded as Champion in the Executive Category (50 years old +). Although I did not feel any pains on my right foot, I started to notice some “differences” with my ASICS Gel-Cumulus 8 and had a better evaluation on this shoes after the “On Your Mark” 10K Run.
Let me mention the “bad news” first with this shoes. First, this is the “heaviest” running shoes of ASICS and it advisable to use this only on your running workouts and not for road races. Second, this is the most expensive running shoes of ASICS and with its price, you can buy two (2) pairs of an average-priced ASICS shoes or NIKEs. Third, when I used it during the “On Your Mark” 10K Run, the sound that the shoes create when I step on the ground was very noisy and it was competing with the music I was hearing while my MP3 was playing! Even if I was exaggerately making my feet touch the ground lightly, it was really creating a lot of sound with the ground. Fourth, the individual gels on the heel portion of the shoes are exposed and I suspect that the glue that attaches the gels to the hard rubber sole are not sturdy. Fifth, there are four small loops where the shoe lace passes through instead of the usual shoe lace “holes”. These loops are located at the 3rd & 4th holes (from the front edge of the shoes) and they have the tendency to “snap” after a period of time. I had experienced this in one of my ASICS shoes which I donated to one of the “Boni Aides” in the camp. Sixth and last, there is some kind of “chemical” smell or odor from the blue stripes of the shoe ASICS logo which can fill up the smell inside my bedroom.
The “good news” about this shoes is that my heels are properly snugged with the heel counter resulting to a more stable running and it cured the pain on the rear end of my right foot. When using a thicker running socks, my long runs are very easy with the comfort given by this shoes. Lastly, wearing this kind of running shoes sends a “fashion statement” and creates “a piece of conversation” to other runners. Wearing this ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2 will make you look like you are from another more advanced planet in the universe!
Bottomline? I don’t recommend this running shoes to the runners, moreso, to those who want to use this in their gym workouts. The one beside you on the treadmill or elliptical machine might complain or leave you because of the odor/smell of your shoes. I guess, this kind of running shoes was made for the “old, retiring, passionate, sophisticated and loner-type” runner like the Bald Runner!..Ha! Ha! Ha!
running shoes on the first week of March (last month) after looking for some cure to the pain on the rear end of my right foot. I bought it at Athlete’s Foot Store Glorietta. This is the “top of the line” among the ASICS Running Shoes and it is supposed to be the best among the best.After using it for my running workouts while in Metro Manila, the pain on the rear end of my right foot slowly disappeared and it became adapted to me feet. I used it in my first competition during the 6th Philippine Army Physical Fitness Test Challenge where I was awarded as Champion in the Executive Category (50 years old +). Although I did not feel any pains on my right foot, I started to notice some “differences” with my ASICS Gel-Cumulus 8 and had a better evaluation on this shoes after the “On Your Mark” 10K Run.
Let me mention the “bad news” first with this shoes. First, this is the “heaviest” running shoes of ASICS and it advisable to use this only on your running workouts and not for road races. Second, this is the most expensive running shoes of ASICS and with its price, you can buy two (2) pairs of an average-priced ASICS shoes or NIKEs. Third, when I used it during the “On Your Mark” 10K Run, the sound that the shoes create when I step on the ground was very noisy and it was competing with the music I was hearing while my MP3 was playing! Even if I was exaggerately making my feet touch the ground lightly, it was really creating a lot of sound with the ground. Fourth, the individual gels on the heel portion of the shoes are exposed and I suspect that the glue that attaches the gels to the hard rubber sole are not sturdy. Fifth, there are four small loops where the shoe lace passes through instead of the usual shoe lace “holes”. These loops are located at the 3rd & 4th holes (from the front edge of the shoes) and they have the tendency to “snap” after a period of time. I had experienced this in one of my ASICS shoes which I donated to one of the “Boni Aides” in the camp. Sixth and last, there is some kind of “chemical” smell or odor from the blue stripes of the shoe ASICS logo which can fill up the smell inside my bedroom.
The “good news” about this shoes is that my heels are properly snugged with the heel counter resulting to a more stable running and it cured the pain on the rear end of my right foot. When using a thicker running socks, my long runs are very easy with the comfort given by this shoes. Lastly, wearing this kind of running shoes sends a “fashion statement” and creates “a piece of conversation” to other runners. Wearing this ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2 will make you look like you are from another more advanced planet in the universe!
Bottomline? I don’t recommend this running shoes to the runners, moreso, to those who want to use this in their gym workouts. The one beside you on the treadmill or elliptical machine might complain or leave you because of the odor/smell of your shoes. I guess, this kind of running shoes was made for the “old, retiring, passionate, sophisticated and loner-type” runner like the Bald Runner!..Ha! Ha! Ha!
Finally, I am Back!
1. Exactly one month after the PIM Pasig River Marathon, I was back running at the ULTRA Oval Track yesterday afternoon. I did 1-Kilometer slow run at the soccer field, another 5K at the oval track, and finished my workout with another 1K at the soccer field and 1K at the oval track. My average pace of 7:30+minutes per kilometer was enough to bring myself back to (competitive) running. An 8K run at the oval track was “heaven”!
2. Actually, I had my first attempt to run/jog last Thursday when I took pictures of the future site of the Ultra Trail Run that I am planning to implement. I was able to run/walk/jog a distance of 8.5 kilometers but I was still in pain but after this run and a deliberate and very long session of “deep-tissue” massage, all the pain was gone!
3. I had another 6K Run at the Rizal High School Oval Track last Saturday afternoon and it was a workout where I was able to run continously without any walking breaks. Even if my average pace was 8:30-9:30 minutes per km, I was happy that I could run again.
4. From the book of Tim Noakes’ “Lore of Running
”, I found out that my injury is called “Chronic Muscle Tear”. “He concludes that this kind of muscle injury occurs in various muscles at specific sites that, for reasons unknown, develop eccentric muscle weakness. This weakness is exposed during faster running. When the eccentric loading exceeds the muscle’s eccentric strength, a small section of the muscle is strained and develops an inflammatory response. This initial tear is too small to cause discomfort. However, once the initial tear has occurred, a cycle of repair and reinjury and reinflammation develops that leads ultimately to the large tender knot.”
5. For the specific treatment, Tim Noakesstated “The only treatment that works is a physiotherapeutic manuever known as cross-frictions. A better term would be “crucifixions” because this is the most painful treatment a runner would experience. In simple terms, this is what I call “deep-tissue massage” or “hilot”. Ask Coach Titus Salazar of Team Bald Runner how this procedure is properly done!
6. You will see me more at the ULTRA Oval Track during the Team Bald Runner’s “Speed” Training on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
2. Actually, I had my first attempt to run/jog last Thursday when I took pictures of the future site of the Ultra Trail Run that I am planning to implement. I was able to run/walk/jog a distance of 8.5 kilometers but I was still in pain but after this run and a deliberate and very long session of “deep-tissue” massage, all the pain was gone!
3. I had another 6K Run at the Rizal High School Oval Track last Saturday afternoon and it was a workout where I was able to run continously without any walking breaks. Even if my average pace was 8:30-9:30 minutes per km, I was happy that I could run again.
4. From the book of Tim Noakes’ “Lore of Running
”, I found out that my injury is called “Chronic Muscle Tear”. “He concludes that this kind of muscle injury occurs in various muscles at specific sites that, for reasons unknown, develop eccentric muscle weakness. This weakness is exposed during faster running. When the eccentric loading exceeds the muscle’s eccentric strength, a small section of the muscle is strained and develops an inflammatory response. This initial tear is too small to cause discomfort. However, once the initial tear has occurred, a cycle of repair and reinjury and reinflammation develops that leads ultimately to the large tender knot.”5. For the specific treatment, Tim Noakes
stated “The only treatment that works is a physiotherapeutic manuever known as cross-frictions. A better term would be “crucifixions” because this is the most painful treatment a runner would experience. In simple terms, this is what I call “deep-tissue massage” or “hilot”. Ask Coach Titus Salazar of Team Bald Runner how this procedure is properly done!6. You will see me more at the ULTRA Oval Track during the Team Bald Runner’s “Speed” Training on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Lessons Learned: 1st BDM 102K
1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race: April 5, 2009 (Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga)
After reviewing my past posts, I found out that I did not post the usual “Lesson Learned” from my participation in the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race. What I posted in my blog immediately days after the conduct of the race was the lessons I’ve learned as the Race Director/Race Organizer of the said Road Race.
In view of the incoming BOTAK 100K Paa-Tagalan Ultra Race this coming Sunday, I am posting this “Lessons Learned” from the BDM 102K to guide the “first-timers” in ultramarathon race with the hope of helping these runners join the ranks of ultra runners in the country.
The following are the lessons learned in the said race:
1) Think always “the end-goal”—Finish The Race. Ultramarathon race is an endurance sports, just like a marathon race but the distance is longer which usually covers the standard distances of 50K, 50 Miles, 100K, or 100 Miles. For a runner who have finished his first marathon race and jumping in to the ultramarathon distance, he knows what to expect and what he has to do to last up to the finish line. As a runner, I always believe that if you run a marathon race, it is a “sin” to walk within the said distance and you can not afford to hit and experience the dreaded “Wall”. But in ultramarathon distance running, walking during the race is a good strategy in order to conserve your energy and have the enough endurance to finish the race. The “Wall” to me is just a word and it does not hit a well-trained ultra runner. At this advance age of running technology and research, the “Wall” should be removed from the articles and stories of runners. If a runner knows his training, hydration, food, and possesses the right equipment, there is no chance that a runner would experience such. If you are trained for the ultramarathon distance, you should have experienced in your training at least running for about 6-8 hours under the heat of the sun. In my training for the BDM 102K, I had to experience running for a maximum of at least 8-9 hours at my easy pace which is 70% of my total effort. If I can not run, I saw to it that I would walk around Metro Manila during day time for a maximum of another 8 hours just to train the body to be exposed under the heat of the sun. Remember, speed is not considered and what counts most is a proper & positive attitude for you to finish the race.
2) Don’t ever think of quitting—Most of those runners who quitted after running more than 50, 60, 70 kilometers in the BDM 102 could hardly slept, ate, and focused their minds few days and weeks after the race because they committed the gravest mistake in their running careers—to quit the race! It is easy to say that there will be another ultra running event in the future where you could redeem yourself but the damaged had been done because you are already branded as a “quitter”. Don’t ever, ever, do this…don’t quit. You must remember that ultra running is NOT a battle in between you and the other runners or the course, but it is a battle between you and yourself! So, if you quit in an ultra running race, don’t whine and blame the weather, the race organizer, your shoes, your blisters, your body “issues” and others reasons, but instead, you should be blaming yourself ALONE. In the BDM 102, I prepared for this race not to quit but to finish the race and be an “example” to everybody with the saying/idea, “If I can do it, you can do it, too!”
3) Be prepared and have the necessary “equipment/tools”—Think and prepare for your needed equipment for your hydration system, food support, lighting system. running apparel (to include night running attire), shoes, socks, medicines, salt tablets, and other miscellaneous needs like cash, communication device, & sunblock. The number one mistake that I committed during the BDM 102K was my hard-headedness to use only one running shoes for the whole duration of the race and using only one pair of socks! (I used my ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2, Eddie Bauer Coolmax Running Socks, Patagonia Trail Shorts & BDM 102 Long-sleeved race shirt)Though I did not have any blisters or any foot-related “issues”, using a fresh and dry running shoes and socks every 50 kilometers or 35 kilometers would be highly recommended to ease some numbness or pain on the feet. Wearing a fresh pair of socks and running shoes along the race has a psychological effect. You think that you are just about to start another race if you wear a new set of running shoes and socks. I also consider wearing another fresh set of running apparel once you change your shoes and socks as highly recommendable to ultra runners. In the use of medicines, please refer to my earlier post on the “dirty secrets” of ultra trail running.
4) Recon, recon, & recon the route—The “test run” for the BDM 102, which was conducted almost two months before the day of the race, had greatly helped most of the finishers and participants. Aside from knowing the general terrain of the last 52 kilometers of the course, they also experience what to expect on the weather and the intense heat of the sun during daytime in Bataan and Pampanga. However, I still advised the participants to find time to, at least, conduct a “windshield” tour aboard a vehicle on the the first 50K of the course just for them to know what to expect during the race. Knowing the overall terrain and actual walk-through of the race route will enable the runner to come up with his race, hydration and food intake strategy. This item or lesson learned guidance is always my number 1 advise to runners who are participating their ultramarathon distance races, whether it is road race or mountain trail run…run or walk-through the course!
5) Drink, drink, drink & eat, eat, eat—In one of the ultrarunning books that I have read for the past weeks, ultra running is best described as a running event with lots of food to eat and fluids to drink and lots of miles to finish. I think, it’s true! But the very essence of running an ultramarathon distance is for you to determine the limits of your body’s endurance and capability and after finishing the said race, you will determine and find out of what you are capable of. For you to finish the race, you have to replenish your body sweats and body minerals by drinking water and sports drinks. Your body would be able to use your muscles and you burn some calories in your body. These burned calories should be replaced immediately by eating some solid foods or else you will be exhausted and tired, thereby, making yourself quit from the race or making your pace slower. During the BDM 102, I had to alternately drink water and sports drinks every two kilometers, making sure that my sweating is continous. If my sweating stopped, it was a sign that I need more water to my body. What is good about my body is that I sweat a lot and that is a good barometer if I am fully hydrated or not. Since the course, have an Aid Station every 20 kilometers and at the 50-Km point where solid foods are served, I had to take in a considerable amount of food to provide fuel to my body aside from the GU Roctance Sport Gel I’ve taken every 10 kilometers. These rtiuals of hydration and eating of solid foods along the way helped my a lot to finish the race. By the way, while running, I have to wear my Nathan (Small on The Back) Water Belt and a Hand-held Water Bottle. The Nathan container held my sports drinks while my hand-held container held my water supply. Since there was a “Roving Aid Station” during the race, these containers were easily replenished with their contents along the way in-between Aid Stations. I just hope BOTAK 100K Race Organizers will be deploying these “Roving Aid Stations” during the race. Anyway, since most of the roads will be wide, it is wiser to have your own support vehicle tagging along with you or “leap-frog” along the course. Correct hydration does not only mean drinking water and sports drinks. It also means lowering your body temperature when running under the heat of the sun. Unable to maintain your normal body temperature would result to dizziness, hallucinations, cramps, shortness in breathing, and “heat stroke” or even death to a runner. Maintaining your normal body temperature takes a lot of ingenuity—some runners would pour cold water on their head/runner’s cap regularly, some would place water sponges on their napes and backs, some would use wet bandanas on their wrists and necks, some would regularly pour cold water on their groin area, some would wear two runner’s caps on their head and in between them, they place crushed or tube ice, to provide coolness on their heads and some would simply shower cold water to their body. All of these, I’ve done them in the BDM 102K in order to finish the race. Scott Jurek, at one time in his Badwater Ultramarathon Race where he won, he totally immersed his whole body to a big ice chest filled with ice in order to stabilize his normal body temperature when he started having some “issues” with regards to the effect of high temperature in the desert of Death Valley to his body.
6) If you think you can’t make it & don’t want to quit, then do not cheat!—My experience and observations as a runner-participant during the conduct of the 1st BDM 102K confiirmed reports of cheating of some of the runners. Some took advantage of riding in their support vehicles under the cover of darkness in the early stages of the race and some also missed or lacked with them the correct number of bands as a “sign” that the runners passed on a certain checkpoint which means that they took a ride in their support vehicles on the last few kilometers before the finish line. I could not believe what I’ve observed among these runners whom I considered as “cheaters” in the said race. One case of cheating was for a runner infront of me for about 100 meters in Hermosa, Bataan to just simply “vanished” along the stretch of Dinalupihan-Lubao Highway (where I could see the back of the runner infront of me for about one kilometer) and seeing his back again inside a poblacion, 12 kilometers from the finish line. Another case of cheating during the race was for a certain runner who was checked on the last station as number 29 runner and this runner was able to overtake another runner along the way on the last 9 kilometers to the finish. Instead of this runner finishing # 28, he finally finished # 30 without any runner overtaking him on the last 9 kilometers. Somebody had overtaken this runner by riding in his support vehicle and alighting from his vehicle at least 2-3 kilometers from the finish line. Another case of cheating is with a runner who could hardly cope up with our regular “runabouts” in Metro Manila and even practically did not finish our “test run”. It was a surprise that he was able to develop an aerobic stamina/endurance and strength on his legs for a period of one month before the race for him to finish it. This guy was so Amazing! Some of the runners made also a “shortcut” on the route on the first 50 kilometers and even went to the extent of questioning or correcting the Road Marshals’ instructions to the runners on intersection along the highway. In the end, these “cheaters” did not win any awards but they seem to be legitimate “finishers” of the said race. Why am I telling all these things? Because in any group of 13 people, there is always a “Judas Escariote” who will undermine or betray the very noble intention or mission of the group or activity. No amount of “safeguards” and “ways and means” to deter these cheaters in road races but they are always there taking the risks. If you are reading this post, make sure to be honest with yourself and to others. Please respect the route and the Race Organizers because it took them a lot of time, money, and effort to plan and prepare for a certain road race. In the first place, you run and compete in a road race because you want to enjoy the fun and savor/celebrate the experience. This is just a GAME and this is not a BATTLE where you want to SURVIVE and let the losers DIE on the road! By the way, if you cheat in a road race, whom do you think you are cheating?
Good luck to all the BOTAK 100K Runners and “soon-to-be” ultra runners! Wishing you the best of luck & my prayers will be with you!
Just “shut up & no whining” and by all means finish the race!!!…but please, don’t cheat!
After reviewing my past posts, I found out that I did not post the usual “Lesson Learned” from my participation in the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race. What I posted in my blog immediately days after the conduct of the race was the lessons I’ve learned as the Race Director/Race Organizer of the said Road Race.
In view of the incoming BOTAK 100K Paa-Tagalan Ultra Race this coming Sunday, I am posting this “Lessons Learned” from the BDM 102K to guide the “first-timers” in ultramarathon race with the hope of helping these runners join the ranks of ultra runners in the country.
The following are the lessons learned in the said race:
1) Think always “the end-goal”—Finish The Race. Ultramarathon race is an endurance sports, just like a marathon race but the distance is longer which usually covers the standard distances of 50K, 50 Miles, 100K, or 100 Miles. For a runner who have finished his first marathon race and jumping in to the ultramarathon distance, he knows what to expect and what he has to do to last up to the finish line. As a runner, I always believe that if you run a marathon race, it is a “sin” to walk within the said distance and you can not afford to hit and experience the dreaded “Wall”. But in ultramarathon distance running, walking during the race is a good strategy in order to conserve your energy and have the enough endurance to finish the race. The “Wall” to me is just a word and it does not hit a well-trained ultra runner. At this advance age of running technology and research, the “Wall” should be removed from the articles and stories of runners. If a runner knows his training, hydration, food, and possesses the right equipment, there is no chance that a runner would experience such. If you are trained for the ultramarathon distance, you should have experienced in your training at least running for about 6-8 hours under the heat of the sun. In my training for the BDM 102K, I had to experience running for a maximum of at least 8-9 hours at my easy pace which is 70% of my total effort. If I can not run, I saw to it that I would walk around Metro Manila during day time for a maximum of another 8 hours just to train the body to be exposed under the heat of the sun. Remember, speed is not considered and what counts most is a proper & positive attitude for you to finish the race.
2) Don’t ever think of quitting—Most of those runners who quitted after running more than 50, 60, 70 kilometers in the BDM 102 could hardly slept, ate, and focused their minds few days and weeks after the race because they committed the gravest mistake in their running careers—to quit the race! It is easy to say that there will be another ultra running event in the future where you could redeem yourself but the damaged had been done because you are already branded as a “quitter”. Don’t ever, ever, do this…don’t quit. You must remember that ultra running is NOT a battle in between you and the other runners or the course, but it is a battle between you and yourself! So, if you quit in an ultra running race, don’t whine and blame the weather, the race organizer, your shoes, your blisters, your body “issues” and others reasons, but instead, you should be blaming yourself ALONE. In the BDM 102, I prepared for this race not to quit but to finish the race and be an “example” to everybody with the saying/idea, “If I can do it, you can do it, too!”
3) Be prepared and have the necessary “equipment/tools”—Think and prepare for your needed equipment for your hydration system, food support, lighting system. running apparel (to include night running attire), shoes, socks, medicines, salt tablets, and other miscellaneous needs like cash, communication device, & sunblock. The number one mistake that I committed during the BDM 102K was my hard-headedness to use only one running shoes for the whole duration of the race and using only one pair of socks! (I used my ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2, Eddie Bauer Coolmax Running Socks, Patagonia Trail Shorts & BDM 102 Long-sleeved race shirt)Though I did not have any blisters or any foot-related “issues”, using a fresh and dry running shoes and socks every 50 kilometers or 35 kilometers would be highly recommended to ease some numbness or pain on the feet. Wearing a fresh pair of socks and running shoes along the race has a psychological effect. You think that you are just about to start another race if you wear a new set of running shoes and socks. I also consider wearing another fresh set of running apparel once you change your shoes and socks as highly recommendable to ultra runners. In the use of medicines, please refer to my earlier post on the “dirty secrets” of ultra trail running.
4) Recon, recon, & recon the route—The “test run” for the BDM 102, which was conducted almost two months before the day of the race, had greatly helped most of the finishers and participants. Aside from knowing the general terrain of the last 52 kilometers of the course, they also experience what to expect on the weather and the intense heat of the sun during daytime in Bataan and Pampanga. However, I still advised the participants to find time to, at least, conduct a “windshield” tour aboard a vehicle on the the first 50K of the course just for them to know what to expect during the race. Knowing the overall terrain and actual walk-through of the race route will enable the runner to come up with his race, hydration and food intake strategy. This item or lesson learned guidance is always my number 1 advise to runners who are participating their ultramarathon distance races, whether it is road race or mountain trail run…run or walk-through the course!
5) Drink, drink, drink & eat, eat, eat—In one of the ultrarunning books that I have read for the past weeks, ultra running is best described as a running event with lots of food to eat and fluids to drink and lots of miles to finish. I think, it’s true! But the very essence of running an ultramarathon distance is for you to determine the limits of your body’s endurance and capability and after finishing the said race, you will determine and find out of what you are capable of. For you to finish the race, you have to replenish your body sweats and body minerals by drinking water and sports drinks. Your body would be able to use your muscles and you burn some calories in your body. These burned calories should be replaced immediately by eating some solid foods or else you will be exhausted and tired, thereby, making yourself quit from the race or making your pace slower. During the BDM 102, I had to alternately drink water and sports drinks every two kilometers, making sure that my sweating is continous. If my sweating stopped, it was a sign that I need more water to my body. What is good about my body is that I sweat a lot and that is a good barometer if I am fully hydrated or not. Since the course, have an Aid Station every 20 kilometers and at the 50-Km point where solid foods are served, I had to take in a considerable amount of food to provide fuel to my body aside from the GU Roctance Sport Gel I’ve taken every 10 kilometers. These rtiuals of hydration and eating of solid foods along the way helped my a lot to finish the race. By the way, while running, I have to wear my Nathan (Small on The Back) Water Belt and a Hand-held Water Bottle. The Nathan container held my sports drinks while my hand-held container held my water supply. Since there was a “Roving Aid Station” during the race, these containers were easily replenished with their contents along the way in-between Aid Stations. I just hope BOTAK 100K Race Organizers will be deploying these “Roving Aid Stations” during the race. Anyway, since most of the roads will be wide, it is wiser to have your own support vehicle tagging along with you or “leap-frog” along the course. Correct hydration does not only mean drinking water and sports drinks. It also means lowering your body temperature when running under the heat of the sun. Unable to maintain your normal body temperature would result to dizziness, hallucinations, cramps, shortness in breathing, and “heat stroke” or even death to a runner. Maintaining your normal body temperature takes a lot of ingenuity—some runners would pour cold water on their head/runner’s cap regularly, some would place water sponges on their napes and backs, some would use wet bandanas on their wrists and necks, some would regularly pour cold water on their groin area, some would wear two runner’s caps on their head and in between them, they place crushed or tube ice, to provide coolness on their heads and some would simply shower cold water to their body. All of these, I’ve done them in the BDM 102K in order to finish the race. Scott Jurek, at one time in his Badwater Ultramarathon Race where he won, he totally immersed his whole body to a big ice chest filled with ice in order to stabilize his normal body temperature when he started having some “issues” with regards to the effect of high temperature in the desert of Death Valley to his body.
6) If you think you can’t make it & don’t want to quit, then do not cheat!—My experience and observations as a runner-participant during the conduct of the 1st BDM 102K confiirmed reports of cheating of some of the runners. Some took advantage of riding in their support vehicles under the cover of darkness in the early stages of the race and some also missed or lacked with them the correct number of bands as a “sign” that the runners passed on a certain checkpoint which means that they took a ride in their support vehicles on the last few kilometers before the finish line. I could not believe what I’ve observed among these runners whom I considered as “cheaters” in the said race. One case of cheating was for a runner infront of me for about 100 meters in Hermosa, Bataan to just simply “vanished” along the stretch of Dinalupihan-Lubao Highway (where I could see the back of the runner infront of me for about one kilometer) and seeing his back again inside a poblacion, 12 kilometers from the finish line. Another case of cheating during the race was for a certain runner who was checked on the last station as number 29 runner and this runner was able to overtake another runner along the way on the last 9 kilometers to the finish. Instead of this runner finishing # 28, he finally finished # 30 without any runner overtaking him on the last 9 kilometers. Somebody had overtaken this runner by riding in his support vehicle and alighting from his vehicle at least 2-3 kilometers from the finish line. Another case of cheating is with a runner who could hardly cope up with our regular “runabouts” in Metro Manila and even practically did not finish our “test run”. It was a surprise that he was able to develop an aerobic stamina/endurance and strength on his legs for a period of one month before the race for him to finish it. This guy was so Amazing! Some of the runners made also a “shortcut” on the route on the first 50 kilometers and even went to the extent of questioning or correcting the Road Marshals’ instructions to the runners on intersection along the highway. In the end, these “cheaters” did not win any awards but they seem to be legitimate “finishers” of the said race. Why am I telling all these things? Because in any group of 13 people, there is always a “Judas Escariote” who will undermine or betray the very noble intention or mission of the group or activity. No amount of “safeguards” and “ways and means” to deter these cheaters in road races but they are always there taking the risks. If you are reading this post, make sure to be honest with yourself and to others. Please respect the route and the Race Organizers because it took them a lot of time, money, and effort to plan and prepare for a certain road race. In the first place, you run and compete in a road race because you want to enjoy the fun and savor/celebrate the experience. This is just a GAME and this is not a BATTLE where you want to SURVIVE and let the losers DIE on the road! By the way, if you cheat in a road race, whom do you think you are cheating?
Good luck to all the BOTAK 100K Runners and “soon-to-be” ultra runners! Wishing you the best of luck & my prayers will be with you!
Just “shut up & no whining” and by all means finish the race!!!…but please, don’t cheat!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Running Pictures @ XXIV Los Angeles Marathon
Simply log on www.marathonfoto.com.
Select Race: LA Marathon 2009
Type my last name: Narcise
Type my Race Bib # 8155
Click: See My Photos
Enjoy!
Select Race: LA Marathon 2009
Type my last name: Narcise
Type my Race Bib # 8155
Click: See My Photos
Enjoy!
What If...?
What if there is death of a runner during a road/trail race in the Philippines?
During our Summer Training in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City in 1971 while I was a first year cadet of the Philippine Military Academy (and about to become a sophomore), two of my classmates died while they were about to finish a 10-km road race. The reason for their death was due to “heat stroke” as there were no water stations along the route and worse, the race started late in the morning when the sun was up already on the horizon. The worse conditions of my classmates were compounded when the medical personnel at the camp’s hospital did not know how to cure or treat them as they showed symptoms of “heat stroke”.
I did not know if there was a thorough investigation conducted by my Tactical Officers and Commandant of Cadets at that time after the said incident. I really wanted to find out from the records of the Philippine Military Academy if there was any investigation conducted on the death of my classmates when I had the opportunity to be assigned there as the Head of the Intelligence and Security Department. But because of more pressing work that time (after the EDSA Revolt of 1986) and many security incidents that happened in the Academy, I was not able to have the time to deal on this case.
I could still relate in details what really happened to my two classmates on the day of the race as I was one of the roving “water boys” along the route. Maybe, I could write about my two classmates’ (Cadets Dollente & Llorono) ordeal as I saw them when they were suffering from “heat stroke” during the race and recall also the irresponsible acts and ignorance of the medical personnel who tried to cure and bring their body systems to normal condition. But that will be another story!
Let me go back to the topic on hand. Let me post this question and try to suggest or predict the reaction or action of everybody or the public. What if there is a death of a runner during or after a road race in the Philippines? Such death might be caused by “heat stroke”, “heart failure” of a runner, or an accident with any vehicle crossing the runners’ route, or due to anything you can think of.
The following will be my predictions of actions to be made by the Race Organizer and by the public:
1. As the Race Organizer and/or Race Director, he will see to it that he had done his best to give the outmost attention to the victim or runner by making sure that he would be brought immediately to the nearest hospital. If death to the runner occurs, he will say that he does not have any liability to the person because the runner signed a “waiver”. End of the story with regards to the responsibility of the RO/RD of the race!
2. Runner-Bloggers will have one or two weeks writing about the said incident.
3. The death incident will surely land on the Front Pages of broadsheets and not in the Sports Pages. It will also appear at TV PATROL, SAKSI, SOCO (?), and maybe, (who knows?) at ANC’s STRICTLY POLITICS & Carandang’s Reports (?).
4. A Senator or Congressman will deliver a “privilege speech” at the Senate/House of Representatives and maybe, just maybe, condeming the runner for not training properly, lambasting on the Road Organizer for not providing enough water and water cups to the runners and for the responsibility of scheduling a road race during hotter/summer months, and others..
5. This will end up with a Senate Hearing in “Aid of Legislation” and come up with a Bill to oversee the conduct of Road Races in the country. Of course, this investigation will be a nice “exposure” to those who have intentions of being elected to a higher office or for “name recall” purposes. (Note: I am not sure if I will be (again!) invited to these Senate & Congressional hearings as a Resource Person! ha! ha! ha!)
6. The running community will come up with a “Run For A Cause” to support the bereaved family of the runner. Or the running community will donate their share of some support to the family and children of the runner. Who knows his kids might be given educational scholarship and even employment by supportive corporations who have runners as their owners/executives? Better if the bereaved family will be made as guests at the noon time program “Wowowee”!
7. A “smart” Road Organizer or Corporate Sponsor might come up with a Road Race annually to honor the death of the runner and the proceeds will go to the Charity or Foundation in the name of the dead runner.
8. I am sure lesser number of runners will be joining the road races for some time but it will pick-up again after few months.
9. One of the Streets at The Fort will be named after the dead runner.
10. This incident will be a “wake-up call” to all Race Organizers to improve their services to the running community and not from the complaints, critiques and rants from the runner-bloggers.
11. A Blog will be created by a runner in the name of the dead runner to remind beginners and other runners to train properly and for the race organizers to provide the necessary logistical services and support to the running community during races.
12. Every road race will be made to have an insurance policy to cover every runner in a race or an enterprising insurance company will open an insurance policy plan exclusively for runners.
The items I mentioned above are my personal predictions or you might call my personal opinion just in case we have a death of a runner now that running is very popular in the country. I may be corny and sarcastic about this issue but we have to deal with such reality as many runners, whether they are beginners. competitors and even elite athletes have died in the past in the United States and other countries (to include an author of a running book that inspired more of the Americans to run in the 70s & 80s). Our Race Organizers/Race Directors will never learn their lessons and their logistics “lapses” to the runners not until something of catastrophic incident will happen to the running community during our weekly races.
Now, let me hear your views about this issue.
During our Summer Training in Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City in 1971 while I was a first year cadet of the Philippine Military Academy (and about to become a sophomore), two of my classmates died while they were about to finish a 10-km road race. The reason for their death was due to “heat stroke” as there were no water stations along the route and worse, the race started late in the morning when the sun was up already on the horizon. The worse conditions of my classmates were compounded when the medical personnel at the camp’s hospital did not know how to cure or treat them as they showed symptoms of “heat stroke”.
I did not know if there was a thorough investigation conducted by my Tactical Officers and Commandant of Cadets at that time after the said incident. I really wanted to find out from the records of the Philippine Military Academy if there was any investigation conducted on the death of my classmates when I had the opportunity to be assigned there as the Head of the Intelligence and Security Department. But because of more pressing work that time (after the EDSA Revolt of 1986) and many security incidents that happened in the Academy, I was not able to have the time to deal on this case.
I could still relate in details what really happened to my two classmates on the day of the race as I was one of the roving “water boys” along the route. Maybe, I could write about my two classmates’ (Cadets Dollente & Llorono) ordeal as I saw them when they were suffering from “heat stroke” during the race and recall also the irresponsible acts and ignorance of the medical personnel who tried to cure and bring their body systems to normal condition. But that will be another story!
Let me go back to the topic on hand. Let me post this question and try to suggest or predict the reaction or action of everybody or the public. What if there is a death of a runner during or after a road race in the Philippines? Such death might be caused by “heat stroke”, “heart failure” of a runner, or an accident with any vehicle crossing the runners’ route, or due to anything you can think of.
The following will be my predictions of actions to be made by the Race Organizer and by the public:
1. As the Race Organizer and/or Race Director, he will see to it that he had done his best to give the outmost attention to the victim or runner by making sure that he would be brought immediately to the nearest hospital. If death to the runner occurs, he will say that he does not have any liability to the person because the runner signed a “waiver”. End of the story with regards to the responsibility of the RO/RD of the race!
2. Runner-Bloggers will have one or two weeks writing about the said incident.
3. The death incident will surely land on the Front Pages of broadsheets and not in the Sports Pages. It will also appear at TV PATROL, SAKSI, SOCO (?), and maybe, (who knows?) at ANC’s STRICTLY POLITICS & Carandang’s Reports (?).
4. A Senator or Congressman will deliver a “privilege speech” at the Senate/House of Representatives and maybe, just maybe, condeming the runner for not training properly, lambasting on the Road Organizer for not providing enough water and water cups to the runners and for the responsibility of scheduling a road race during hotter/summer months, and others..
5. This will end up with a Senate Hearing in “Aid of Legislation” and come up with a Bill to oversee the conduct of Road Races in the country. Of course, this investigation will be a nice “exposure” to those who have intentions of being elected to a higher office or for “name recall” purposes. (Note: I am not sure if I will be (again!) invited to these Senate & Congressional hearings as a Resource Person! ha! ha! ha!)
6. The running community will come up with a “Run For A Cause” to support the bereaved family of the runner. Or the running community will donate their share of some support to the family and children of the runner. Who knows his kids might be given educational scholarship and even employment by supportive corporations who have runners as their owners/executives? Better if the bereaved family will be made as guests at the noon time program “Wowowee”!
7. A “smart” Road Organizer or Corporate Sponsor might come up with a Road Race annually to honor the death of the runner and the proceeds will go to the Charity or Foundation in the name of the dead runner.
8. I am sure lesser number of runners will be joining the road races for some time but it will pick-up again after few months.
9. One of the Streets at The Fort will be named after the dead runner.
10. This incident will be a “wake-up call” to all Race Organizers to improve their services to the running community and not from the complaints, critiques and rants from the runner-bloggers.
11. A Blog will be created by a runner in the name of the dead runner to remind beginners and other runners to train properly and for the race organizers to provide the necessary logistical services and support to the running community during races.
12. Every road race will be made to have an insurance policy to cover every runner in a race or an enterprising insurance company will open an insurance policy plan exclusively for runners.
The items I mentioned above are my personal predictions or you might call my personal opinion just in case we have a death of a runner now that running is very popular in the country. I may be corny and sarcastic about this issue but we have to deal with such reality as many runners, whether they are beginners. competitors and even elite athletes have died in the past in the United States and other countries (to include an author of a running book that inspired more of the Americans to run in the 70s & 80s). Our Race Organizers/Race Directors will never learn their lessons and their logistics “lapses” to the runners not until something of catastrophic incident will happen to the running community during our weekly races.
Now, let me hear your views about this issue.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Race Report: XXIV Los Angeles Marathon
7:31 AM 25 May 2009 @ Figueroa Street & 6th Street, Los Angeles, California
Most of my friends and readers were surprised to know that I ran the BOTAK 42K Marathon Race last 10 May knowing that I have the Los Angeles Marathon scheduled on my list of Road Races to participate into after 14 days of recovery. They don’t know that I was not serious to exert much of my effort in the BOTAK Run and I treated it as my long run in preparation for the bigger event which is the Los Angeles Marathon. Aside from that reason, I had predicted that the BOTAK 42 would be a failure in its administrative, technical, and logistics support for the runners by just looking at their race route. And I was right! The race was a failure in terms of a standard and well-organized Marathon Race but I accomplished what I intended to be attained–to make this race as my “long run” before tapering off for the LA Marathon.
At my age, who would dare to run two (2) Marathon Races in one month with 14 days in between? Hmm…I think it’s only the Bald Runner! (and my Ultramarathon runner-friends) Ha! Ha! Ha! This was the reason why I did not register for the TNF 100 Solo Run—I was already registered to run the LA Marathon way back during the last week of January 2009 (when TNF was not yet decided to conduct the said race!). And this point/issue shows a big difference of the major races done in other countries as compared to the schedule of races that we have in the Philippines. Major races in the USA are scheduled one year ahead while most of our major races are “knee-jerk” running activities where you have at least 2-3 months as lead time. I am sorry but this is the reason why the 2nd Bataan 102K Ultramarathon Race is already scheduled on March 5-6 next year and it will never be postponed.
Running the LA Marathon was a dream to me since its creation, 24 years ago. A year after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the LA Marathon was born and I had been a spectator on this event whenever I was here for a vacation. Traditionally, the LA Marathon was held on the month of March but I usually come over here during the months of June or December but there are times when my December vacation would be postponed to January or February and I would stay up to the day of the LA Marathon. So, there was no chance for me to seriously consider running this marathon. The original route of the race, to include the 1984 Olympic Marathon, was 2 street blocks away from our place and I was just contented to watch the elite runners and other competitive runners passed along Sunset Boulevard.
Due to the change of ownership of the LA Marathon last year, it was decided that the March schedule was changed to the month of May. There had been a lot of debates and arguments about such change but the owner’s decision prevailed and had it scheduled on Memorial Day to honor their dead heroes and other soldiers who died in the line of duty, most especially those who are assigned across the seas. And so, my kids and I planned to run together again in a marathon race just like what we did last August 2008 in the San Francisco Marathon as early as January this year.
After I have acclimatized for one week since I arrived last 17 May by running under the cold and hot conditions in LA, I knew I was ready for the race. We woke up at 5:00 AM this morning and I did the usual “ritual” everytime I join a marathon race (except taking the Immodium tabs)…hot coffee, instant oatmeal, cereal with milk, hard-boiled eggs, and bananas. Shaved, took a shower, apply petroleum jelly on my feet, inner upper arms, and upper inner legs/groin part, tied the D-Tag on my shoe lace, and wore my running kit with my bib. We were out of the house at 6:40 AM and walked about 2 kilometers to the Starting Line.
I was amazed to see a lot of runners, more than the runners I saw in last year’s San Francisco Marathon. Almost a distance of 200 meters from the Starting Line up to the back was filled with runners and walkers. We immediately positioned ourselves about 100 meters from the Starting Line as more runners were packed like sardines in the front areas. After the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, which could hardly be heard in our position, was sang by a choir and it was followed by a Prayer. The speech of the City Mayor followed and it ended with the blowing of the horn which officially started the race. The race started at 7:31 AM, a delay of 11 minutes from the scheduled time of start.
The weather was cool with a prevailing temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and there was an overcast sky. It was a perfect weather for a marathon race! We started to walk towards the Starting Line as the runners at the front started to run and vacate the space where they were waiting before the race started. Even if we occupied the whole wide Figueroa Street, the runners were still shoulder-to-shoulder and tightly could not run or move faster. It took us almost 5 minutes and 35 seconds to finally cross the ChronoTrack Timing sensor at the Starting Line which activates our D-Tags tield on our running shoes and I simultaneously pressed the Start Button of my GF 305. My watch cooperated this time as I deleted some of the data stored in it and made sure that it was fully charged.
Mile 1
The whole stretch of Figueroa St going south covers the whole first mile and succeeding miles of the race. My pace was a slow one as the runners were still closely near with each other. I was forced to slow down because of the situation and I maintained my pace and imagined it as my warm-up run. I had to make a zigzag moves to prevent from bumping on some walkers who were mixed with the runners and who were located infront of us. I finished the first mile in 10:20 minutes and I panicked because it was a very slow pace for me. I started to calculate my finish time by making an average pace of 10 minutes per mile and I assumed that I could finish the race in 260 minutes or 4:20+ hours! I wanted to finish the race with a faster time than that! A group of Japanese drummers would fill the air with noise and rythmic beat as we reached the Staples Center. And that was the start of a festive and noisy environment along the route.
Mile 2
The roads along the route were completely asphalted roads and it is more comfortable to run with it than running on a concrete road. At this portion, the runners are still tight and there is a lack of space where I could overtake the runners infront of me. I just took my patience and slowly increased my pace as the road is slightly downhill and flat. You could see a lot of people along the sidewalk cheering the runners and the LA Police and other security units would be around to see to it that all runners are protected. The runners practically owned the whole street and there were no vehicular traffic crossing the street where were are. We are still along Figueroa Street and as I approached the end of mile 2, I could see that I have gained some speed and was able to shave off at least 30 seconds. I registered an average pace of 6:15 minutes per kilometer, a 9:00+ minutes per mile pace.
Mile 3
We are still along the Figueroa Street and I could see the entrance to the LA Olympic Stadium at my right and later I could see the stainless steel markings of the Exposition Park. The crowd of runners is slowly loosening and I was able to increase my pace. This is the part that I started to perspire but the cold air that is meeting us would slowly dry up my sweat. This is where I started to overtake more runners—some are teen-agers, lady runners, male runners older than my age, and US Armed Forces Veterans carrying the US Flag. Along this portion, I started to feel the urge to urinate as I drank a lot of water before leaving the house. I controlled it as the portalets along the way have a long line of runners waiting for their turn. Despite this situation, I had to drink water and Gatorade in every hydration station. I started to take in my first regular GU Sports Gel as I carried with me 2 regular GU and 3 GU Roctane and a pack of Cliff Shots (Chewable Electrolyte Source). My TNF Racing Shorts was equipped with side & back pockets where my ration was stashed. My right hand was holding my SONY Cybershot Digital Camera wrapped in a Ziplock Bag to prevent my sweat from going to the camera. I was able to shave off another 30 seconds from my average pace.
Mile 4-6
From the wide road of Figueroa, we turned right to a narrow road where there is a construction on the opposite side of the road. Even if it was a narrow, the space in between runners became bigger and had more chance to overtake a lot of runners. And then suddenly, after a series of turns, the first uphill climb would appear infront of the runners. I didn’t panic as I increased my pace by taking shorter and faster strides as I run through the uphill climb. I had to overtake more runners along this portion. After the climb, it was downhill and I was back on my usual stride and had to make my leg turn-over faster. I was registering a faster pace this time.
Mile 7-10
More spectators would cheer the runners by shouting, “You can do it”; “Looking good”; Runners! Go! Go! Go!; “Bald Runner, Wohoo”. Yes, a lady who was giving Gatorade drinks to the runners, saw my race bib and shouted those cheers! I guess, there were at least five people who saw my race bib and shouted “Bald Runner”. There was a mixture of Rock and Roll Bands and Mariarchis (Mexican Band) along the route and it was a delight to hear live music from these volunteers/spectators. As we passed along the Residential Areas, I saw the residents cheering and shouting to the runners. They even have banners and posters where they wrote greetings to the runners. Others would have their “coolers”/ice chests with them and gave cold bottled water and soda/sports drinks to runners who are in need. Wow, this is unbelievable. The whole community treated the Marathon Race as a festival with music, cheering, and drinks ligned up along the route and each of the resident-volunteers showed some hospitality to the runners. I had a steady pace along this portion as I passed more runners along the way.
Mile 11-14
Finally, I could no longer hold my urinary bladder and made a “bold” move on the ligned 6 portalets on the right side of the road. Instead of waiting on the line of runners standing infront of each portalet unit, I immediately went at the back of the portalets and relieved myself with my urine dropping at the grass. Another two white runners would follow me and relieved themselves, too! One guy would say, “Hey, that was a smart move’! I answered, “yes! the grass on the sidewalk needs some fertilizer” and both of us laughed. As I approached the 13.1 mile mark, there was a “carpet” for the RFID timing system that triggers my D-Tag to register my half-marathon split time and passed through it while checking at my GF 305. I saw that my watch registered a time of 2:03 hours and I panicked (again!). I wanted to have a finish time of sub-4 hours on this marathon race. I was already calculating to have a finish time of breaking the 4-hour limit but I recalled that the second half would be a harder task for me because the route is uphill up to the finish line. I tried to increase my pace by “shuffling” and counting the number of strides per minute and made the counting as my running “mantra”.
Mile 14-18
The distance in between runners would stretch at this part as some would be seen walking, other would be seen stretching their calves and legs along the sidewalk, and most of the runners would walk while drinking their water or Gatorade drinks. This part is really the hardest as more uphill climbs would challenge the runners. There was some relief for the downhill but it would take the runners for another uphill climb again. It was a roller coaster at this part. Volunteers along the route would ask each runner if they feel pain and they would spray Salonpas liquid on the parts where the runner would feel pain. Other volunteers would offer Vaseline Ointment or Petroleum Jelly for those who have problems on “chaffing”. Other volunteers would offere sliced fresh oranges and bananas, and sometimes candies. There is also a hydration point where volunteers would offer “ice cold beer” to the runners. I could just imagine if any of the volunteers in the Philippines would offer this kind of hydration to our runners. I am sure the Filipino runners would ask for the “pulutan” that goes with the “ice cold beer”! Ha! Ha! Ha! At this point, a familiar face overtook me and it was a 7-time Badwater Ultramarathon runner-finisher who was introduced to me by Joe Matias of the A Runners Circle Running Store (I forgot his name!). I would make him as my “target/benchmark” as we had a “see-saw” race on this portion of the route. He is a tall runner and he is fast.
Mile 19-22
I was surprised when one of the spectators shouted “Manny Pacquiao” when I passed him. Hmmm..I think he means that I am a Filipino! More cheers, more rock bands, more fruits and water along the way. I took my 2nd regular GU at Mile 6 and then started to take my 1st GU Roctane at Mile 10; my second Roctane at Mile 16; and my last one at Mile 22 which would carry me up to the finish line. The Cliff Shots were mostly taken from Mile 16 to Mile 24. At this point, I don’t feel any pain on my legs except for some slight pain on my left knee cap which disappears whenever I shift to my “shuffling” mode with faster frequency of strides. I really do not bend my knees when doing my “shuffling” and only lift my feet a few inches from the ground and I gain more speed and grounds by doing this and I would be relieved from the pain. It was still a slight uphill along the route. One of the volunteers would shout to the runners, “Dude, you have less than 10K run to go, the Finish Line is near”. Yes, dude, it is easy to say that if you are not running!
Mile 23-26
I managed to overtake more runners as these runners were positioned at the front before the start of the race. They are walking and some are having cramps. Others would run quickly to overtake and then stop and walk. The Badwater Ultramarathon runner would eventually build a considerable distance between us and he was able to position himself at least 300 meters ahead of me. He is the only runner who overtook me from the start of the marathon race at this point. As I was approaching Mile 25, I noticed a loud steps of a runner on my left who was about to overtake me and to my surprise, it was Dean Karnazes in person! I tried to keep up with his pace for about 800 meters and I greeted him and told him that I am the “Bald Runner”. He offered his hand and we had a handshake and started a conversation by asking him about his TNF 100 Australia experience. He told me that the TNF 100 was fine and challenging and I told him that the TNF 100 Philippines was held last weekend. I asked him if he is joining the upcoming San Diego 100-Mile Endurance Run and he said that he’ll not join the ultra running event as he will be running the San Diego “Rock & Roll” Marathon next Sunday. I checked on my GF 305 average pace while I was running with him and it registered a 5:00-minute per kilometer pace! I tried to keep up with his pace and I slowly faded with his blistering speed/pace as we are approaching the last 300 meters to the Mile 26 marker. It was my fourth encounter with the famous Karno since I met him at Badwater last July 2008. Dean Karnazes was the 2nd guy who overtook me during the duration of the race! In summary, those guys who overtook me were two (2) elite ultramarathon runners who are much younger than me.
Finish Line
As I reached the Finish Line, I stopped my GF 305 and saw the readings on the digital clock with a time of 4:13:02 hours. My GF 305 registered a time of 4:07:35 hours and my official Finish Time (Chip time) is 4:07:33 hours as posted on the Official Results. Not bad! If not for the heavy traffic of runners at the first half and the difficulty of the terrain on the second half, I could have reached the finish line in less than 4 hours. Anyway, it will be one of my objectives to improve my finish time in the coming days in preparation for the Milo Elimination Marathon Run on the first week of July.
Based from the Official Results, I placed #1,902 out of 14,185 finishers; # 1,630 out of 9,011 Male runners; and placed #47 out of the runners in my Age Category 55-59 years old. I registered an average pace of 9:26.6 minutes per mile.
In my GF 305, I registered an average pace of 5:48 minutes per kilometer and an average heart rate of 154 beats per minute. As for the distance, my watch registered a distance of 42.68 kilometers. I could have ran an extra distance of 500 meters!
Assessment & Conclusion
It was a blast and fun to experience running a marathon with almost 14,000 participants where infront and at your back is a “sea of runners”. The cooperation of the whole community and the support of the volunteers are awesome and phenomenal which is hardly experienced in the Philippines. What surprises me now is the fact that there are high-ranking influential and rich personalities in our society (they are in government service and some are in the corporate world) whose feats and finishes in international marathon races (like New York & Boston) for the past months and years had been published in the newspapers with their pictures on the front pages of our daily broad sheets but I don’t feel or see or heard from them any actions or initiatives to raise the bar or standards of helping or supporting our running events (especially an International Marathon Race in Manila) in the country which could attract international runners. You know already as to whom I am referring to. Kailan kaya tutulong ang mga ito? Kinakailangan bang maki-usap at lumuhod tayo sa kanila para tutulong at gagalaw sila?
As an advise to the hardcore runners and competitive ones who want to experience a memorable and “complaint-free” Marathon Race, save some money and travel to the United States and select one of the marathon events held in the cities along the Pacific States or in Hawaii. You can also try the New York Marathon or to any other marathon events in the USA where you are comfortable (where you have a relative who can support you in terms of accommodation and transportation). Once you experience joining one of the Marathon Races in the US, then you will know what I am talking about. Guys, forget Hongkong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and other Asian city’s Marathon races, go to the USA and you will never regret it.
Lastly, I consider the XXIV Los Angeles Marathon a “perfect” marathon event.
Most of my friends and readers were surprised to know that I ran the BOTAK 42K Marathon Race last 10 May knowing that I have the Los Angeles Marathon scheduled on my list of Road Races to participate into after 14 days of recovery. They don’t know that I was not serious to exert much of my effort in the BOTAK Run and I treated it as my long run in preparation for the bigger event which is the Los Angeles Marathon. Aside from that reason, I had predicted that the BOTAK 42 would be a failure in its administrative, technical, and logistics support for the runners by just looking at their race route. And I was right! The race was a failure in terms of a standard and well-organized Marathon Race but I accomplished what I intended to be attained–to make this race as my “long run” before tapering off for the LA Marathon.
At my age, who would dare to run two (2) Marathon Races in one month with 14 days in between? Hmm…I think it’s only the Bald Runner! (and my Ultramarathon runner-friends) Ha! Ha! Ha! This was the reason why I did not register for the TNF 100 Solo Run—I was already registered to run the LA Marathon way back during the last week of January 2009 (when TNF was not yet decided to conduct the said race!). And this point/issue shows a big difference of the major races done in other countries as compared to the schedule of races that we have in the Philippines. Major races in the USA are scheduled one year ahead while most of our major races are “knee-jerk” running activities where you have at least 2-3 months as lead time. I am sorry but this is the reason why the 2nd Bataan 102K Ultramarathon Race is already scheduled on March 5-6 next year and it will never be postponed.
Running the LA Marathon was a dream to me since its creation, 24 years ago. A year after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the LA Marathon was born and I had been a spectator on this event whenever I was here for a vacation. Traditionally, the LA Marathon was held on the month of March but I usually come over here during the months of June or December but there are times when my December vacation would be postponed to January or February and I would stay up to the day of the LA Marathon. So, there was no chance for me to seriously consider running this marathon. The original route of the race, to include the 1984 Olympic Marathon, was 2 street blocks away from our place and I was just contented to watch the elite runners and other competitive runners passed along Sunset Boulevard.
Due to the change of ownership of the LA Marathon last year, it was decided that the March schedule was changed to the month of May. There had been a lot of debates and arguments about such change but the owner’s decision prevailed and had it scheduled on Memorial Day to honor their dead heroes and other soldiers who died in the line of duty, most especially those who are assigned across the seas. And so, my kids and I planned to run together again in a marathon race just like what we did last August 2008 in the San Francisco Marathon as early as January this year.
After I have acclimatized for one week since I arrived last 17 May by running under the cold and hot conditions in LA, I knew I was ready for the race. We woke up at 5:00 AM this morning and I did the usual “ritual” everytime I join a marathon race (except taking the Immodium tabs)…hot coffee, instant oatmeal, cereal with milk, hard-boiled eggs, and bananas. Shaved, took a shower, apply petroleum jelly on my feet, inner upper arms, and upper inner legs/groin part, tied the D-Tag on my shoe lace, and wore my running kit with my bib. We were out of the house at 6:40 AM and walked about 2 kilometers to the Starting Line.
I was amazed to see a lot of runners, more than the runners I saw in last year’s San Francisco Marathon. Almost a distance of 200 meters from the Starting Line up to the back was filled with runners and walkers. We immediately positioned ourselves about 100 meters from the Starting Line as more runners were packed like sardines in the front areas. After the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, which could hardly be heard in our position, was sang by a choir and it was followed by a Prayer. The speech of the City Mayor followed and it ended with the blowing of the horn which officially started the race. The race started at 7:31 AM, a delay of 11 minutes from the scheduled time of start.
The weather was cool with a prevailing temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and there was an overcast sky. It was a perfect weather for a marathon race! We started to walk towards the Starting Line as the runners at the front started to run and vacate the space where they were waiting before the race started. Even if we occupied the whole wide Figueroa Street, the runners were still shoulder-to-shoulder and tightly could not run or move faster. It took us almost 5 minutes and 35 seconds to finally cross the ChronoTrack Timing sensor at the Starting Line which activates our D-Tags tield on our running shoes and I simultaneously pressed the Start Button of my GF 305. My watch cooperated this time as I deleted some of the data stored in it and made sure that it was fully charged.
Mile 1
The whole stretch of Figueroa St going south covers the whole first mile and succeeding miles of the race. My pace was a slow one as the runners were still closely near with each other. I was forced to slow down because of the situation and I maintained my pace and imagined it as my warm-up run. I had to make a zigzag moves to prevent from bumping on some walkers who were mixed with the runners and who were located infront of us. I finished the first mile in 10:20 minutes and I panicked because it was a very slow pace for me. I started to calculate my finish time by making an average pace of 10 minutes per mile and I assumed that I could finish the race in 260 minutes or 4:20+ hours! I wanted to finish the race with a faster time than that! A group of Japanese drummers would fill the air with noise and rythmic beat as we reached the Staples Center. And that was the start of a festive and noisy environment along the route.
Mile 2
The roads along the route were completely asphalted roads and it is more comfortable to run with it than running on a concrete road. At this portion, the runners are still tight and there is a lack of space where I could overtake the runners infront of me. I just took my patience and slowly increased my pace as the road is slightly downhill and flat. You could see a lot of people along the sidewalk cheering the runners and the LA Police and other security units would be around to see to it that all runners are protected. The runners practically owned the whole street and there were no vehicular traffic crossing the street where were are. We are still along Figueroa Street and as I approached the end of mile 2, I could see that I have gained some speed and was able to shave off at least 30 seconds. I registered an average pace of 6:15 minutes per kilometer, a 9:00+ minutes per mile pace.
Mile 3
We are still along the Figueroa Street and I could see the entrance to the LA Olympic Stadium at my right and later I could see the stainless steel markings of the Exposition Park. The crowd of runners is slowly loosening and I was able to increase my pace. This is the part that I started to perspire but the cold air that is meeting us would slowly dry up my sweat. This is where I started to overtake more runners—some are teen-agers, lady runners, male runners older than my age, and US Armed Forces Veterans carrying the US Flag. Along this portion, I started to feel the urge to urinate as I drank a lot of water before leaving the house. I controlled it as the portalets along the way have a long line of runners waiting for their turn. Despite this situation, I had to drink water and Gatorade in every hydration station. I started to take in my first regular GU Sports Gel as I carried with me 2 regular GU and 3 GU Roctane and a pack of Cliff Shots (Chewable Electrolyte Source). My TNF Racing Shorts was equipped with side & back pockets where my ration was stashed. My right hand was holding my SONY Cybershot Digital Camera wrapped in a Ziplock Bag to prevent my sweat from going to the camera. I was able to shave off another 30 seconds from my average pace.
Mile 4-6
From the wide road of Figueroa, we turned right to a narrow road where there is a construction on the opposite side of the road. Even if it was a narrow, the space in between runners became bigger and had more chance to overtake a lot of runners. And then suddenly, after a series of turns, the first uphill climb would appear infront of the runners. I didn’t panic as I increased my pace by taking shorter and faster strides as I run through the uphill climb. I had to overtake more runners along this portion. After the climb, it was downhill and I was back on my usual stride and had to make my leg turn-over faster. I was registering a faster pace this time.
Mile 7-10
More spectators would cheer the runners by shouting, “You can do it”; “Looking good”; Runners! Go! Go! Go!; “Bald Runner, Wohoo”. Yes, a lady who was giving Gatorade drinks to the runners, saw my race bib and shouted those cheers! I guess, there were at least five people who saw my race bib and shouted “Bald Runner”. There was a mixture of Rock and Roll Bands and Mariarchis (Mexican Band) along the route and it was a delight to hear live music from these volunteers/spectators. As we passed along the Residential Areas, I saw the residents cheering and shouting to the runners. They even have banners and posters where they wrote greetings to the runners. Others would have their “coolers”/ice chests with them and gave cold bottled water and soda/sports drinks to runners who are in need. Wow, this is unbelievable. The whole community treated the Marathon Race as a festival with music, cheering, and drinks ligned up along the route and each of the resident-volunteers showed some hospitality to the runners. I had a steady pace along this portion as I passed more runners along the way.
Mile 11-14
Finally, I could no longer hold my urinary bladder and made a “bold” move on the ligned 6 portalets on the right side of the road. Instead of waiting on the line of runners standing infront of each portalet unit, I immediately went at the back of the portalets and relieved myself with my urine dropping at the grass. Another two white runners would follow me and relieved themselves, too! One guy would say, “Hey, that was a smart move’! I answered, “yes! the grass on the sidewalk needs some fertilizer” and both of us laughed. As I approached the 13.1 mile mark, there was a “carpet” for the RFID timing system that triggers my D-Tag to register my half-marathon split time and passed through it while checking at my GF 305. I saw that my watch registered a time of 2:03 hours and I panicked (again!). I wanted to have a finish time of sub-4 hours on this marathon race. I was already calculating to have a finish time of breaking the 4-hour limit but I recalled that the second half would be a harder task for me because the route is uphill up to the finish line. I tried to increase my pace by “shuffling” and counting the number of strides per minute and made the counting as my running “mantra”.
Mile 14-18
The distance in between runners would stretch at this part as some would be seen walking, other would be seen stretching their calves and legs along the sidewalk, and most of the runners would walk while drinking their water or Gatorade drinks. This part is really the hardest as more uphill climbs would challenge the runners. There was some relief for the downhill but it would take the runners for another uphill climb again. It was a roller coaster at this part. Volunteers along the route would ask each runner if they feel pain and they would spray Salonpas liquid on the parts where the runner would feel pain. Other volunteers would offer Vaseline Ointment or Petroleum Jelly for those who have problems on “chaffing”. Other volunteers would offere sliced fresh oranges and bananas, and sometimes candies. There is also a hydration point where volunteers would offer “ice cold beer” to the runners. I could just imagine if any of the volunteers in the Philippines would offer this kind of hydration to our runners. I am sure the Filipino runners would ask for the “pulutan” that goes with the “ice cold beer”! Ha! Ha! Ha! At this point, a familiar face overtook me and it was a 7-time Badwater Ultramarathon runner-finisher who was introduced to me by Joe Matias of the A Runners Circle Running Store (I forgot his name!). I would make him as my “target/benchmark” as we had a “see-saw” race on this portion of the route. He is a tall runner and he is fast.
Mile 19-22
I was surprised when one of the spectators shouted “Manny Pacquiao” when I passed him. Hmmm..I think he means that I am a Filipino! More cheers, more rock bands, more fruits and water along the way. I took my 2nd regular GU at Mile 6 and then started to take my 1st GU Roctane at Mile 10; my second Roctane at Mile 16; and my last one at Mile 22 which would carry me up to the finish line. The Cliff Shots were mostly taken from Mile 16 to Mile 24. At this point, I don’t feel any pain on my legs except for some slight pain on my left knee cap which disappears whenever I shift to my “shuffling” mode with faster frequency of strides. I really do not bend my knees when doing my “shuffling” and only lift my feet a few inches from the ground and I gain more speed and grounds by doing this and I would be relieved from the pain. It was still a slight uphill along the route. One of the volunteers would shout to the runners, “Dude, you have less than 10K run to go, the Finish Line is near”. Yes, dude, it is easy to say that if you are not running!
Mile 23-26
I managed to overtake more runners as these runners were positioned at the front before the start of the race. They are walking and some are having cramps. Others would run quickly to overtake and then stop and walk. The Badwater Ultramarathon runner would eventually build a considerable distance between us and he was able to position himself at least 300 meters ahead of me. He is the only runner who overtook me from the start of the marathon race at this point. As I was approaching Mile 25, I noticed a loud steps of a runner on my left who was about to overtake me and to my surprise, it was Dean Karnazes in person! I tried to keep up with his pace for about 800 meters and I greeted him and told him that I am the “Bald Runner”. He offered his hand and we had a handshake and started a conversation by asking him about his TNF 100 Australia experience. He told me that the TNF 100 was fine and challenging and I told him that the TNF 100 Philippines was held last weekend. I asked him if he is joining the upcoming San Diego 100-Mile Endurance Run and he said that he’ll not join the ultra running event as he will be running the San Diego “Rock & Roll” Marathon next Sunday. I checked on my GF 305 average pace while I was running with him and it registered a 5:00-minute per kilometer pace! I tried to keep up with his pace and I slowly faded with his blistering speed/pace as we are approaching the last 300 meters to the Mile 26 marker. It was my fourth encounter with the famous Karno since I met him at Badwater last July 2008. Dean Karnazes was the 2nd guy who overtook me during the duration of the race! In summary, those guys who overtook me were two (2) elite ultramarathon runners who are much younger than me.
Finish Line
As I reached the Finish Line, I stopped my GF 305 and saw the readings on the digital clock with a time of 4:13:02 hours. My GF 305 registered a time of 4:07:35 hours and my official Finish Time (Chip time) is 4:07:33 hours as posted on the Official Results. Not bad! If not for the heavy traffic of runners at the first half and the difficulty of the terrain on the second half, I could have reached the finish line in less than 4 hours. Anyway, it will be one of my objectives to improve my finish time in the coming days in preparation for the Milo Elimination Marathon Run on the first week of July.
Based from the Official Results, I placed #1,902 out of 14,185 finishers; # 1,630 out of 9,011 Male runners; and placed #47 out of the runners in my Age Category 55-59 years old. I registered an average pace of 9:26.6 minutes per mile.
In my GF 305, I registered an average pace of 5:48 minutes per kilometer and an average heart rate of 154 beats per minute. As for the distance, my watch registered a distance of 42.68 kilometers. I could have ran an extra distance of 500 meters!
Assessment & Conclusion
It was a blast and fun to experience running a marathon with almost 14,000 participants where infront and at your back is a “sea of runners”. The cooperation of the whole community and the support of the volunteers are awesome and phenomenal which is hardly experienced in the Philippines. What surprises me now is the fact that there are high-ranking influential and rich personalities in our society (they are in government service and some are in the corporate world) whose feats and finishes in international marathon races (like New York & Boston) for the past months and years had been published in the newspapers with their pictures on the front pages of our daily broad sheets but I don’t feel or see or heard from them any actions or initiatives to raise the bar or standards of helping or supporting our running events (especially an International Marathon Race in Manila) in the country which could attract international runners. You know already as to whom I am referring to. Kailan kaya tutulong ang mga ito? Kinakailangan bang maki-usap at lumuhod tayo sa kanila para tutulong at gagalaw sila?
As an advise to the hardcore runners and competitive ones who want to experience a memorable and “complaint-free” Marathon Race, save some money and travel to the United States and select one of the marathon events held in the cities along the Pacific States or in Hawaii. You can also try the New York Marathon or to any other marathon events in the USA where you are comfortable (where you have a relative who can support you in terms of accommodation and transportation). Once you experience joining one of the Marathon Races in the US, then you will know what I am talking about. Guys, forget Hongkong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and other Asian city’s Marathon races, go to the USA and you will never regret it.
Lastly, I consider the XXIV Los Angeles Marathon a “perfect” marathon event.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
BOTAK 42: "Where Are Those Water Cups"?
Race Report on the BOTAK 42K Paa-bilisan @ The Fort/10 May 2009
By looking at the map route of the Marathon Race, I already predicted that the marathon race will have some problems. And my predictions were right. There was a lack of road marshals, many runners were lost and most of them registered fast finish times for the marathon distance, the race started late, there was a lack of water cups (again!), and you need to really have your personal support team in order to finish a marathon race with better results.
I am sorry, Franco but you need to improve your support system for the runners if you want more runners to join your races. Please don’t give me the reason that you “sub-contracted” the guys who delivered the water supply and water cups for your race. Do I have to do the mathematics again on how much a race organizer would spend for the water cups in all the water stations? Okey, we will do the math again. Assuming you have 600 runners for the marathon distance and there are 20 water stations for the marathon distance, you will have a total requirement for 12,000 water cups. If you buy water cups in Divisoria, it will cost you P 37.00 per 100 pieces. So, that is 120 X P 37.00 = P 4,440. The cost for the water cups is equivalent to the registration fee of 11 runners. The cost might be lesser because not all the 600 runners are running the full marathon distance.
I was happy at the first 10K to see Gatorade drinks in Gatorade cups but it ended there. I never saw and tasted Gatorade drinks in the succeeding water stations. It is also a very pitiful sight to see runners using the covers of those 5-gallon containers as water cups!!! From my support team, I would share my bottled water, Gatorade drinks and even food to the runner on my side. Armand Abalos from Lucban, Quezon and my running “buddy” from Km # 75 to 90 in the BDM 102K was my running “buddy” again for this marathon race and he is really a strong runner.
The race lacks the much-needed race marshals as there are more turns (right & left) than the number of kilometers in the race. By following the runners infront of me and the other runners, I admit that I missed the Pasong Tamo (after coming from the Kalayaan Flyover) turn-around as runners should proceed directly to the said turn-around before proceeding the the Powerplant Loop. Due to the absence of road marshal, we turned right towards the direction of Powerplant. In my estimate, we missed at least one kilometer distance. However, at the Finish Line, I heard comments from those GF 305 users that they registered a distance of 43, 44, and 45 kms. Afterall, the distance was longer than a full marathon distance and the turn-around that we missed had compensated for the additional distance. Ha!Ha!Ha! Unfortunately, my GF 305 did not work efficiently as the digital readings kept on “flashing” from the very start of the race. Instead of being “pissed off” with the condition of my GF 305, I just maintained my pace and treated the run as my long run.
I did not have any problem about the late start of the race. The marathon race was supposed to start at 4:30AM but it started almost 5:00AM. After the grueling experience with the heat of the sun during the BDM 102K last month, the early heat of the sun for this marathon was never an “issue”. At least, the shaded streets at the Powerplant loop gave comfort to the runners but there were no water stations on sight. However, running along Gil Puyat Avenue, Kalayaan Flyover and at The Fort area before reaching the Finish Line gave problems to the other runners.
With my GF 305 not working, I don’t have any numbers and location points to speak of or write on this post except for those observations I’ve noted during the race.
The race route is very challenging. The terrain of the route was very hard as it was concentrated in Taguig and Makati. In the history of the US occupation of the country before start of the 20th century, the US Army selected the area called Fort Bonifacio, formerly called as Fort McKinley as their Artillery Camp (where the US Army deployed their artillery guns) because it was the highest point in Manila where they can observe the movements of our “revolutionaries” passing along the Pasig River and easily can pinpoint targets within the populated area of the Old Manila and Manila Bay. So, running in Makati & Taguig entails a lot of challenging rolling terrain. Such race route would never attract a world-record pace for the marathon race.
Despite constructive criticisms from runner-bloggers about how we “race organize” our road races, it seems that we are not improving, instead, we are going back to the “stone-age” where we have to bring our own water & provisions after paying somebody to support us in our road adventures.
Guys, I don’t blame you why you prefer to go abroad to run a “perfect” marathon race but you must also think that you are paying an equivalent average amount of Five Thousand Pesos or more for the Registration Fee as compared to a measly P 400 to P 500 for a marathon race in our country. Having said that, at least, our race organizers must be able to buy enough water cups for all the runners. We don’t need fresh fruits, gels, power bars, pain relievers and other “gimmicks” (loudspeakers with music) along the race route, just give us potable water and water cups and responsible road marshals. I was laughing when one of the road marshals along C-5 asked me if I am a 42K runner. The road marshals did not know what distance the runners are running even by looking at the color-coded race bibs!
If there is a positive comment I’ve heard from most of the finishers, it is the fact that this marathon race was a “redemption” race for those runners who participated in last December’s SC Singapore Marathon. They told me that they improved a lot from their finish times and proud that they got new PRs on their marathon finish time in this race.
Before I passed the Finish Line, I slowed down to see the digital clock and I registered a Finish Time of 4:35:10 hours. I am not proud of my time as I ran too slow without an operational GF 305. Based from the Race Chart of Running Times Magazine, I had an average pace of 6:30 minutes per kilometer/10:30 minutes per mile. It is my ultramarathon pace! Ha!Ha!Ha!
By the way, next Saturday will be TNF 100 Australia. There are 250+ solo runners for the 100-Km distance. Dean “Karno” Karnazes, the Ultramarathon Man, will be competing in the said race. The next Saturday after TNF 100 Australia, it will be TNF 100 Sacobia, Clark, Philippines. There are 100 solo runners for the 100-Km distance. Dean “Karno” Karnazes will be in the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon Expo for his book signing. Good luck to all TNF 100 Sacobia Solo Runners!!!
By looking at the map route of the Marathon Race, I already predicted that the marathon race will have some problems. And my predictions were right. There was a lack of road marshals, many runners were lost and most of them registered fast finish times for the marathon distance, the race started late, there was a lack of water cups (again!), and you need to really have your personal support team in order to finish a marathon race with better results.
I am sorry, Franco but you need to improve your support system for the runners if you want more runners to join your races. Please don’t give me the reason that you “sub-contracted” the guys who delivered the water supply and water cups for your race. Do I have to do the mathematics again on how much a race organizer would spend for the water cups in all the water stations? Okey, we will do the math again. Assuming you have 600 runners for the marathon distance and there are 20 water stations for the marathon distance, you will have a total requirement for 12,000 water cups. If you buy water cups in Divisoria, it will cost you P 37.00 per 100 pieces. So, that is 120 X P 37.00 = P 4,440. The cost for the water cups is equivalent to the registration fee of 11 runners. The cost might be lesser because not all the 600 runners are running the full marathon distance.
I was happy at the first 10K to see Gatorade drinks in Gatorade cups but it ended there. I never saw and tasted Gatorade drinks in the succeeding water stations. It is also a very pitiful sight to see runners using the covers of those 5-gallon containers as water cups!!! From my support team, I would share my bottled water, Gatorade drinks and even food to the runner on my side. Armand Abalos from Lucban, Quezon and my running “buddy” from Km # 75 to 90 in the BDM 102K was my running “buddy” again for this marathon race and he is really a strong runner.
The race lacks the much-needed race marshals as there are more turns (right & left) than the number of kilometers in the race. By following the runners infront of me and the other runners, I admit that I missed the Pasong Tamo (after coming from the Kalayaan Flyover) turn-around as runners should proceed directly to the said turn-around before proceeding the the Powerplant Loop. Due to the absence of road marshal, we turned right towards the direction of Powerplant. In my estimate, we missed at least one kilometer distance. However, at the Finish Line, I heard comments from those GF 305 users that they registered a distance of 43, 44, and 45 kms. Afterall, the distance was longer than a full marathon distance and the turn-around that we missed had compensated for the additional distance. Ha!Ha!Ha! Unfortunately, my GF 305 did not work efficiently as the digital readings kept on “flashing” from the very start of the race. Instead of being “pissed off” with the condition of my GF 305, I just maintained my pace and treated the run as my long run.
I did not have any problem about the late start of the race. The marathon race was supposed to start at 4:30AM but it started almost 5:00AM. After the grueling experience with the heat of the sun during the BDM 102K last month, the early heat of the sun for this marathon was never an “issue”. At least, the shaded streets at the Powerplant loop gave comfort to the runners but there were no water stations on sight. However, running along Gil Puyat Avenue, Kalayaan Flyover and at The Fort area before reaching the Finish Line gave problems to the other runners.
With my GF 305 not working, I don’t have any numbers and location points to speak of or write on this post except for those observations I’ve noted during the race.
The race route is very challenging. The terrain of the route was very hard as it was concentrated in Taguig and Makati. In the history of the US occupation of the country before start of the 20th century, the US Army selected the area called Fort Bonifacio, formerly called as Fort McKinley as their Artillery Camp (where the US Army deployed their artillery guns) because it was the highest point in Manila where they can observe the movements of our “revolutionaries” passing along the Pasig River and easily can pinpoint targets within the populated area of the Old Manila and Manila Bay. So, running in Makati & Taguig entails a lot of challenging rolling terrain. Such race route would never attract a world-record pace for the marathon race.
Despite constructive criticisms from runner-bloggers about how we “race organize” our road races, it seems that we are not improving, instead, we are going back to the “stone-age” where we have to bring our own water & provisions after paying somebody to support us in our road adventures.
Guys, I don’t blame you why you prefer to go abroad to run a “perfect” marathon race but you must also think that you are paying an equivalent average amount of Five Thousand Pesos or more for the Registration Fee as compared to a measly P 400 to P 500 for a marathon race in our country. Having said that, at least, our race organizers must be able to buy enough water cups for all the runners. We don’t need fresh fruits, gels, power bars, pain relievers and other “gimmicks” (loudspeakers with music) along the race route, just give us potable water and water cups and responsible road marshals. I was laughing when one of the road marshals along C-5 asked me if I am a 42K runner. The road marshals did not know what distance the runners are running even by looking at the color-coded race bibs!
If there is a positive comment I’ve heard from most of the finishers, it is the fact that this marathon race was a “redemption” race for those runners who participated in last December’s SC Singapore Marathon. They told me that they improved a lot from their finish times and proud that they got new PRs on their marathon finish time in this race.
Before I passed the Finish Line, I slowed down to see the digital clock and I registered a Finish Time of 4:35:10 hours. I am not proud of my time as I ran too slow without an operational GF 305. Based from the Race Chart of Running Times Magazine, I had an average pace of 6:30 minutes per kilometer/10:30 minutes per mile. It is my ultramarathon pace! Ha!Ha!Ha!
By the way, next Saturday will be TNF 100 Australia. There are 250+ solo runners for the 100-Km distance. Dean “Karno” Karnazes, the Ultramarathon Man, will be competing in the said race. The next Saturday after TNF 100 Australia, it will be TNF 100 Sacobia, Clark, Philippines. There are 100 solo runners for the 100-Km distance. Dean “Karno” Karnazes will be in the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon Expo for his book signing. Good luck to all TNF 100 Sacobia Solo Runners!!!
"Before You Register, Know The Race Organizer"
After reading the comments of my readers on my previous posts, I am suggesting the following recommendations to guide our runners before they register to join a particular road or trail race:
1. Every runner has the right to know the name of the outfit or the name of the race organizer/race director before he/she files or registers to a particular race. Henceforth, all registration/application form in every road race must carry the name of the Race Organizer for the information of the runner.
2. Groups and/or corporate offices and their marketing outfits must be able to state in their “flyers”, advertisement notices, and PR/media releases as to who and what outfit will be the race organizer. These corporate offices and groups must be able to ask runners or make some research/referrals on the background of race organizers trying to apply as race organizer.
3. Takbo.Ph and other bloggers must be requested to identify as to who is the race organizer every time they post a notice of invitation or information about an incoming race. (Note: This blog/site has never been used to announce or invite runners to join in a particular race. Sorry, guys, your e-mails and comments requesting me to post your invitation in this blog had never been posted because of this personal policy. I don’t advertise.)
4. Every runnner must remember that companies and groups who would like to conduct a road race usually conduct a bidding/selection process where every race organizer is invited to compete. It is the responsibility of the Bids & Awards Committe of the company or group to find out if these Race Organizers have a license from DTI and the necessary documentation of a business entity. We should always remember that the lowest bidder gets the award to be the race organizer of a race. So, if the race organizer and/or the company needs to maximize its profit, he/she has to get sponsors for the prizes and “giveaways” and other support needs for the runners like water supply, water cups, energy drinks, and other “gimmicks”. The race organizer now allocates some money from your registration fee for your medal, certificate, race bib, race shirt, measurement of the route, payment for the marshals/security, medical support and rent for the timing devices and computer system. If the race organizer intends to allow commercial stalls at the start/finish, he has the power to collect fees at his discretion for the rent of the tents/space and they add up to his income/profit. Race Organizing is a “big” business. I am just wondering if they are paying their dues/taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
5. If you experienced some “lapses” in the conduct of a race you participated and you find out that the same race organizer is the one who will administer the race you are applying, then, I suggest you save your money and wait for road races to be conducted by the better and well-organized race organizers.
6. For the “newbies” in road races, make a research on the past posts of runner-bloggers about how these race organizers were rated in their respective races or ask from the more experienced runners about these race organizers before joining a road race. I will give you an example. As far as I can recall, for this year, the race organizer of the PSE Bull Run and Men’s Health Run at UP Diliman was the same and in those runs, runners complained of the lack of water and water cups.
7. This is an “eye-opener” to all the runners. Aside from the support system for the runners during the race, we have to consider also the security services to our cars and our personal belongings while we are running. Let me ask you, “Who should be responsible for the security of our cars/vehicles and personal belongings during the race”? In my opinion, it should be the Race Organizer. Kahit gaano kagaling & fully-prepared and isang race organizer kung nananakawan naman ang kanyang customers, ay dapat isang daguk sa kakayahan ang isang race organizer itong pangyayari ng nakawan. New Balance 25K Powerace at Clark Freeport was a very organized race but in the end many runners complained that their personal belongings in their parked vehicles were stolen. The Greenfield City 21K Run was also an organized race few weeks ago but you heard of complaints from runners that they were victims of theft/robbery in their parked vehicles despite the presence of security guards in the parking areas. Road Races conducted at the Global City by well-known and better-equipped road organizers were not spared from these thieves and robbers. But if the Race Organizer will not accept responsibility for the security of our parked vehicles and our personal belongings, then we have to learn from these incidents also.
I admit there is a problem in regulating these race organizers once they are legitimate business outfits because there is lack of policy and system of monitoring the said races by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) or from the Sports Federation (PATAFA) that supervises Road Races. Without rules and regulations, the violators will never get sanctioned or punished. Even if there are rules and regulations if there are no formal (written) complaints from the runners filed to DTI or PATAFA, the race organizer will be free to bid again for another race.
So, let us join hands in “punishing” these road organizers who are not improving their support and security systems by not registering to their races. Select the race you are going to participate. In the end, it is your money, decision and personal choice to join such road race and you must take responsibility for your action.
The decision is yours! See you this weekend!
1. Every runner has the right to know the name of the outfit or the name of the race organizer/race director before he/she files or registers to a particular race. Henceforth, all registration/application form in every road race must carry the name of the Race Organizer for the information of the runner.
2. Groups and/or corporate offices and their marketing outfits must be able to state in their “flyers”, advertisement notices, and PR/media releases as to who and what outfit will be the race organizer. These corporate offices and groups must be able to ask runners or make some research/referrals on the background of race organizers trying to apply as race organizer.
3. Takbo.Ph and other bloggers must be requested to identify as to who is the race organizer every time they post a notice of invitation or information about an incoming race. (Note: This blog/site has never been used to announce or invite runners to join in a particular race. Sorry, guys, your e-mails and comments requesting me to post your invitation in this blog had never been posted because of this personal policy. I don’t advertise.)
4. Every runnner must remember that companies and groups who would like to conduct a road race usually conduct a bidding/selection process where every race organizer is invited to compete. It is the responsibility of the Bids & Awards Committe of the company or group to find out if these Race Organizers have a license from DTI and the necessary documentation of a business entity. We should always remember that the lowest bidder gets the award to be the race organizer of a race. So, if the race organizer and/or the company needs to maximize its profit, he/she has to get sponsors for the prizes and “giveaways” and other support needs for the runners like water supply, water cups, energy drinks, and other “gimmicks”. The race organizer now allocates some money from your registration fee for your medal, certificate, race bib, race shirt, measurement of the route, payment for the marshals/security, medical support and rent for the timing devices and computer system. If the race organizer intends to allow commercial stalls at the start/finish, he has the power to collect fees at his discretion for the rent of the tents/space and they add up to his income/profit. Race Organizing is a “big” business. I am just wondering if they are paying their dues/taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
5. If you experienced some “lapses” in the conduct of a race you participated and you find out that the same race organizer is the one who will administer the race you are applying, then, I suggest you save your money and wait for road races to be conducted by the better and well-organized race organizers.
6. For the “newbies” in road races, make a research on the past posts of runner-bloggers about how these race organizers were rated in their respective races or ask from the more experienced runners about these race organizers before joining a road race. I will give you an example. As far as I can recall, for this year, the race organizer of the PSE Bull Run and Men’s Health Run at UP Diliman was the same and in those runs, runners complained of the lack of water and water cups.
7. This is an “eye-opener” to all the runners. Aside from the support system for the runners during the race, we have to consider also the security services to our cars and our personal belongings while we are running. Let me ask you, “Who should be responsible for the security of our cars/vehicles and personal belongings during the race”? In my opinion, it should be the Race Organizer. Kahit gaano kagaling & fully-prepared and isang race organizer kung nananakawan naman ang kanyang customers, ay dapat isang daguk sa kakayahan ang isang race organizer itong pangyayari ng nakawan. New Balance 25K Powerace at Clark Freeport was a very organized race but in the end many runners complained that their personal belongings in their parked vehicles were stolen. The Greenfield City 21K Run was also an organized race few weeks ago but you heard of complaints from runners that they were victims of theft/robbery in their parked vehicles despite the presence of security guards in the parking areas. Road Races conducted at the Global City by well-known and better-equipped road organizers were not spared from these thieves and robbers. But if the Race Organizer will not accept responsibility for the security of our parked vehicles and our personal belongings, then we have to learn from these incidents also.
I admit there is a problem in regulating these race organizers once they are legitimate business outfits because there is lack of policy and system of monitoring the said races by the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) or from the Sports Federation (PATAFA) that supervises Road Races. Without rules and regulations, the violators will never get sanctioned or punished. Even if there are rules and regulations if there are no formal (written) complaints from the runners filed to DTI or PATAFA, the race organizer will be free to bid again for another race.
So, let us join hands in “punishing” these road organizers who are not improving their support and security systems by not registering to their races. Select the race you are going to participate. In the end, it is your money, decision and personal choice to join such road race and you must take responsibility for your action.
The decision is yours! See you this weekend!
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