At 11:20 PM of Saturday, June 10, 2017, all the runners had to transfer to the LAOAG Landmark at the Laoag City Plaza for the assembly, briefing, and start of the third Marathon Race as the new START and FINISH areas for the 3rd and last Marathon.
Upon the start of the race, the runners have to cross the one-kilometer long Gilbert Bridge as they move towards the south direction. The first town that they would reach is the Municipality of San Nicolas which is famous for their hand-made claypots. As the runners pass the San Nicolas Church, they have to turn left towards the San Nicolas-Dingras Highway and follow the said Highway going to the east direction, passing some Barangays of San Nicolas and Sarrat. It should be noted that this particular route is exactly parallel to the route on the 2nd Day. After 17 kilometers, the runners will reach the Poblacion of Dingras and the turn-around point is beside the Covered Court/Multi-Purpose Hall of the Municipality.
The race started at 11:35 PM and 10 minutes earlier than the 2nd day Marathon. It was somewhat cooler when the runners were running along the Gilbert Bridge but once we hit the populated area of Barangay Uno of San Nicolas, the air became warmer and humid. With the help of one of the runners of Team Kimat, Joaquin Bordado, he was requested to position himself at the intersection going to Dingras at the San Nicolas’ Claypot Marker as a Marshal to prevent the runners as well as their Support Vehicles to go towards the City of Batac.
The course have some rolling hills and also lined up with trees and other vegetated areas/rice fields. There are some portions where some road constructions and bridges are being widened and repaired. But the course is relatively flat. I was surprised to find out that there are Hotels and Resorts along the route. I was informed that the new River Mount Hotel and Resort has the best swimming pool in the province.
Aside from the resorts, along the route is where the Main Office of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative is located, 4-5 kilometers away from Poblacion of Dingras. One can see also the bridge that connects Dingras and Sarrat (crossing the Laoag’s Padsan River) as an alternative route from those coming from the towns of Marcos and Nueva Era in going to Laoag City.
As I was approaching the turn-around point, I came to realize that the turn-around point should had been the PETRON Gas Station where my GPS Watch registered a distance of 13.1 miles. There was an extra 400-meter distance yet to be covered before I could reach the announced turn-around point. By this time, I was already the 7th runner to reach the place. In summary, the 2rd Day Marathon was longer by 800 meters!
There seems to be a close competition among the top 3 runners! Since the Day 2 race, these runners had been putting off their headlights while they are on the run making sure that they could not be seen from afar from one another. I think somebody had leaked the information (which is supposed to be a surprise!) that I will be awarding the Overall Top 3 Podium Finishers for the whole event. I think these runners know the significance of being “Pioneers” and being the Top Podium Finishers of this new BR’s event.
The following is the result of the 3rd Day Marathon:
RANK NAME TIME (Hrs)
- Gibo Malvar ———— 4:45:44
- Dondon Talosig ——- 5:00:49
- Rod Losabia ———— 5:35:56
- Tess Leono (F) ——— 5:38:11
- Rose Betonio (F) —— 6:01:28
- Jovie Narcise/BR —— 6:17:43
- Reese Rogel (F) ——– 6:37:40
After the Awarding of Medals and Shirts, we had our usual group picture and it was time to recover again for the last and 4th Marathon Race. All the runners will be starting for the next/last race tonight!
Bald Runner 