I'm back from a great weekend in Bohol which was a mixture of work and play. I was there for the R.O.X. Signature Tours First Bohol Promotional Tour and to participate in the trail running event organized by The North Face. My joints are aching but I'm wearing a proud smile on my face. It was one hell of a trail made even more challenging by our lack of training. Haha! What's new?! (Not that I'm proud of lacking the discipline to train).
Me and two other close friends joined the 22 KM Trail run division. It was only our second time to join a that category. The race was held in Danao, approximately two hours away from Tagbilaran city. There was also a 10 KM division which would have sufficed our capacity but we opted for the longer route because views are so much better when you take the more ardous trail and that's the only reason why we chose it.
Me and two other close friends joined the 22 KM Trail run division. It was only our second time to join a that category. The race was held in Danao, approximately two hours away from Tagbilaran city. There was also a 10 KM division which would have sufficed our capacity but we opted for the longer route because views are so much better when you take the more ardous trail and that's the only reason why we chose it.
I haven't trained in weeks because I was busy with several things (excuses, excuses) but what I was banking on were my nerves of steel. As I've said, I am myself's biggest fan, haha! Running around the chocolate hills is a dream of mine and I am so happy that another dream came true this year. That's one thing off my consistently changing bucket list.
I arrived in Bohol Friday morning to work - toured with this amazing group (hi Dennis, sir Ebong, Lian, Anna, Jojo and Janice!) , fixed some hotel arrangements, etc. etc. It was crazy! We did the Panglao tour in the morning and kayaked a total of 10KM (tama ba Buzzy?) in the evening. Then the following day, we toured the Bohol countryside.
On the actual race day, we had to get up at past 2am to travel to Danao. The private van we hired arrived earlier than expected which gave us about an hour to warm-up which I wasn't able to do because I had to fix some logistical requirements for the race. I also ran into a long lost friend from college who happens to be the brand manager for Nature Valley. Hehe! I was so shocked to see her that we just chatted away and a few seconds before the race started, I realized I haven't stretched adequately. (Bad!) so right before gun start, I had to do some kind of stretching so as not to injure myself. Running 22Km without training was stupid enough as it is.
I started strongly the first few kilometers. I was able to ran past a lot of people then after about two hours, my lack of training began to take its toll. I began to feel so tired so I slowed down. I saw lots of people overtaking me. Suddenly, my delusion of a strong finish melted away and I just wanted my ordeal to be over. The sun was high and tormented the rest of us who were left on the trail. 10 kilometers from the finish line, I was already on auto-pilot mode. I no longer had the strength to run. I was so tired and ironically felt sleepy. What was left was my will to cross the finish line. It would have been extra difficult had it not been for my two other friends who caught up with me along the trail and promised to cross the finish line with me. Along the way, we passed several small barangays who cheered us on. I guess they were pretty surprised that there were still runners along the way. We also met some sari-sari store owners who generously offered us drinking water from their own pitchers without asking for anything in return.
About 90 minutes after practically crawling the last 10 kilometers, we finally arrived at the finish line. What a dramatic finish it was! Me and my two other friends crossed the finish line in five hours - an hour after the cut-off. Behind us was an ambulance and several race marshalls who served as sweepers. The race director even came up to us and shook our hands for our courageous efforts.
I started strongly the first few kilometers. I was able to ran past a lot of people then after about two hours, my lack of training began to take its toll. I began to feel so tired so I slowed down. I saw lots of people overtaking me. Suddenly, my delusion of a strong finish melted away and I just wanted my ordeal to be over. The sun was high and tormented the rest of us who were left on the trail. 10 kilometers from the finish line, I was already on auto-pilot mode. I no longer had the strength to run. I was so tired and ironically felt sleepy. What was left was my will to cross the finish line. It would have been extra difficult had it not been for my two other friends who caught up with me along the trail and promised to cross the finish line with me. Along the way, we passed several small barangays who cheered us on. I guess they were pretty surprised that there were still runners along the way. We also met some sari-sari store owners who generously offered us drinking water from their own pitchers without asking for anything in return.
About 90 minutes after practically crawling the last 10 kilometers, we finally arrived at the finish line. What a dramatic finish it was! Me and my two other friends crossed the finish line in five hours - an hour after the cut-off. Behind us was an ambulance and several race marshalls who served as sweepers. The race director even came up to us and shook our hands for our courageous efforts.
We traveled back to Tagbilaran the same day and had dinner with some friends and several others we met during the trip. It was a great mix of people - we had fellow trail runners, media, PR and brand managers. We were able to chat about work and personal stuff and had a great laugh over things. It was such a relaxing evening, definitely one of the best times I've had. I would definitely want to join another TNF Trail run event. They really know how to give people both a challenge and a great time.
I would like to thank the following groups for making this event successful.
The North Face and the race organizers for one amazing event.
Municipality of Danao for their generosity
Our Partners : R.O.X. Danao Adventure Park (race venue), Everest Outdoors, Nature Valley, Res Toe Run,
Media Partners : AXN, Runnerspeak, Sidetrip, Action & Fitness
Our Ofical Sorts Dink : 100 Plus
Our Official accommodation partner and race briefing venue in Tagbilaran: Metrocentre hotel (thank you ms. Gretel and Ms. Evelyn and the rest of your team for the excellent service) Our Transportation providers : Loy of NF Transport, Leslie of Neverland Transport
Accommodation in Bohol:
Metrocentre Hotel - rates are available on their website
Tagbilaran : Tel. (6338)411-2599
Cebu : Tel. (6332)254-0449
Manila : Tel. (63 2)724-1051
Email : metroctr@metrocentrehotel.com
*You can get a room that's got excellent location, near ATM's, malls, churches. You can also buy your ferry tickets from them, buy from their 24-hour grocery with fair prices (like buying from a normal grocery), free wifi, and more. I love this hotel!
Van Rentals in Bohol:
Loy Domasin - 0918-7971473
L2-K Tours :
Tel. No.: (+6338) 412-0240
Mobile: +639273327786
Email: info@l2k-tours.com
Updated Rates available on their website
Ohhh by the way, congratulations also to the runners of the Milo Marathon. I met some of their organizers who stayed at the Metrocentre Hotel.
Special thanks to our good friend Josiah for supporting us in our crazy attempt to finish the 22KM course.