Runners who are intending to run and participate in the 2nd BDM 102 on March 6-7 are highly encouraged to join the 2nd BDM 50K “test run”. For those who can not make it in this “test run” on 23 January 2010 (Saturday), it is their personal responsibility to conduct a “walk-through” or “test run” on their own before race day.
One of the glaring lessons learned during the conduct of the 1st BDM 102 was for the runners to know the exact route of the race especially on the first 50 kilometers of the race where everybody was running under darkness. Some of the leading runners were not able to accurately went through some roads that led to the other kilometer post markings of the Bataan Death March’s original route. And some did not mind going inside the towns of Limay and Orion and instead ran along the Roman National Highway, shaving off considerable distance from the race.
In order to be fair to everybody and accurately run through the exact route of the BDM, the “test run” will be conducted from Km #0 in Mariveles, Bataan up to Km #50 in Abucay, Bataan on January 23, 2010. The assembly time will be at 6:00 AM at the Bataan Death March Shrine in Mariveles, Bataan. The test run will immediately start at 6:30 AM.
It is in this “test run” that the new rules and regulations will be tested and applied and it is a must for the participants to bring their respective support vehicle and for them to run on the left side of the road, facing the incoming traffic. There will be no pacers and runners shall run on a single file on the edge of the road. If runners would be able to bring their support crew, it would be better.
Runners in this “test run” are not allowed to display banners and tarpaulins of their respective corporate sponsors. However, I will allow the runners to display the banners or tarpaulins of their respective running clubs or groups. The running groups with names of products are strictly not allowed.
Due to the unavailability of ambulance or medical personnel to assist in this run, the runners are advised to bring appropriate FIRST AID KITS in case of any injuries or emergencies during the run.
Km Post #7 & Vicinity
After the start of the run, the drivers of support vehicles are advised to immediately proceed to the vicinity of Kilometer Post #7 where there is an ample space where the vehicles would park and wait for their runners. Support vehicles will be advised NOT to “leapfrog” from Kilometer Post #1 to Kilometer Post #7 because of the lack of road shoulders most especially from Km Post #3 to Km Post #7. With this situation, the runners are also advised to bring their hydration belt with them on the first 7 kilometers of the route.
Km Post #14. Turn Right Towards Brgy Mountain View, Cabcaben
The first critical intersection or Y-road is at Kilometer Post #14 that goes inside Barangay Mountain View, Balantasan, Cabcaben, Bataan. All the runners should turn right on this road and be able to reach Km Post #16 as runners would go back to the main highway.
Km Post # 31. Road from Poblacion Limay, Bataan
The second intersection is at Kilometer Post #23 where the runners must turn right towards the Limay’s National Power Corporation and Limay’s Poblacion. Runners must be able to run again along the main highway after reaching Kilometer Post #31.
The third and last critical intersection is at Kilometer Post #32 where all the runners must turn right again towards the Municipality of Pilar. On this road, the runners would be able to reach Balanga and Abucay. The Finish Area is at the vicinity of Kilometer Post #50 near the Abucay Public Market.
All these critical instersections will be properly marked with yellow-colored ribbons.
Runners are also advised to be careful and completely stop and observe the incoming traffic on both sides of the road/highway before crossing the highway and towards these intersections along the route.
After running through this part of the route (Km #0 to Km #50), the runners would be able to memorize and be confident to run through these intersections even during darkness which will be the actual situation during the race.
From Km Post #50, while they are on their way back to Manila, they could travel along the rest of the route up to the Finish Line at Km Post #102 in San Fernando, Pampanga. The route inside the Poblacion of Guagua, Pampanga is recommended to be seen by the runners. ( A Pit Stop to taste Razon’s Halo-Halo in Guagua would be a nice treat to the runners’ tired leg muscles!!!)
The local runners who will join their first BDM 102 race are highly encouraged to join this “test run”, moreso, to those who will be running their first ultra distance.
A Race Bib will be issued to each runner before the start of the “test run” and it should be displayed visibly infront of their shirt or shorts. Although this is not a formal race, every runner will have a registered finish time for the “test run”.
See you at Km Post #0 on the early morning of January 23. Good luck to everybody.
(Note: Please leave a comment if you intend to join the “test run” so that we can prepare the number of Race Bibs)
In last Sunday’s edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Dec 20, 2009), the runner-participants in the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race who posed in a picture taken before the race were featured in a picture posted at the “Sportswatch” section of the said newspaper.
The picture below consists of the 82 “new brave warriors” who started the race from Km #0 in Mariveles, Bataan last April 5, 2009 and finished at Km #102 in San Fernando, Pampanga. Out of the 82 starters (with 8 foreign runners), 63 runners finished the race within the cut-off time of 18 hours.
News Picture Clip on the 2009 BDM 102
As of today, there are 167 runner-applicants for the 2nd edition of the BDM 102 which will be held on 6-7 March 2010. In addition, I have reserved 40 slots for the AFP-PNP runners who will join the race.
For the details of registration and rules & regulations for the 2nd edition, please visit www.bataan102.blogspot.com. Applicants for this race should leave a comment at the Bataan 102 Page of this blog by stating their name, age, date of birth, e-mail address, contact number, and last marathon race finished. Last day of application is January 5, 2010.
To the runner-applicants, good luck on your training!
1. I received a very early X’mas gift from Jay Nacino aka Prometheus Cometh two weeks ago and it was delivered through courier system. The gift was a compilation of running films/movies recorded in two (2) CDs. Thanks, Jay for the gift. God bless.
2. The following films were recorded in those two CDs: Chariots of Fire; Without Limits; 50/50; and Running The Sahara. Having seen the first two films mentioned in widescreen, I was very interested to watch 50/50 and Running The Sahara because they deal more on ultramarathon and multi-day stage runs. Both of these running events were filmed sometime in 2006.
3. I will not deal with the whole story of these films as every reader of this blog could easily browse or “google” the title of the films and they could get the details of these running events. 50/50 was made as a film and at the same time published as a book to document Dean Karnazes’ 50 marathon races, in 50 States in the US, in 50 days. Running The Sahara is a film about three (3) ultrarunners from the USA, Canada, and Taiwan traversing the African continent by passing through the Sahara Desert in 111 days.
4. What I like to point out and emphasize in these running events is the tremendous PLANNING involved to undertake such feats. Dean Karnazes took at least 3 years to convince The North Face in appreciating his plan to run 50 marathons, in 50 different States, in 50 days and another year to finally coordinate and arrange for the implementation of the said project. It was only when his book “The Ultramarathon Man” became a No. 1 Top Seller and his being a top contender in the 100-Mile Western States and Winner in one of the Badwater Ultramarathon editions that he became popular.
5. The planning and preparation for the three (3) ultra runners in 3 different countries in the Running The Sahara took also years. Moreso, with the logistics; production/film crew; and other administrative requirements preparations for the event. This film/event also tested the endurance of the support staff and film crew in order to finish the running event.
Kevin Lin (Taiwan); Ray Zahab (Canada); & Charlie Engle (USA)
6. These two running epic events were well-planned and documented. These films really inspire other people to seek their endurance limits and at the same time promoting some advocacies/charities to help less-fortunate people. So, if ever you plan to do such endurance run, whether an ultramarathon event or multi-stage/day run, you have to document it so that the INTEGRITY of the event is intact. A simple blog (with pictures) would do or inexpensive tracker/GPS device to record your event should be with you all the time during your run.
An Ulramarathon Trail Run somewhere in the Sierra Madre Mountains!!!
Clean Air, Quiet Place, & Challenging RouteWith Some Water ObstaclesWith Some Rocks...Elevations from 400-800 MASLPart of the 25-Km Loop Mountain Trail
If you are interested, you have four (4) months to train and prepare. Good luck!
1. We no longer offer FREE Running Lectures/Clinics. We are now asking a honorarium for the conduct of our Running Lecture/Clinic. The fee will be used to support our Elite Team Bald Runner Distance Project and logistical needs for the 2nd BDM 102.
2. I was invited for the Send-Off Party this week for our athletes in Athletics (Track & Field) who will represent the country in the 2009 ASEAN Games to be held in Laos. The Track & Field athletes consist of 20 athletes; 6 Coaches; and 1 Head of the Party. The PATAFA Team will be leaving on December 6 for Laos. The 25th ASEAN Games will start on December 9. The TEAM Philippines “HOPES” to get at least 45-50 Gold Medals in the Games.
3. I made a “surprise” visit to my Elite Team’s “training camp” in the Sierra Madre Mountains and we had some pictorials with them with their new Team Bald Runner uniform courtesy of MILO/Nestle, Phil. Altitude, Hill workouts, trail running, and clean air are the keys for better performance.
Elite Team Bald Runner Distance Project MembersLooking For A Brighter Future In Running
4. A Leadership Training/Speaking Engagement Module had been offered to me by a Private Company engaged in the conduct of training to corporate offices. I think this is a good job while I am on “rest & recovery” period.
5. “Brainstorming” session was conducted among the members of Team Hardcore and other ultrarunners about the creation of the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU) at the Board Room of Reinier Pacific which was hosted by Capt Amado Castro Jr aka Reinier6666. The meeting was very productive and I was able to gather positive insights about its creation and its availability for membership.
PAU's "Trailblazers" & "Pathfinders"
6. There are already 147 runner-applicants for the 2nd BDM 102. There are 40 slots reserved for the AFP/PNP runners. If the slots for the AFP/PNP will be filled up, there are already 186 runner-applicants. However, I still encourage runners to apply in my Bataan 102 Events Page. There are 96 Days to go before D-Day!
7. More suggested logos for PAU had been received. Thanks for your interest to come up with PAU’s Logo. Deadline of submission is December 31, 2009.
(Note: Latest Awardees/Finishers of the 1,000-Km Club will be posted next!!!)
The Birth of the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU); Our National Sports Federation On Ultrarunning
Since I started this blogsite two years ago, I was wondering what PATAFA had been doing about the sports on running, most especially on road racing. It took me some time to observe and ask people who are connected with our Athletics Sports Federation on what could PATAFA do in order to have a “control and supervision” on the conduct of road races in the country. It was during the past two years that there were so many complaints from the runners about how road races were being conducted month after month with the same complaints.
Last year, I had the opportunity to pay a courtesy call to the President of PATAFA, Mr Go Teng Kok, who had been in this position for the past 18 years. I briefed him on my observations on the conduct of road races in the country and told him that PATAFA should come into the picture as Road Racing is one of the principal components of the Athletics Sports Federation. He did not forget our conversation.
On January of this year, Mr Go Teng Kok invited me to attend the Elections of Officers of the PATAFA. I was an observer of that elections but I was frustrated on how the process of elections was done. It was not an election but it was a simple designation of officers. Mr Go Teng Kok easily got the President’s position and he will be in that position up to the end of 2012. However, it was on that “designation” day that I was designated as the Director For Road Races which, in addition to my duties, has now the power to vote for the next group of officers for PATAFA after the 2012 London Olympics. Will it take me to wait this long to become the President of PATAFA?
I am not proud of being designated as the PATAFA’s Director For Road Races because I don’t have any powers to command & decide as I could only recommend to the President of the things that I would observe in the conduct of the road races. And my duty ends there! Through this blog I was able to observe and took note of the good and bad points of the different road races in Metro Manila. However, there should be stricter measures to follow so that PATAFA’s influence be felt in road races.
In the course of preparing for the conduct of the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race (BDM 102), I discovered that there is such an international sports federation on ultrarunning called the “International Association of Ultrarunners” (IAU) which is under the IAAF and I conceived a plan and course of action to undertake to come up with a National Sports Federation for the country in the Sports of Ultrarunning or Ultramarathon. This plan was laid and put to action after the conduct of the 1st BDM 102 last April of this year.
IAU Logo
I created the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners, Inc (PAU) with some of the Finishers of the 1st BDM 102 and have this registered at the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and it was approved on May 18 of this year. Immediately, I sent a letter of application for membership to the IAU through the Asian Representative of the IAU’s Executive Council in the person of Mr Lee Yongsik of South Korea and he provided me with the procedure to follow and requirements to produce in order that the bid for membership of PAU will be elevated to the Executive Council of the IAU for Approval. Mr Lee gave me a positive note and encouragement that the Philippines will be the 6th country in ASIA to be a member federation in the IAU.
I have to get an endorsement and accreditation from PATAFA and fill-up some forms from the Executive Council of the IAU and they were sent to the IAU immediately. No less than the President of the IAU who was sending me things that need to be submitted for the country to be represented to the international body. PATAFA and I even wrote some letters to the Executive Director of IAAF, Mr Peter Weize to show that PAU is an accredited organization under the PATAFA.
After deliberations, I finally received a letter from the Executive Director of IAU, Hilary Walker, that the Philippines through the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU) is now a voting member for the election of the incoming Asian Representative for the Executive Council of IAU and my vote should reach their Headquarters not later than November 22! In the said letter, I was informed that I should check on the latest E-publications of the IAU on its website on the announcement that the Philippines bid for membership to the IAU was accepted and approved. It showed that our membership to the IAU was approved last July this year and published in their October’s E-Publications (Welcome Members), the Philippines/PAU is the 47th member-federation/nation of the IAU and the 6th Asian member! As of the present, there are only 48 member-federations/nations of the IAU.
Ms Walker’s letter also gave me an advance information that the IAU will be sending a formal invitation for the Philippines/PAU to send our best ultrarunners to the 1st IAU Asian 100K Championship which will be held on March 2010. The place of competition might be in Japan or South Korea.
Since I created the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU), I am automatically designating myself as the President of this Sports Federation for Ultrarunning for the country. Are there any objections? I hope the sports of ultrarunning/ultramarathon will be developed and enhanced among the members of the running community through this Federation with the end-view of sending our best ultrarunners to international competitions sponsored and sanctioned by the International Association of Ultrarunners. With the plan to introduce the 50K or 100K Ultramarathon Race as “demonstration sports” in the 2012 London Olympic Games, I can positively say that the Philippines would be able to produce its Olympic Athletes to compete in this event in the next Olympic Games and later to the 2016 Rio De Janeiro’s Olympic Games.
There is no need to become the President of PATAFA afterall!!! However, in the end, I still need the support and unity of the runners for us to give pride to our country to be among the world’s best in ultrarunning/ultramarathon, if not, the best!
Now, for starters, I need somebody to design the Official Logo of the PAU. Whoever will submit the selected one, he/she will be awarded a 5-Year Free Membership to PAU. (Note: Please send your entries at my e-mail address at jovie75@hotmail.com)
You might wonder why ultra trail runners would run for one to two days to finish a 100-mile mountain trail run within the prescribed cut-off time and receive a Finisher’s Belt Buckle at the Finish Line and the “bragging rights” to have finished such endurance running event. My ultratrail runner-friends Ben Gaetos, Rick Gaston, Eric Lumba, Carmela Layson and Jose San Gabriel would know the answer!
I am posting the following Finisher’s Belt Buckle as an “inspiration” to finish one of these popular 100-Mile Mountain Trail Runs.
San Diego 100-Mile Run Finisher's Buckle
Javelina Jundred 100-Mile Finisher's Buckle
HURT 100-Mile Run Finisher's Buckle
Western States 100-Mile Run Buckle Award
If there is somebody among my readers who knows a company/business outfit in the country who can make or produce these “big” belt buckles, please leave a comment.
It is my plan and vision to extend the BDM 102 into a 100-Mile run from Mariveles, Bataan (Km 00) up to Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac and a Finisher’s Buckle will be awarded in addition to the Finisher’s Individual Trophy and Medal. Not for the next edition (next year) but it could be in its future editions.
Runners will have the option to finish BDM 102 or go all the way to BDM 160.
Months and weeks before the conduct of the first BDM 102, I sent letters of request for support to almost everybody in the government, most especially to politicians whom I know, could support such a sports endeavor. Not one of the politicians gave me a positive response on my request. The Philippine Sports Commission which I depended to be supportive in any sports development gave me a negative response. At least, the PSC gave me a letter of response indicating that they don’t have any budget for the said request. Guys, I am not asking for hundreds of thousands or millions of pesos for this event, I just wanted a “token” for the additional support for the Aid Stations along the route.
Actually, these letters that I’ve sent to these personalities were just a “test” on how far can they support a sports event that commemorates a celebrated part in the history to honor our heroes who fought for freedom and democracy that we enjoy right now. Most of the “politicians”/Senators did not send any letter of response but a number of them sent a written negative response on the said request. Unfortunately, I received the following letters from them.
On the brighter side, one of the politicians whom I know personally gave me P 5,000 as support, five (5) weeks after the conduct of the race. The support was too late, however, I immediately contributed the said money to the Charity to help the hundreds of families affected due to a typhoon in Cagayan Valley on that very week that I received the money.
As for the other politicians who, most of them are running for the highest political position of the land next year, they did not answer those daily calls for us to follow-up our request and some of them whom we talked would tell us that they could not support our event. So, these politicians did not pass our “test”. They are only good for their “soundbytes”, “appearances” and “pronouncements” that they support sports up to the point that you see them and read their news releases printed on the broadsheets. I hope and pray that these “presidentiables & vice-presidentiables” will not win in the next election and for the other “politicians” not to be able to be re-elected in their positions.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Response To Request
Department of Tourism's Letter of Response
Letter From Senator Loren LegardaSenator Panfilo Lacson's Letter of Response
In one of the posts I’ve read in the Internet, I came up with the following allegations about how much “these politicians” would receive during their stint in their positions. Based from the “source”, these allegations could be true!
GUSTO KONG MAGING SENADOR NG PILIPINAS
ANG SARAP MAGING SENADOR!
Miriam Defensor Santiago was featured in Correspondents last week.
Maganda rin naman ang naidudulot ng pagiging prangka ni Senador Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Ayon kay Santiago , marami ang tumatak-bong Senador dahil sa laki ng budget na ibinibigay sa kanila kada buwan.
Lumalabas na P35,000 suweldo nila kada buwan ay pakitang-tao lang sa milyun-milyong budget ng bawat senador. Kada buwan ay may Fixed Monthly Budget ang bawat Senador ng humigit-kumulang P2 Milyon.
Sa opisina pa lang nila ay humigit-kumulang P500,000 ang budget nila sa Maintenance and Operating Expenses (Rental, Utilities, Supplies at Domestic Travels) at P500,000 para sa Staff at Personal expenses. Kaya para makatipid ang ibang Senador, kaunti lang ang staff na kinukuha nila. Nagtataka ka pa kung bakit mayroong mga Ghost Employee?
Bukod diyan, may P760,000 allowance pa sila kada buwan para naman sa Foreign Travel. At ang masakit pa nito, hindi na kailngan i-liquidate ang mga resibo ng mga gastusin ‘yan kundi Certification lang ang Requirement.
Heto pa, lahat sila ay Chairman ng mg Komite sa Senado. Ang Committee Chairman ay tumatanggap din ng budget na sinlaki ng tinatanggap ng mga Senador na humigit-kumulang P1 Milyon din! Hindi sila mawawalan ng Komite dahil 24 lang ang ating mga Senador at 37 naman ang Committee sa Senado. There’s food for everybody ‘ika nga! Lumalabas na doble ang kanilang benepesiyo at kita kapag sila ay nabiyayaan ng Committee Chairmanship.
Sa P200 milyon na Budget para sa Pork Barrel ng mga Senador bawat taon, awtomatikong may 10% na S.O.P. o kita ng Senador na P20 milyon. Ito ang porsiyento na ibinibigay ng mga kontratista sa mga Senador na nagbibigay sa kanila ng mga Infrastructure at Livelihood Project.
Bago matapos ang termino ng isang Senador, kumita na siya ng P100 milyon saPork Barrel pa lang. Yung ibang Senador mas gahaman, hindi lang 10% kundi 20 – 30% ang komisyon hinihingi sa mga kontratista.
Pansinin niyo na lang ang pagbabago ng buhay ng ilan sa ating mga Senador simula nang manungkulan sa puwesto. Kung dati ay simple lang ang kanilang pamumuhay ngayon ay nakatira na sila sa mga eksklusibong subdivision, maraming bahay sa Pilipinas at abroad at mahigit lima ang sasakyan.
Ngayon nagtataka ka pa ba kung bakit gumagastos ng daan-daang milyong piso ang mga Senador sa kampanya para sa isang posisyon na P35,000 lang ang suweldo kada buwan? Bawing-bawi pala ang gastos kapag naupo na!
ANG SARAP MAGING SENADOR! ! !
I wonder how much is the budget for a Cabinet Secretary or in a Department under the Executive Branch of the Government.
“Bakit kaya hindi nila maisipan na magdagdag ng Cabinet Position para sa Department of Youth and Sports Development (or Excellence) para mawala at palitan na ang Philippine Sports Commission?”
For next year’s edition of BDM 102, we will never send any letter of request to these sports institutions and “politicians”. We will try to seek support from the private and corporate sector this time and from the “usual friends” who have the “heart” to support us and who believe in our advocacy.
Hereunder is the comment from Brian Stark, the Ultra Trail Runner Across America, from my post about his book and experience in running along the trails across America:
Dear Jovie,
Thank you so much for your kind words and promotion of my story. Many times during that run and even still today, I feel that I was just a messenger for hundreds of strangers to connect and the message is still being delivered today, thanks to you.
Best Wishes and Many Happy Runs,
Brian Stark
The message of Brian Stark is very clear. If you want to endeavor yourself to an event which is worth being known by others and if it is an extraordinary feat for an ordinary individual, you have to document it so that others would be inspired to challenge themselves to do the same. If the reader has no intention of doing the same activity, at least, it would be known that the human body can have the capability to endure pain and fatigue and slowly can adapt to whatever stress being introduced to the body, thus, making one’s body stronger.
In this age of high-technology/Internet and in the advent of “real-time” webcasts & social networking platforms, one’s activity can be known anywhere in the world in a split of a second!
A video consisting of pictures taken during the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race (BDM102) is featured in the blogsite of RonaldRei who participated and finished the said race.
Bald Runner 
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