1. On April 6-8, 2010, I was in Laoag City to celebrate the 85th Birthday of my Mom. I had a chance to run at the Laoag City Oval Track and meet the local runners & friends. I told them of my plan of coming up with an ultramarathon road race from Laoag City to Pagudpud in the future. Everybody was surprised as most of them have never tried running beyond the marathon distance. They told me that the estimated distance is 80-85 kilometers. Anyway, I told them to train and prepare as I will bring more ultrarunners from Metro Manila to run in the province.
Bangui's (Ilocos Norte) Windmills
2. On my last day in Laoag City, I asked one of my nephews to drive me to Pagudpud to initially measure the route with the use of my GF 305. The measurement of distance started infront of the Provincial Capitol in Laoag City and we took the Bacarra Road, going North to Pagudpud. As soon as we reached the town of Burgos, Ilocos Norte, my GF 305 registered a distance of more than 50K and I have yet to reach the Municipality of Bangui. Based from the Kilometer Posts, I need to travel another 30K to reach the town of Pagudpud! Instead of going to Pagudpud, I decided to visit the Bangui Windmill Project Site and the Burgos Lighthouse.
3. Through my calculation and assessment of the route, it would be nice to start the race at the Municipal Hall of Pasuquin where the runners would start to have a glance on the seashore! Laoag City to Pasuquin is 18-19 kilometers. The route will take the runners to pass along the Bangui Windmill Project (on the beach) and then back to the Highway. They will also have the chance to run uphill towards the Parking Area of the Burgos Lighthouse and then back to the Highway. The uphill climb is nothing compared to the uphill climbs in Tanay. The Finish Line will be at the Saud Beach in Pagudpud! Hopefully, a distance of 65K will be measured for this run.
Big Mangoes!!!
4. These could be the biggest mangoes I’ve seen in the country or in the whole world! The smaller mangoes are the Indian mango variety and they look like “dwarfs”. These mangoes are not available in Ilocos Norte! The biggest of them would weigh 3 kilos each! The biggest one in the picture weighs 1.5 kilos! The mango when it is ripe tastes like a papaya! They are sweet and juicy! They are good to eat after finishing a 20K easy run!
A really mouth watering race! Can’t wait to try it.
This is such a great running route Sir !
Sana nga idaan sa lighthouse sa Burgos, lagyan ng aid station sa parking lot, pose for some solo/group pictures, before we go back to the seaside highway…then a grand finish at Saud beach in Pagudpud!!! Pantanggal ng PAGUD at PUDpud!
Some pictures of the lighthouse and beach are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=166003&id=720873601
Mayat man daytoyen!
Any chance of including the Patapat viaduct (what is Pagudpud without Patapat?) Maybe by cutting out Pasuquin and starting at Cape Bojeador in Burgos instead 🙂
sir BR wahh gusto ko ituloy ang nasimulan gsto ko ma 2nd PAU..heheheh
pwde ko po bang malaman kng magkano kya mgging budget ng isang runner pag jan sa illocos na….para makaipon na po ako heheheh
NICE finishline… SAUD Beach Resort…
Definitely joining this one! Started planning already for logistics and support 🙂
Sir, happy birthday! wish you good health para marami and mahaba pa matakbo niyo! Thanks for inspiring us to push ourselves to the limit.