May 24, 2009 Sacobia, Pampanga Crashed at 2000H when we got back to the tent in Clearwater after buying “dinner” in Parkson Duty Free (having had zero sleep from the birthday party I attended the night before) and woke up at around 0100H on Sunday. Tried to sleep for awhile, but hit the shower when I realized it was already 0330H. There was more than one person running on the trail that day, and there was only one bathroom to be used. Tights, shorts, singlet, Redrock purse, my beloved Adidas road shoes, which almost made me laugh when I remembered the post I’ve written around the same time last year. I swore that after the first trail running experience last year, I will never go trail running without the proper gear anymore. That morning, I only had one thought–one I learned the hard way: when all else fails: be one with the mud! The organizers wasted no time in starting the race promptly but there was a bit of a trouble when runners got “clogged” on the way down to the start of the trail. Someone even commented: “hanggang dito ba naman traffic?” and some laughed. Just about the right amount of good humor to start the race right   Runners Ready To Get On The Trail I was already holding a Powerade bottle but decided to get water just in case I’d need it. Running on lahar and river crossing was of course, part of the entire challenge so the first thing I did when we got down to the trail was take pictures! Hehe! It’s not everyday that I get to experience it, anyway.                                     ...

I woke up at around 4:00 am, did my usual morning routine and at about 4:45, I was already walking on my way to the base camp where I would be running my first 20k trail run. As initially planned, I would run this race on a slow, easy pace. (No thanks to my wet shoes) After the gun went off at 5:30, we ran about a kilometer of road before we entered the trail proper. There was a long queue of people awaiting their turn to start from the slight downhill slope before we could enter the lahar-filled bottom of the Sacobia river. During the first part of the race, I slowed down and grabbed my camera phone so that I could take pictures of the other runners while everyone was still “clean”. As I have always said before, at the end of any trail encounter, we would all have the same shoe color: muddy brown!       As we approached the first part of the river, I was happy with my shoes (I would’ve been happier if they were dry to begin with) because the water have not penetrated my Gore-Tex shoes. I was thinking how difficult it would be later on for those runners wearing regular (read: breathable) running shoes since I am sure that at this point, their feet would all be wet. Some of the runners were cautious while most of them ran along the wet riverbed with gusto, as if playing in the flooded streets of Metro Manila! I thought to myself: “Now that’s the spirit”. I rejoiced too soon: later, I have reached the part of the river that was about 6 inches deep and way higher than my shoes. You see, the thing about Gore-Tex...

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...

May 23, 2009 Sacobia, Pampanga Clearwater Resort in Sacobia, Pampanga     We arrived in Sacobia, Pampanga on Saturday, May 23, 2009, a little after lunch and went straight to Clearwater Resort where we reserved for a tent good for four people.   Clearwater Resort in Sacobia, Pampanga | Tent T-104   After unpacking, we walked about 500 meters to the jump-off area in Expo Filipino Parking Lot and checked out the place, as well as waited for Kuya Isko Lapira and his friends to arrive at the base camp from their first 50k.   North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | Start / Finish Line The clouds seemed perfectly placed high up in the clear blue sky, just before it hit. My brother, Bolt: North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | The Calm Before The Storm Unfortunately, we didn’t bring a waterproof camera or else we would have been able to take a footage of it. Just took pictures and a video of how it looked after the storm!   North Face Sacobia After The Storm in Expo Filipino Parking Lot 2 | May 23, 2009 We moved away from the tents to try and look for Kuya Isko, a short distance from the wrecked Start/Finish Line, as he had texted earlier that they were already near. Picture of him holding the Gardenia and Adobo we brought him. Haha! Kuya Isko’s return to base camp in The North Face Sacobia, Pampanga after the 50K distance covered. The rain has just subsided, and this is me wondering if the 10k trail is gonna be as muddy as the North Face Trail Running Event I participated in Talamitam, Batangas last year… “How’s It Gonna Be?” looping around in my head 😀 Some pictures of how the jump off area...

I just got home from a birthday celebration way up north and by the time I continued packing and decided to write this entry, I’m pretty sure the race for 100K solo has already started. So, let me go straight to the point because I have several other people to check on and a tight schedule to follow for the trip to Sacobia, Pampanga. I’m the youngest in the group and I find it ironic and at the same time, traditional, to play the role of reminding everyone in the group of what to bring for a trip. So, like an adviser during homeroom when a class of semi-buggers decide to go on a field trip, my things-to-do include double-checking stuff my friends have to bring! Nope, no image. Sorry, and I took the liberty of not making you go through the agony of looking at the actual list itself 😀 We should arrive in Pampanga later, 10am at the most. We have prepared food for Kuya Isko to eat: chicken adobo and rice! Yeyy! We will also be giving him a bag of Chocolate-Flavored Gardenia Bread when he leaves for the second half of his 100K solo. Last year, when I attended the first event in the Philippines of North Face Trail Running, my officemates and I arrived just after Kadangyan finished their last set, if I remember it right. Hopefully, there would be another group of musicians performing tonight, which I think would really be something worth looking forward to.   North Face 10KM Trail Run – Bib Number   I’ll be bringing along my gray Redrock Equipment bag/purse I’ve had since college (I don’t really know what it’s exactly called). with our trail running dog 😀   Well then, gotta...