On April 12, we joined the Guerilla Race at Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Center at Quezon City. Together with the VeggieMan and Ms Big Cheeks, we went for the Warrior(10k) Category.
I arrived quite early - roughly 4am, had to travel a long way since the location is far from home. Its been a while since my last ride on a Killer Bus; where it only took roughly 20 minutes(running time) from Makati to Quezon City Circle. Had to imagine that I had an imaginary seatbelt on me, because it was really.. really.. really.. FAST! I had no choice at that time, since it was the only mode of transport during the wee hours.
Upon arriving the venue, it was expected that this kind of race would have fewer participants than the usual running events. This type of event is requires more fortitude and more physical strength since the the whole body is involved in the whole race. The heavy use of the limbs, abdominal and leg muscles are expected, and also expect to be (very)dirty.
Before the star with the race, there was a rule that was mentioned, if ever a participant FAILS to complete an obstacle he/she must do 30 burpees. If the execution of the burpees are incorrect - the marshalls will let the participants REPEAT the whole 30 burpees.
Our gunstart for our wave (10k non-competition) was late for about an hour, it was supposedly at 6:30 but we started approximately around 7:30 already. The cause of delay was unknown, it was kind of irresponsible that the organizers/race directors did not announce what was going on.
After an about an hour - where the sun is already up - high in the sky and it was already hot, we finally had our start.
A few meters from the starting line the we encountered the first obstacle, ITS A BURNING LOG and we have to jump over it! Its not really scary, since it will be just a split second, what scares me is that it may burn my leg hair!
After jumping on it we had to run down a dry part of a lagoon where the second obstacle was waiting. The second obstacle was an area where bamboo stakes are cris-crossed. So far, so good.. easy obstacles. And then the third one is a mud crawl with barb wires covering the area, these wires were approximately a foot high from the mud, so it was best to keep a very low profile while traversing the obstacle or else the participants might get their clothes ripped or worse might scratch them.
Here are the observations I had:
1.) The participants in the competition wave were not really in the caliber of the competing level. They were merely there having fun and taking a VERY LONG TIME in completing the obstacle, not physically equipped.
2.) There were 8 ropes, but only 4 being used, where the other 4 were tied to the post. Why? It seems that the ropes were closely put together, which I presume resulted to participants bumping into each other during the climb or which made the contraption supporting the obstacle unstable.
3.) There was some sort of teamwork on-going. Where there were a couple of individuals supporting the end of the rope to make it stable as possible, since the initial part of the climb is difficult without support.
4.) Marshals were very lax. The burpees that the participants were doing are not even burpees. The way of execution was sluggish and not executed properly where it just looked like picking up something on the ground.
5.) There were some participants who were impatient (well since this is a race and the there was a pile up) and did a shortcut. Where they did not attempt to do the obstacle and went straight to the burpees.
Moving forward to the next obstacle: Drag a cylindrical cement around a loop which was around 50-100 meters where its weight was approximately around 5 kilograms and was tied to a heavy duty rope which adds to the overall weight.
Next was a lateral tree rope crossing, which was relatively easy, the only skill required was balancing and grip. Next was carrying a 5 kilogram sack around a small loop again, this was relatively easy as the participants can just carry it over the shoulder, which will the difficulty of the task. Following this obstacle is a relatively easy one - crossing vertical wooden logs, again this just needs balance.
Next was an obstacle of intermediate difficulty a wall climb, this requires strength and agility. The technique here is to jump and reach for the top of the wall and pull the body upwards as quickly as possible.
Next was another easy task, it just needs precision and coordination - a javelin throw, where the participant must hit the target marker whether its a bull's eye or not.
This is where we encountered the first burpee of one of the members of the group - Ms Big Cheeks. Its unfortunate that she had a near miss! This was a disheartening sight, but its part of the game, she gladly took the 30 burpees with no questions. While she was completing the consequence I had a little chitchat with the marshall and he told me that there were also a lot who failed in this obstacle, most of them using sheer power to propel the spear towards the target, sacrificing accuracy in the process.
Upon Ms Big Cheeks completion of the burpees, I could sense she almost consumed a lot of whats left in her tank. From what I know burpees are extremely difficult to do and imagine completing 30! We pressed forward, walking for a few minutes for her to recover and proceeded with running again under the scorching sun!
Alas, we arrived in the area where we must part ways - where the 5 kilometer participants are required to turn on the corner and the 10 kilometer participants were to go straight forward.
After completing this obstacle we had to run a few more meters for the next obstacle - Hurdles. Upon sight of the hurdles I had a feeling of getting injured - like the one on this YouTube video. Imagine the hurdles we were to cross were higher by at least a foot or two. Mr VeggieMan got interrupted before he was starting, a crew from a small local TV show requested a GoPro to be attached on his head as he was crossing the obstacle.
Upon completing the hurdles, next was the REAL fun part of the race begins! Running along EDSA with the sun over our heads its a pretty long run about 1.5 - 2 kilometers its in this area where the pace of each individual stood out, upon noticing the gap being created we ran to a pace where both of us are comfortable.
After a long run, we arrived with a easy obstacle, climbing and crossing 2 window like contraptions.
After the windows we saw the next obstacle, an extremely difficult one. It is a meter or two long slope tilted approximately 45 degrees. The slope was coated with oil making it slippery. With a rope in the middle the participants should pull themselves up. We asked the marshals for a demo on how to complete this obstacle, we tentatively watched and attempted to complete the obstacle. This is where the Veggie Man failed - its the first for him! Good thing he went first, I was able to observe on what is the best method to complete this difficult obstacle. First, the body must be perpendicular to the slope preventing the immediate slippage and utilize the arms to move forward, with the used only as an anchor.
After I completed the obstacle, the Veggie Man proceeded to doing the consequence of 30 burpees. He had to stop halfway to recover from the fatigue. I was looking at him and he looked ravaged. Upon completed we had to let him recover for a few minutes before pressing forward. A few meters away was the next obstacle - A reverse slope climb, the platform was tilted 135 degrees, so we had to climb it using upper body strength, the difficult part of this obstacle was at the top part, where we had to pull our whole body to the other side!
Forward we went, and we came across another relatively easy obstacle, a lateral wall crossing similar to rock climbing but this one is going sideways. (Later on we discovered that this is the obstacle where Ms Big Cheeks got huge cut on her arms, where she slipped causing the edge of the anchors to cut through her arm. Good thing there were medics on standby in the said obstacle, attending to her immediately).
Next obstacle was a 100 meter crawl on the hot cement! It was painful, in the sense that the arms can feel the heat coming from the cement! And then relief, we were back at the park where there is shade and some cool breeze. Upon entering the compound we came across another obstacle, a simple one - cross an area full of tires.
After completing this obstacle, we just enjoyed our time running under the trees heading towards the finish line. However we got surprised, there was one more obstacle just before the finish line, men with cushioned barbels, they were standing in our way and will hit us on contact. Finally the finish line!
So here are the good and the bad points for this event.
Good:
1. Water truck for showering.
2. Enough hydration stations
3. Medic presence per obstacle
4. Lenient marshals
5. Sturdy Obstacles (except for the vertical rope climb)
6. Difficulty
7. Location is accessible
Bad:
1. Not following scheduled gun start.
2. Obstacles with limited capacity, introducing build-up
3. Improper segregation of categories (competition vs non-competition)
4. Shirt ran out of smaller sizes
5. Location is not ideal for event (EDSA section)
Collection of photos (c) Raj, Hans, Me
