CTR Dirtbag Of The Week (W2): Meux Cordova

This is Laz... half of his soul resides in Cebu, and is lodged in Muex's brain.

There are masters and then there are Masters with a gift of bloodhound-like terrestrial navigation, and an insatiable thirst for pain - usually directed to himself. "Usually" because we get dragged to his hellhole sometimes. His name is Romeo III Cordova AKA Master Meux. IT Dev Manager by trade, a slightly mad trail overlord by choice.

He first tried trail running in 2010, and he never looked back since. He says the thrill of the trails got him hooked. Like most of us he craved for more and locked his sights on longer trail races. Two years after his first trail run, he joined TNF Philippines 100K in Baguio City in 2012, his first trail ultra, and his favorite race. He was surrounded by like-minded people and he learned a lot. That was the exact date when his brain started morphing, slowly gaining resemblance to Mr. Lake's. Warning: it's best for us to avoid encouraging him, or else we might be opening a can of worms (Fatass trail run - exhibit A). Meux is the first Cebuano to complete the K400 series (Mt. Pack Ultra [50K] + Four Lakes 100K + Pulag 100K + H1 [100 miles]). KOTM's brutal series of trail races summing up to over 400 kilometers of beautiful trails in the Cordillera region.  

Master Meux might not be the pioneer of the sport in Cebu but a great number of trail addicts already regard him as Cebu's Father of Trail Running. He is the man behind Cebu Trail Challenge Series, the first race director and the person responsible for the nasty but beautiful routes of what is now known as the Pamutan Trailfest. He is also the brain behind that sadistic ego-provoking monster of a trail run called Cebu Fatass Trail Run, a free race designed to, well, break you and make you quit just moments after the start. He is obviously used to challenges but he says none compares to the demon he faced called H1 or the Hardcore 100 Miles. He loaded himself with more than enough physical and mental strength to defeat this beast. And defeat it, he did... twice!

Unlike most of us, he doesn't have a specific trail running idol. Although one can tell from his off-season activity, gravel biking, that he is a Krupicka fan - he still wont admit it. Meux is also strict on his gear preference. He only wears shoes with Vibram outsole and only uses headlamps with brightness index of over 300 lumens. 

Asked about his Strava log, he says it's very erratic, but he always  sticks to his training rule - distance is important but time-on-feet is important-er. Meux's raceday nutrition is quite hard to do as he is fat-fueled. He follows a specific diet plan months leading up to raceday to get himself adapted to fat.

His second H1 buckle

Meux is currently preparing for two races, DaSal 2019 in Davao this coming November and MGU - Gaoligong by UTMB in China in Feb 2020. How he decided to sign up for these races surely involved alcohol, Cervesa Negra to be specific.

Lazarus Cordova, born and raised in the Queen City of the South, an accomplished trail runner, mildly sadistic race director, and an awesome outdoorsman who never fails to remind us to always have fun and enjoy the thrill... although he has a different definition of thrill.