A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Hmmm … “rotating column of air” -> that would best describe the DJs  on the radio show that I am forced to listen to when I commute to work. I think those DJs are very popular with our jeepney/FX drivers so no matter which form of public transport you choose, you’ll end up listening to them everyday. It’s a good thing though that all I will ever experience is the figurative definition of what a twister is. (or so I thought) We left for Clark last Saturday so that we can meet my friend, Isko at the jump-off area of The North Face 100 to give him some of the supplies he needs for the 2nd 50k loop. The weather was very warm and humid that day that everybody was wearing summer clothes; I didn’t even entertain the thought that I might need to bring my North Face Gore-Tex jacket for the next day’s 20k trail run. And so it happened: it started with a drizzle and then when it got stronger we decided to take shelter in one of the tents adjacent to the starting line. We were all surprised to see that the starting line fell on the technical committee’s command center, ruining it and almost hitting the people underneath. It was like the entire structure was trampled by an invisible raging Mammoth! I think I see …mammoth tracks…!!!!   The next few minutes happened so fast, I remembered that the entire place suddenly turned dark and I had to run away from the tent I was in...

This Sunday, I will join the TNF100 in Sacobia Clark, as a participant in the 20k trail-run. The last time I remembered being on the trail was when we climbed (or should I say “crawled”) Mt. Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin 2 years ago. That was my 2nd major climb with my friend Isko (he will be running the 100k solo race) who is a member of MESAU. I would like to think of this run as another day hike but without the daypack and trekking pole and executed at running pace, hehehe This will be the first time I will be trail running and frankly it gives me a sense of joy and apprehension at the same time: I am excited to be one with nature once more but pressured to finish the entire “tour” within the given cut-off time. I hope I can take a lot of pictures of the trail as I intend to bring a camera phone with me. I have already made a list of things to put in my belt bag for this event, among them are 2 bottles of sports drinks, energy gels(Hammer and GU), a chocolate bar, a pair of sandals and a donkey (in case I get tired). I hope I didn’t over pack J As with my previous runs, I just intend to finish this race and not set a PR since I haven’t been training properly because of my work schedule. In as much as I want to run this race using my old TNF trail running shoes, (which finally surrendered to the trail as we descended Hibok-Hibok) I will be using my Salomon Adventure Running shoes which I have owned for a while but have never used on the trail before. I hope that...

When all else fails: be one with the mud and it will save your life! Saturday Night : ma officemates picked me up and went to Chateau Royale to check the place out before claiming of race kits at 4am the next day (Sunday), and ended up in the hotel’s golf course — Evercrest. Tents were on the grass and people were camped by midnight (too bad we weren’t able to see the music gig for the event). Slept in the car and woke up at 330 to change and fall in line for the claiming of shirts and bib numbers. The race for the 10km run started at 0640H (if I remember it right), 10 minutes after the 20km runners. PACING! That’s what Irene and Jo kept telling me during the 16km run for One La Salle and that’s what I tried to do this morning, since I’m asthmatic and I’ve got to keep ma breathing and speed at bay. The first few minutes were awesome! Cool breeze, the-not-so-rough-yet terrain (haha!) and only around three hundred other people just enjoying that moment until the ground started to get really muddy and people started slipping. Rule # 1: NEVER run with JUST running shoes, wear TRAIL RUNNING shoes. Gawd (yes, learned it the hard way). I had to dig BOTH my feet into the mud just to keep myself from slipping and getting hurt (but still managed to always fall on ma ass hahaha!). My officemate and I were on the dangerous side of the trail (the side where I could fall off the cliff anytime) and he slipped and almost pushed me (back onto the trail but I could have gotten hurt anyway), so I thought if I had trail running shoes, I...

Endurance comes in all distances. FIND YOURS....