May 11, 2014
We ran the rio. And I'm not talking about the famous coach with a well-maintained Fro. The river, people, the river.
I was invited to run the
Argao Highlands Endurance Run by my friend, Ritche Nuevo a few weeks back, and he promised a unique trail race - complete with river crossings, a canopy walk and a coal mine tunnel. I don't really buy the "unique" tag line many organizers use but that's not the reason why I decided to take the trip to the south. Not that I need a reason, though... as long as it's a trail race, I'm in! Well, the teaser photos helped in more ways than one. I arrived in the Southern town of Argao the night before the event with my trail addict buddy, Imar. We were expecting a marching band to greet us - cliche. Ritche had a better idea, Jagermeister and beer! Of course that was after demolishing Mimi's (Ritche's wife) lutong-bahay dinner. Not exactly the best pre-race preparation.
Fast-forward to race day. They have a call time... whatever that is. The open ground inside CTU was filled with runners and trail freaks. A lot of familiar faces - Runnilla survivors, and organizers. The usual race briefing took place plus the banana warm up session, while some runners lined up at the baggage check in counter. Yes, they have that too. We took off at around 5:15AM, a little late but its all good... that extra 15 minutes worked to our advantage as the race progressed. It was a fast start. I'm not really sure if it was the presence of the Kenyans and the other elites, or the banana warm up that dragged even the first-time trail runners to a flash-like start. They paid for it not long after. I had my own share of drama early in the race. The beer and Jager we had the night before wanted to come out... though the same cavity they came in! I eventually released a good amount of breakfast-malt-saliva super mix on the side of the road right before entering the trail again. It was a good nine kilometers of gradual climb, part of the 800+ meter total ascent, I'm still puzzled how I survived the smell of puke and beer that long. But I did... I'm hardcore like that. <-- this four-word statement is a lie!
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| the usual suspects |
Then came the most awaited part. The first of 21 river crossings. I don't really know where to insert this in my post but, I just have to! [Allow me to brag] The trail queen, Merlita Dunkin was eating my dust the whole time! Well, not exactly the whole... whole time, but I got photos! Evidence! She went a-zoomin' a few river crossings after, though. So stop me if I give you alibis... I simply got chicked. By the trail queen. In a trail race. Ok, enough. Let's drop it. I was pretty stoked on the part where we have scale a huge rock to get to the other side, then go under it... but you're not done yet until you've crossed to the other side of the river holding on to a rope while doing close-call mini leaps from one slippery rock to another. Whew! Just imagining it let out a few drops of sweat on my forehead. I came out without having to call a medic... or cry, so yeah, you can say I enjoyed it. The sight of the Bugasok falls (I'm not sure if that was the one I saw), was definitely a bonus. I mean, I'm pretty sure everyone noticed another trail to the left which I presume would lead us back to the river, but the organizers opted to make it a bit harder and picked the rocky, almost impassable trail to the right... but the view was amazing! And yeah, I had a
buwis-buhay moment there while replacing the batteries of my GoPro. I slipped and and landed on my butt! There were tree branches to stop me from barreling down that cliff, but that gave me enough scare to wipe out that beer-Jager effects I was carrying.
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| I told you I have proof! That's Merlita chasing me! |
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| Kilian moments |
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| the falls |
A couple of kilometers [and river crossings] after, we reached the flatter and more 'runnable' part of the route. I can only imagine the elites tearing up the trails at this point... well, the locals weren't so shy while they told us, the mid packers how fast the Kenyans went in an animated manner.
Hasta tae sa baka tamakan, nangabungkag gud! Unsolicited, yes... but the innocence amused me. The perks of trail races. I can't complain about support either. There were emergency exit points, medics, and ample supply of water and food. As if we would run out of water... hello? River? Duh! A big thumbs up to the people manning the water stations, they were amazing! And the marshals too! I was lied to by the marshals several times, that's my only complaint. Especially those stationed a couple of clicks from the finish line.
"Duol nalang, sir". I'm pretty sure 2 kilometers is not
"duol"! And it was the longest 2K, mind you! But we're cool. I did not want it to end quickly either. The organizers were kind enough to give us bonus mileage, 22K in my watch. That's 22 something kilometers of awesome experience! I mean, there are awesome trail races, but I have to put this race in an entirely different category. If, based on your standards, the dark and muddy coal mine tunnel just before the finish line is not unique,
ikaw na! I wont even try to mention the canopy walk... oh ok, I just did, but do me a favor and just use your imagination, will yah? Surprisingly, there were no whiners, unlike in some trail races in the past. Probably because they were fed after finishing the grueling course.
Kadako sa puso!
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| wow |
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| Jodel, one tough dude! |
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| no shower, no problem! |
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| canopy walk |
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| tunnel entrance |
Not exactly the gnarly trails I was expecting, more like a river adventure race of some sort. But what it lack in elevation, it made up with technicality. Yes, technicality! This is where I will insert my Kilian moments... well, I had none but in some photos - close enough! And in case you still haven't noticed, this post has a Spanish title, Kilian is from Spain,
so feeling ta gamay. [thank you, Google Translate] It was an incredible experience, and I wouldn't trade this race for any road race - pinky swear!
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| finish line |
I don't know about the other finishers, but I'd do it again next year... if there's a 2015 edition.
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| Add caption |
