Salomon held their annual trail running event here in the Philippines last March 31, with 1000 participants from 3 categories of 24k: mountain run, 12k and 6k: road-trail run. Gun start for 24k was at 5:30 and followed by the other 2 categories with a 30 minute gap in between.
Race started going down an asphalt road and later on going up a trail and gradual gaining of elevation. We passed by some farms and villages as we were running through the trail. Then following an uphill battle towards Madre de Dios chapel. Upon reaching the chapel the steep climb of towards the top of the mountain begins. This part of the race is where most of the participants slowed down, since most of the route is only passable by 1 person. There where ropes to help us climb steep parts of the mountain, the terrain was inconsistent. Consisting of mud, rocks and vegetation, participants used those thick vines to aid them through the race.
Upon reaching the top there was a this hotel. The hotel garden served as a turning point, it had a breathtaking view of Taal Lake and the surrounding forests and fields. Some of the participants took some time to rest on this point. Descending through the mountain wasn't as difficult as climbing it. A slow and careful descend was advised by a marshal and some runners since a mistake or a urge to hurry can lead to an accident. After reaching the bottom, we followed our route until the last quarter.
This is where killer slopes started, it was on an asphalt road and it had the most difficult elevation. This is where most of the runners felt fatigue since it had an elevation gain of 2000ft within 2 kilometers! I met a fellow runner we had a conversation while climbing up the the road. Good thing we had a lengthy conversation which distracted us of how difficult the course we were going though.
The finish line was about 2 kilometers from the top. The security guards were actually cheering up the runners and urging them that we were almost there. Me and my companion tried to jog down however, it took only a few seconds then we were back to walking, our knees can't push anymore even walking was difficult. We saw the finish line and tried to get back to running, we endured the pain in order to finish strong.
I finished around 5 hours, I wasn't able to finish before the cut-off time of 4 hours, but the feeling of overwhelming joy of running my first trail in a beautiful place took over. I was actually eating my post-race meal with a smile. I will definitely join again next year, but with experience!
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| Starting Line |
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| First Section of Trail |
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| Muddy Route |
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Runners having a difficult ascend |
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| Turning Point |
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| So near yet so far |
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| The final climb |
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