2018 TNF Lavaredo 120K Experience (Part 5)

Ride From Cimabanche to Cortina

After the Aid Station Marshal told me that I can no longer continue the race since I arrived at the Aid Station beyond the cut-off time of 1:30 PM of Saturday, I entered the Big Tent and ate some of the remaining food and drank some Ice Cold Coke. I was told to wait for the remaining runners on the road approaching the Aid Station before we could board the Bus waiting to bring us to Cortina. While waiting for the other runners, I brought out my dry long-sleeved Columbia Shirt from my Salomon Hydration Pack and removed my Patagonia Windbreaker and the rest of my upper clothing as they were wet from my perspiration. I was able to change my clothes and ready for the trip back to Cortina.

After about 40 minutes, all of the rest of the runners who were cut-off at the said station were accounted for. There were 3 ladies and 9 men, to include myself, and I have the impression that I am the oldest among the DNF runners.

The asphalted road from Cimabanche to Cortina seems to be a road that connects to all the mountains in the Dolomites. The road was not busy with traffic as I could not see or meet along the road big trucks and commercial buses. I could count with my fingers those private vehicles who were plying along this road. I slept for awhile until two of the younger runners (in their 40s) started talking to each other and they are Italians. They were comparing notes using the map on their Race Bibs on what went wrong with them. Although I could not understand what they were talking about, they were pointing on the descending portion from the Peak of Lavaredo to Landro as they talked to one another, the same section where I had my problem. I just smiled and tried to doze again.

After almost one hour, the Croatian/Polish lady was dropped in front of her Hotel which was along the highway, and 1.5 kilometers aways from Cortina. The bus finally stopped in front of the Olympic Ice Stadium and all of the remaining runners to include myself, alighted from the Bus. From there, I was limping while walking and carrying my things to reach my Hotel which about 650 meters from the Olympic Ice Stadium.

Sleep & Rest @ Hotel Cortina

I immediately had my hot shower and changed to my sleeping clothes. I ate whatever “left-over” food and fruits in the room and prepared instant noodles before I finally went to bed. At this time, it was already 5:00 PM of Saturday. I did not bother to check the Ultralive website about my personal data during the race and to those of the remaining Pinoy runners on the course. I was really tired and sleepy at this time.

I woke up at 6:30 AM of Sunday and I was happy that I was able to sleep more than 12 hours. I prepared a hot coffee and as I started to drink, I opened my Laptop to find out what happened to the rest of my Filipino friends. Since the cut-off time for the TNF Lavaredo is 5:00 AM of Sunday, I knew that the race was over already. I checked first on the LiveUltra page of Arwin and I was surprised that he DNFd somewhere in Km 90. I wonder what happened to him since I knew and was confident that he would be the one to finish the race with an impressive time because of what I’ve been reading and seeing on his training in Abu Dhabi, Dubai through his Facebook status. After looking at Arwin’s Page, I went to check if what happened to Rodel and I was surprised that he was able to finish the race in 29:23:10 hours. I was really happy that, at least, one of us in this year’s edition was able to finish the TNF Lavaredo 120K Ultra. I tried to review his time in every Cut-Off Time Checkpoint and I was impressed that he was able to make it in every checkpoint in a single digit number of minutes before the cut-off time in every checkpoint. I wonder what it was like for him to be catching up with the cut-off time in every checkpoint after the Cimabanche Aid Station (Km 66.9) and with those relentless uphill climbs on the second half of the course plus the cold weather during the second night.

Post-Race Meeting With Team Pilipinas

I have assumed that Arwin and Rodel had already left Cortina and took the Bus to their Accommodation place which is 20K from Cortina but after few minutes of browsing on Facebook and the results of the TNF Lavaredo on my Laptop, I received a Personal Message from Arwin asking me if we can meet at the Hotel to exchange notes and share our experiences with one another. Since I liked the idea of sharing ones experience with one another during the event, I asked them to proceed to the Hotel and I would wait for them at the Veranda/Main Porch of the Hotel overlooking the bridge and road leading to the town proper, the same place where we met and talked last Thursday.

I immediately came out of my Hotel room and went to the Hotel’s Porch to wait for Arwin and Rodel. After about 15 minutes, as I was going to the Hotel’s Porch, I saw them from the road leading to the Hotel walking slowly. I could understand and relate what these two gentlemen were feeling at that time looking how slowly they walked towards me. I immediately asked them if they need to have a shower as I offered my Hotel Room to them just in case they needed it. But they declined as they wanted just to share some stories with me. Arwin told me that that he had temporarily cleaned himself while he stayed at the Olympic Ice Stadium after he was transported from where he DNFd. Rodel also declined as he told me that he was able to change to dry clothes already and would be much better for him to take a shower in their place.

We sat and we started to share our own experiences. I told them what happened to me at the switchback descent from the Peak of Lavaredo to Landro——twice experiencing dizziness and severe pain on my left knee that caused my slow pace. Arwin, on the other hand, shared his experience and he told us that at the same section where I had some dizziness, he was able inhale a “cold air” that went inside his lungs and made him feel weak on the uphill climbs after Cimabanche. As he struggled at the uphill climb from Km 80 to Malga Travenanzes, he said, that he was feeling weak and lots of hikers/runners had passed him at this section to include Rodel. He finally DNFd at Km 90+ at Rifugio Col Gallina. Rodel told us that he had almost been cut-off from Cimabanche (Km 66.9) up to the last Checkpoint of the course. He could not believe that he was able to run, non-stop, from Malga Ra Stua (Km 76) to Plan De Loa for about 3-4 kilometers just to be able pass the checkpoint and then at the Peak of Col Del Bos (Km 92) to Rifugio Col Gallina (Km 94). He told us that he was praying “non-stop calling all the saints”, his parents and his relatives while he was running and hiking to these Checkpoints.

Breakfast With Team Pilipinas

We talked for almost one hour and half at the Porch until I asked the Manager of the Hotel if I can invite my friends for the Breakfast Buffet and I will be willing to pay for their bill. The Manager said, “You can invite them for Breakfast and it’s FREE for them!” Wow! I was surprised to hear such generous words from him! Stefano, may the Good Lord bless you always! So, we continued sharing our stories while we had our Breakfast Buffet on the morning of Sunday.

We stayed at the Hotel’s Restaurant sharing lots of stories and observations during the race until the Breakfast Buffet was closed at 10:00 AM.

We parted ways later as I can see on the faces of Arwin and Rodel that they are about to doze. They left the Hotel and walked to the Bus Terminal which is just few meters away from the Hotel.

I really appreciate this kind of conversation and exchange of experiences among Filipino runners while joining an international running event abroad. These guys are real people who are very graceful in defeat and humble in victory.

I told them that I had posted already a Facebook status that says that I DNFd at the event stating directly the cause of my failure. I asked them also to do the same as most of our Facebook friends are eager to know our personal “drama” in the said event. I promised to these two gentlemen that I am going to document, through this blog, all the things that we experienced in this event and I told them that it will be a very detailed one which be used as a guide for future local Pinoy runners and other interested runners around the world.

Even if I was not able to finish this race, just a short glimpse and description of what I went through, would be able to provide a part of the puzzle of what makes TNF Lavaredo a race to experience and what makes the Dolomites as one of the best mountain scenery destinations worth visiting.

Recovery Walk @ Cortina

I went to bed once I got into my room after breakfast. I was able to sleep until after noon time and woke up at about 2:00 PM.

I decided to have my recovery walk in the afternoon to the Town Center, shop for some souvenirs and look for a place for my early dinner. As I left the Hotel, I met some of the runners, some who DNF also and some who finished the Ultra and shorter races. They were leaving the Hotel for the Bus Terminal and enrollee to their respective countries. I will post a separate blog for these runners whom I met during this event.

As I was walking along the main road of the center of the town, I saw Hayden Hawks, the Champion of this year’s TNF Lavaredo 120K at the Event’s Arc. We had a picture and a brief conversation as he told me, after telling him my name and my country, that he has an Uncle who is a Filipino, married to his Auntie from Utah, USA. He asked me if there are Ultra Running Events in the Philippines and I told him that I am the Race Organizer/Director of the Bataan Death March 102K Ultra Marathon Race. He told me that he had not yet visited the Philippines and he might consider visiting the country in the near future.

Before dinner, I was able to really go around the town, getting inside the Cortina Church to pray which I found out to be a Minor Basilica, checking where the Bus terminal is located, looking for Sports Stores where I could buy some souvenirs, and just simply sitting on those benches along the main road of the town while looking at the people walking around. This was the time that I could also see a lot of runners wearing their Finisher’s Vest/Gilets as they are also doing their recovery walks. I felt envious with these runners wearing their Vests/Gilets and I really respect them for what they had done, whether they finished the TNF Lavaredo 120K or the shorter Cortina Trail 48K, they really conquered the Dolomites!

As I was sitting on one of the benches, I saw Tess Geddes, a Filipino Ultrarunner who is now the Race Organizer and Director of the Grand To Grand Ultra Marathon Race in Utah, USA. She joined the shorter Cortina Trail 48K and we shared some stories while we were sitting on the bench. After about 30 minutes of conversation, we parted ways as I was trying to look for some running attire which I saw being used by some runners during the event.

As most of the restaurants in Cortina opens at 6:30 PM for dinner, I tried to walk around some places farther from the town center as I waited for the opening of the eating places. Finally, I was able to find a restaurant that offers a fine dining cuisine and I rewarded myself with my last dinner in Cortina. The best steak in town!

I continued my celebration in my Hotel Room with two bottles of local beer before going to bed on my last night in Cortina.

To be continued…