Result: 2013 BDM 102 “Test Run” (Km 50-Km 102)


2013 BDM 102K “Test Run” (BDM Km #50 To BDM Km Post #102)

7:00 AM February 10, 2013

Abucay Public Market, Abucay, Bataan To Old Railway Station, San Fernando, Pampanga

Number of Starters: 55

Number of Finishers: 51

RANK N  A    M  E BIB # T I M E 
1 REX SAN PEDRO 539 5:54:35
2 ALLAN BULOS 697 6:16:52
3 GILBER ANAMA 533 6:20:05
4 ROCKY TAYLAN 566 6:24:33
5 ELVIN PASTORFIDE 522 6:25:20
6 VINCE TANGLAO 565 6:29:51
7 MATET DORIN (F) 578 6:36:16
8 MICHAEL GAPAN 575 6:36:17
9 HERMIE SALUDES 542 6:37:56
10 JOSEPH PINEDA 562 6:57:02
11 JON BORBON 535 6:57:03
12 ROLLIE DELA CRUZ 577 6:57:04
13 MARK SIGUE 538 6:57:05
14 GIA ESTRELLA (F) 539 6:58:41
15 JUSTINE VALDERAMA 574 7:11:06
16 ROY OCHAVO 572 7:11:07
17 DENVER VENDER 573 7:16:33
18 MARC MOLINA 543 7:19:21
19 EDGARDO DELAS ALAS 546 7:28:09
20 EMMANUEL EBUAN 548 7:28:36
21 ZALDY SANTILLAN 530 7:32:37
22 VINCENT RODRIGUEZ 540 7:35:27
23 ALLAN ESTABILLO 549 7:41:22
24 DONALD ANCHETA 563 7:50:06
25 EDRICK NICDAO 564 7:50:16
26 MANNY OCAMPO 613 7:50:56
27 RONALD ROBLES 552 8:02:04
28 MARK ANTONY TIBO-OC 532 8:04:33
29 NOEL KO 531 8:04:34
30 WILSON JOHN BARBON 536 8:06:54
31 ORLANDO YLAYA 541 8:10:18
32 ALLEN GO 567 8:13:32
33 MARX VILLAMORA 547 8:14:45
34 JIRREH  CASTILLON 550 8:14:49
35 BONG LEANO 558 8:15:07
36 THEA BARTOLOME (F) 576 8:33:12
37 NAP OCAMPO 559 8:33:26
38 LYOD CHUA 561 8:37:27
39 LYRA ROSARIO (F) 560 8:37:39
40 FRANCIS OLIVER TRINIDAD 551 8:41:14
41 RYAN SISON 525 8:46:45
42 JOSEPH BRIAN SUFICENCIA 526 8:46:46
43 JEC SUYO 569 8:54:55
44 ED BALAEVA 537 8:55:04
45 BONG CAPITON 534 8:55:08
46 PEACHY TAMAYO (F) 568 8:56:44
47 RUSSEL HERNANDEZ 571 8:57:36
48 TED MALLEN 545 8:58:22
49 JOEL SISON 570 9:01:06
50 CHRISTOPHER STA. CRUZ 527 9:06:48
51 RUBEN PAJARDO JR 990 9:49:13

BDM LOGO FINAL

Thirst Threshold


Or it would mean or simply understood as my personal Thirst Tolerance. It is the point where I could no longer tolerate my body not to be able to drink any fluid during a running workout. Beyond this period, I would start to slow down and walk, or sometimes becomes dizzy.

I had been doing this kind of experiment for the past weeks. I’ve done it during daytime and at night time and compared what my body would react during these times and conditions of the day.

Why am I doing this? It is a part of my training for my future adventure runs and hopefully, significantly will reduce the weight of fluid I would carry during these runs. Lighter weight being carried during the run would mean a fresher body that would last for more distance during a certain period of time.

It would also determine my training plan if I need to bring a hydration bottle or system in a workout whether it is a 30-minute recovery run or an hour of daily runs.

As a result of my experimentation, I would last up to 1 hour and 45 minutes without any fluid intake where my workouts would start at 10:00 AM up to Noon time. This is the maximum length of my workout where I could no longer sustain my pace without having to drink water or sports drinks. On average, I would cover a distance of 13.5-14 kilometers for the same period.

On night time, I usually do my experiment starting at 10:00 PM and I’ve observed that I could extend my thirst tolerance/threshold up to 2 hours. Beyond that, I would start to drag my feet and become slower in my pace. On average, I would cover a distance of 17-18 kilometers or slower because of the night/dark environment even if I am using a headlight.

However, before I start these experiment workouts, I must be able to drink at least 2 glasses of water and eat some snacks of fruits, bread, or left-over foods in the refrigerator.

In some clinical studies, it would show that adults over the age of 50 years have higher thirst threshold than the younger ones. It shows also that elder persons have lower water daily intakes of water than the younger ones. But for an elder active person like me, I think I have higher water daily intakes than the younger runners.

I am not telling you to do this kind of experiment in your running workouts. Always remember that, running is an experiment of one. What might be good for me might not be good for you!

Keep on running!

(Note: Don’t ask me how many glasses of water that I would drink every time I finished these workouts!)

5th BDM 102 Medal Finishers


As I announced in last year’s BDM Ultra Races Awarding Party, a new Finisher’s Medal Standards will be implimented in this year’s edition of the Bataan Death March 102 Ultra Marathon Race (BDM 102).

The following will be the Finisher’s Medal Awards based from the runner’s Finish Time:

GOLD Medal—-12:59:59 hours or faster (<13 hours)

SILVER Medal—-15:59:59 hours or faster (13 hours to <16 hours)

BRONZE Medal—-18:00:00 hours or faster (16-18 hours)

Each of the finishers in this year’s edition will again be a part in the history and milestone of this prestigious road race.

Based from the past 4 editions of the BDM 102 Ultra Marathon Race, hereunder should have been the Medal Tally of the Finishers:

YEAR GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
2009 10 23 30 63
2010 8 28 68 104
2011 4 49 59 112
2012 11 57 92 160

Good luck to Everybody!

On Honesty


Nobody in this world is honest. Nobody, period!
Even our leaders and top elite athletes are dishonest.
They cheat in some form or another
But they do it for some reasons and nobody knows
Some are kept secret but ultimately they will be revealed

But this is not a reason for you to cheat in my race
Cheaters pay the price in my future races.
It is either they vanish or get banished from my races
Regret is not enough, you did it and somebody reported it.
I am hard as a stone in my decision if you don’t follow my instructions.

Picture Of The Week #13


2013 BDM 160 196

Pinoy Runners’ Result @ 2013 Vibram HK100K Ultra Trail Run


The Pinoy Runners were ably represented in the 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Ultra Trail Run with 21 registered runners, to include 4 lady runners, out of the 1,225 participants in the event. Out of the 21 registered runners, 18 runners had been listed as finishers in the posted provisional result of the race.  It is worthy to note that only 854 runners finished the race out of the 1,225 starters.  Hereunder is the list of Pinoy finishers with their respective ranking and finish time:

RANK N  A    M  E T  I  M  E
15 Marcelo Bautista 12:08:42
33 Gerald Sabal 13:21:58
218 Mark Carlo Villafuerte 17:11:12
374 Verlie Bunao (Female) 19:02:55
387 Mallette Dela Riva (Female) 19:15:39
513 Almelito Casas 21:42:59
514 Reinzirobert Del Rosario 21:42:59
572 Jonel Mendoza 22:26:48
617 Alain Cuchas Llaguno 23:01:02
663 Alen Alba 23:30:17
691 Cheryl Bihag (Female) 23:56:50
713 Manuel Dela Serna 25:04:35
714 Romulo Doctolero 25:04:36
728 Nixon Pasiken 25:31:05
765 Jessie Lou Sulague 27:16:57
785 Ralph Angelo Real 28:09:31
793 Fernando Cunanan Jr 28:50:42
794 Laarni De Guzman (Female) 28:50:42
Vibram HK100 Logo
Vibram HK100 Logo
Pinoy Runners @ 2013 HK100 (Minus Marcelo, Gerald, & 4 other Pinoy Runners)
Pinoy Runners @ 2013 HK100 (Minus Marcelo, Gerald, & 4 other Pinoy Runners)

Aside from the Podium Finishers Trophy Awards, the following are given to the Finishers:

  • A Gold Award will be presented to runners finishing in under 16 hours
  • A Silver Award will be presented to runners finishing in under 20 hours
  • A Bronze Award will be presented to runners finishing in under 24 hours
Vibram HK 100 Podium Finishers Trophies
Vibram HK 100 Podium Finishers Trophies
Finisher's Award Trophies
Finisher’s Award Trophies

Official Result: 2013/3rd Bataan Death March 160K Ultra Marathon Race


3rd Bataan Death March 160K Ultra Marathon Race (BDM 160/Bataan 160 Ultra)

4:00 AM January 26, 2013-10:00 AM January 27, 2013

Bataan Death March Shrine, Mariveles, Bataan To Capas National Shrine, Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac

Number of Starters: 60 Runners (with 7 Female Runners)

Number of Finishers: 43 (with 3 Female Runners)

International Runner/s: 0

RANK BIB # N  A    M  E TIME
1 12 Alfred Delos Reyes (Champion) 22:23:47
2 2 Roberto Abad (1st Runner-Up) 22:41:26
3 28 Henry Laron (2nd Runner-Up) 23:00:09
4 37 Laurencio Ogerio 23:44:24
5 90 Rolando Nerona 24:05:28
6 27 Elmar Bob Tolete 25:15:54
7 24 Junn Besana 25:24:18
8 1 Graciano Santos 25:40:38
9 8 Sandy Alentajan 25:47:10
10 6 Raffy Gabotero 26:11:21
11 80 Lieza Valerio (Champion, Female) 26:17:10
12 11 Simon Pavel Miranda 26:33:30
13 7 Bong Alindada 26:57:25
14 50 Camilo Paran Jr 27:01:28
15 13 Meljohn Tezon 27:51:11
16 160 Ronnel Go 27:55:22
17 77 Bonifacio Dalisay 28:11:06
18 14 Allan Paul Vargas 28:24:48
19 5 Calvin John Escandor 28:38:05
20 9 Jon Las Bruce 28:43:20
21 3 Ferdie Cabiling 28:44:40
22 34 Merwin Torres 28:49:23
23 68 Yob Red 28:50:14
24 412 Benedick Meneses 28:51:30
25 38 Wesley Noel Orana 28:54:19
26 48 Bobby Go 28:57:24
27 23 Tin  Ferrera (1st Runner-Up, F) 29:14:15
28 41 Trojan Lorenzo 29:15:33
29 29 Sherwin Tommy Botabara 29:17:10
30 44 Lawrence Arvin Tomas 29:18:26
31 88 Ben Silva 29:18:59
32 21 Alain Cuchas Llaguno 29:19:39
33 30 Nino Andrelix Navarro 29:21:01
34 100 Carl Balagot 29:21:13
35 20 Erwin Tolentino 29:21:43
36 161 Irene Ong (2nd Runner-Up, F) 29:21:49
37 32 Larry Daliwag 29:21:54
38 69 Nelson Val Caro Jr 29:25:37
39 15 Emerson Sto. Domingo 29:27:57
40 19 Roger Villareal 29:31:31
41 96 Ron Illana 29:33:01
42 83 Ernesto Badong 29:35:46
43 87 Alex Jones 29:58:51

Congratulations To Everybody & Thank You For Your Support (Finishers; Non-Finishers; Pacers; Support Crew; BR Events Staff; Armed Forces of the Philippines; Philippine National Police; Marshals & Volunteers)!

Keep on running!

3rd BDM 160K Ultra Marathon Race @ The Starting Line in Mariveles, Bataan
3rd BDM 160K Ultra Marathon Race @ The Starting Line in Mariveles, Bataan

Pinoy Ultrarunners Shine At The 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Ultra Trail Run


(Note: This post is intended for Media Release. If there is anybody who would like to make a NEWS on printed or broadcast media about our Top Runners in the HK100, you are encouraged to use, copy or make this one as your reference. Thank you!)

Marcelo Bautista of Baguio City finished as the top 15th Finisher in the newly-concluded 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Ultra Trail Run held on January 19-20, 2013 along the famous McLehose Trail in Kowloon. It is the first international running event for Marcelo after winning eight (8) consecutive ultrarunning events in a span of nine (9) months last year held in the different regions of the country.

The Flying Marcelo @ Km 28
The Flying Marcelo @ Km 28

Marcelo crossed the finish line in 12 hours and 8 minutes after the race started with 1,225 participants coming from 40 different countries. This ultra trail run had become prestigious after its two past editions where the registration for this year’s race had lasted for only 48 hours or two days. Only 21 Pinoy Runners were able to beat the 48-hour registration period.

Gerald Sabal of Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat finished in 33rd place after running among the top 10 runners in the first half of the race. he crossed the finish line in 13 hours and 21 minutes which is two hours faster than the top two Pinoy finish times recorded in last year’s edition.

Gerald In 7th Overall @ Km 52
Gerald In 7th Overall @ Km 52

“This is the toughest race that I’ve ever finished. I’ve learned a lot of lessons here and I would like to return next year with a goal to improve my finish time and ranking”, said Marcelo who kneeled to the ground after crossing the finish line and could hardly stand by himself due to exhaustion brought about by his faster split time on the 2nd half of the race. He added, “I’ve exerted my best effort on the second half of the race because my primary goal in this race was to finish it at all costs!”

Gerald, being the faster runner than Marcelo on the first half of the race, had complained of cramping muscles on his both legs at the Km 65 section resulting for him to walk and stop along the way. “I did not notice Marcelo passing me as I was busy trying to massage my legs as they were tightening up due to cramps”, said Gerald who has more knowledge of the terrain and the weather as he was able to conduct a recon run on the 2nd half of the route last July 2012.

The Vibram Hongkong 100K Trail Run is on its 3rd year as it started with only 200 runners on its first year and then allowed 750 runners on its 2nd year coming from at least 20 countries. However, for this year the participants were increased to 1,225 runners coming from 40 countries where the slots were filled up in two days.

The Overall Champion in the race went to Yun Yan Qiao of China with a finish time of 10 hours and 16 minutes. He finished 5th place last year with a time of 11 hours and 1 minute. The 2nd Place went to Stone Chang of Hongkong with a finish time of 10 hours and 19 minutes where he led by 16 seconds from the 3rd runner. The 3rd Place went to Ram Kumar Khatri of Nepal who registered a finish time of 10:19:59 hours.

From Right: Yun Yan Qiao, Champion; Ram Kumar Khatri, 3rd Place; Stone Tsang, 2nd Place
From Right: Yun Yan Qiao, Champion; Ram Kumar Khatri, 3rd Place; Stone Tsang, 2nd Place

On the Ladies Division, British Claire Price of Hongkong got the Ladies Champion Award with a time of 11 hours and 58 minutes which is a new course record by 20 minutes. She placed #14th Overall Finisher besting Marcelo by 10 minutes.

“We will continue to discover, develop, and expose our best local ultrarunners to international events as we have the potentials to become podium finishers on these races”, was asserted by Retired AFP Major General Jovenal D Narcise, Founder and President of the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU), the country’s Sports Federation for Ultrarunning and the Team Manager & Coach of Team Elite Bald Runner.

In addition, he said, “It’s about time for our local Sports Corporate Firms & Companies to come into the picture in supporting and sending our elite ultrarunners in this kind of international events”. With Marcelo & Gerald’s accomplishment and strong performance in the 2013 HK 100 Ultra Run, there is a bright future and potential for this Sports to grow, discover more talents in the country and for our best runners to excel in other international ultrarunning events.

Andre Blumberg of Hongkong With Team Bald Runner
Andre Blumberg of Hongkong With Team Bald Runner

Marcelo and Gerald’s participation in the Vibram HK100 was principally sponsored by Andre Blumberg of Hongkong who is also an avid ultrarunner travelling around the world to participate in ultrarunning events. This is the second year that Andre Blumberg had supported our elite runners to the HK100. Members of the Pinoy Ultramarathoners Group and PAU runners have also contributed on the training and other miscellaneous expenses for the two elite runners.

Marcelo Bautista and Gerald Sabal are presently the top elite ultrarunners of Team Bald Runner.

RD’s Report: 4th RIZAL DAY 32K Run


I seldom write or post on my report as a Race Director in my Races but for the RIZAL DAY 32K Run, I have decided that I have to bring back such practice.

I could not believe that the 4th edition of this Fun Run in memory of the death of our National Hero, Dr Jose Rizal had passed with a number of regular runners, triathletes, and Ultrarunners. It started as a Fun Run to cap/end the year; a run to burn those calories stored from the Holiday Parties; and a run to start the season of training for the incoming Marathon Races and the Bataan Death March Races which are scheduled within the First Quarter of the incoming New Year.

The first edition was a sell-out because of the P 100.00 registration fee and it attracted 300+ runners. It will be hard for me as the Race Organizer to go back on those days with the same amount of registration fee due to obvious reasons. Anyway, I tried to give some options to runners during the latest edition to pay P 950 or P 1,000 with the P 50 going to the Fund of the two elite athletes in their training/preparation for their participation in the 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Trail Run. (Note: There were runners who paid P 950 only and opted not to have a share for the Fund of the Two Elites Athletes!)

2011 3rd RIZAL DAY RUN
2011 3rd RIZAL DAY RUN

For the past two editions, I joined the race as an Official Participant with the proper Race Bib and following the prescribed route/number of loops inside the premises of Camp Aguinaldo. Although I was in a relaxed mood and started later after the whole runners have left the starting line, joining the race was a good way to find out the problems among runners as well as problems/concerns in the different aid stations along the route.

2012 4th RIZAL DAY 32K RUN
2012 4th RIZAL DAY 32K RUN

This is the reason why I made a comment on Facebook when I posted an Event Page on this running event that runners tend to forget how to count from One to Five! Each runner has to complete at least 5 LOOPS with the 5th loop as 3/4th of the whole loop which a runner had been running for FOUR TIMES. Well, there are some who should do their assignment on ADDITION before they have to join this running event.

For the latest edition (2012), I adjusted the starting time to 4:30 AM so that the fast & faster runners will take advantage of the cooler temperature before sunrise. This solved the problem for some who could hardly count 5 loops as they enjoyed the cooler temperature. However, there are still runners who could not count properly up to 5!

Aside from the counting problem of some runners, everything was perfect! There were ample supply of water, ice, soft drinks and bite foods. I guess, this is the only running event (less than marathon distance) that serves noodles, soft drinks, biscuits, & chocolate bites along the route. Of course, most of the runners had been asking about the lechon and the beer after the race but sad to say that the Principal Sponsor for these items did not run in the said event.

On a personal note, I was able to improve my finish time as compared to my last year’s, 4:20+ hours, to 3:48:++hours and I think with such conservative result, I can say that I am back again for bigger races in the next coming new year.

On the financial side of things, I was able to raise the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos for Gerald and Marcelo as their “support for their training & pocket money” for their participation in the 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Trail Run.

For the future of this event, I have discussed to some of my ultra running friends after the race that this event will expand to more category of distances. I will maintain the 32K event and let the runners practice more on how to count properly; a 42K distance will be added where a runner will practice how to count up to 6 loops; and a 50K ultra distance where a runner will patiently count up to 7 loops inside Camp Aguinaldo. I hope this plan will work! Of course, the registration fees will vary depending on the number of loops you want to count during the run.

So, see you this December 2013 for the 1st RIZAL DAY 50K Ultra Run! Be sure, you know how to count up to seven!

Keep on running!

(Note: I hope I can be considered as a “reputable” Race Organizer of Running Events considering that this event had lasted for almost 5 years!)

“Train As You Race”


In Special Units in the military, you always hear their mantra as, “Train As You Fight”. Among elite runners, their mantra should be “Train As You Race”.

In order to have a quick look and observation on the training & preparation of Gerald Sabal and Marcelo Bautista for the 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Trail Run in Baguio City, I have to personally see for myself how their training was on-going with regards to their acclimatization to cold weather environment, altitude training, and feedback about their training program & workout. I went up to Baguio City and see the progress of their training. I had a chance to join in one of their daily workouts.

On my first day in Baguio City, I treated them to a lunch and it was there that I was able to give my instructions about their schedule of training; suggested running route in the city and its environs; and gave them their running apparel/kits and their nutrition needs, courtesy of Andre Blumberg who brought the items from Hongkong to Manila during his participation in the latest edition of the TD 100 Ultramarathon Race.

Gerald, Girlene (Wife of Gerald) & Marcelo @ Good Taste, Baguio City
Gerald, Girlene (Wife of Gerald) & Marcelo @ Good Taste, Baguio City

Gerald and Marcelo were instructed to use the Hammer Perpetuum as their source of nutritional needs during the race in order to minimize spent time in stopping in every Aid Station for their food intake. And they should be used to be taking such food mixture/supplement every time they have their daily workouts until it becomes natural for them during the actual race. I clearly explained to the two runners on how to mix the Hammer Powder with water in their hydration bottles and how the mixture is being consumed during the run.

I asked them to run with me all the way to the peak of Mount Santo Tomas on the following day and be able to start using the Hammer mixture as their food intake during the run. We started at 4:00 AM when the temperature in Baguio City was at its coldest at the Marcos Highway & entry to the Green Valley Subdivision. It was still dark and we were able to use our headlights and hand-held flashlight. The two runners were using their respective Salomon S-Lab 5-Liter Hydration Pack where one bottle is full of Hammer Mixture and the other bottle was full of water. As for me, I brought a single bottle of Simple Hydration filled with water and no gels or Power Bars.

Danin Marcelo Gerald 083

At sunrise, we were already at the peak of Mt Cabuyao and it was cold and windy. We pushed, jogged and brisk-walked, for another 4 kilometers until we reached the peak of Mount Santo Tomas. Before we reached the peak of Mt Santo Tomas, I felt all my fingers were already numbed and could hardly clench my fist because of the cold temperature. The wind had become stronger, producing a distinct loud sound within the surroundings. Marcelo told me that it is always cold and windy as one approaches the top of Mt Santo Tomas. We end up on the building structures and antennae on the peak of the mountain and we had some picture taking moments.

At The Peak Of Mt Santo Tomas (2,250 MASL)
At The Peak Of Mt Santo Tomas (2,250 MASL)

After a few minutes, we started our descent towards Mt Cabuyao but my fingers were still numbed and hard! It was an easy jog in going back to Mt Cabuyao. From Mt Cabuyao, I took some pictures of the two elite runners going down towards Marcos Highway.

My run to the peak of Mount Cabuyao and Mount Santo Tomas officially started my next season of “peak bagging” feats. It is a “short” but long 24K run but it took me 4 hours & 20 minutes for the said workout.

After the workout, I had another chance to get feedback from my runners. They told me that they like the Hammer Mixture and they did not have any stomach issues. I instructed them to use it every time they have their workout until they taper down before the event.

For one of their long runs before tapering, I told them to run the Baguio City-Ambuklao Dam-Baguio City route and be able to use the Hammer Mix during the duration of their run. They were able to follow my instruction and they were able to finish the course in 7+ hours! The feedback was that they liked the Hammer Mix and they did not have any stomach issues.

A good teamwork developed between the two runners for the three weeks that they have trained together in Baguio City. The two shared their strengths and weaknesses and I could see that both runners respect each other. Practically, both runners lived together in one place during the duration of their training.

I can’t consider myself as their Coach & Manager but I think I am a “facilitator” and a “father-figure” to them with regards to their training and preparation for the “Big Dance” in Hongkong. Sometimes, I would still act as a Military Commander & General to them just to stress and give importance to what I am telling them. However, the bottom line of what I’ve been telling them is all about Discipline& Being Focused to their Goal! And impressed on them the mantra, “Train As You Race”!

As these two runners are tapering for the running event and preparing for their departure to Hongkong in one week’s time, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the runners, local & international, who contributed financial support to these two runners and to Andre Blumberg of Hongkong who is the Principal Sponsor for our Pinoy Elite Runners to the 2013 Vibram Hongkong 100K Trail Run. Thank you very much!