There is ONLY ONE Finisher within the cut-off time of 32 hours in the “Taklang Damulag” 100-Mile Endurance Trail Run.
Dick Balaba’s Official Finish Time in the Inaugural TD100 Trail Endurance Run is 31:11:26 Hours. So far, a “Course Record” to be broken by future endurance runners! Congratulations to all the runners, “volunteers”, BR Events Staff, 7th Infantry Division, SOCOM, Special Forces Regiment of the Philippine Army and ultra friends who supported the conduct of this historic event in the country. It is official that TD 100 is the FIRST AND ONLY 100-Mile Trail Endurance Run in Southeast Asia!!!
Dick Balaba, Champion and the ONLY Official Finisher of the 1st TD100
It has been awhile that I posted a shoe review for the past months. So, this new pair of shoes that hit the market early this year is making a lot of “noise” in the Internet among ultra trail runners. This is the reason why I was able to know beforehand about the existence of this “weird-looking” running shoes.
HOKA ONE ONE Bondi B
Two of the top US ultra trail runners, Dave Mackey and Karl Meltzer, had been using this kind of shoes in their runs and races as they are the primary and top endorsers of this shoes even if these shoes were invented and conceptualized by two French ultrarunners. These guys had been winning their races using these shoes. I’ve seen with my own eyes how Dave Mackey ran and glided on those shoes during this year’s MIWOK 100K Trail Run in Marin Headlands which he won easily from other top US ultra runners. Looking at Dave Mackey (with a height of more than 6 feet), the Hoka One One looks like an ordinary trail shoes and it is not noticeable as a clunky & thick soled shoes.
My observation brought an interest to have one of this pair of shoes just to find out what is special in them as each of them carry a higher price as compared with other trail shoes. The initial price was $ 179+ which has almost the same level price with the ASICS’ top end Gel-Kinsei series. However, the price has now gone down to $ 159+ as per my latest research in the Internet.
Last June, a simple question to the ARC Los Angeles owner, Joe Matias, if their store carry such shoes led me to have a new pair of Hoka One One Bondi B. He even posted on Facebook that the Bald Runner is ready to experience a “Time To Fly” with the new pair of shoes with the appropriate pictures. Thanks, Joe!
First thing that I’ve observed when I tried to wear them was that their sizing is one-half size smaller. Which means that if I am size 9 1/2 in my regualr running shoes, I should have ordered size 10 for the Hoka One One. I tried to compensate this little issue by using thinner running socks. Second, I found the shoe string to be bulky as it uses those stiff round-type shoe laces which tend to put more pressure on the top of my feet when I tie my shoes tightly. I changed the shoe laces with those flat and lighter shoe laces and I observed a great improvement on the comfortability of the shoes.
For one month, I’ve used them everyday in my runs along the paved streets and they are very soft to the feet because of the thick and spongy sole. It was very comfortable to run with as I was recovering from my knee injury. The pain on my left knee would go away as soon as I ran with them. The spongy and bouncy feeling as my feet hit the ground is totally different from using my other running shoes.
I tried to use them in my trail runs and the shoes forced me to run at a faster speed and pace on the downhill which I was trying to avoid and minimize because I was still recovering from my knee injury. If only I was not being safety and conservative conscious on my trail workouts, I could have experienced the full potentials of this shoes in my downhill runs which most of the users have liked about using them.
However, I would reveal that the thick sole gave some problems with the way I run. Since I am a “shuffler” who could barely lift my knees during my “push-off” at a higher level, my tendency is to trip with the shoes on the ground. It does not happen all the time but there are times that my rythym would be disturbed. Sometimes, my leading shoes would hit the other one when my legs are showing that they are getting tired and weary.
Shoes More Noticeable With Average-Height Runners
I used them during my WC 200 run lately and they were nice shoes to start with my daily runs but after 30+ kilometers, I have to use the thinner-soled shoes for faster leg turn-overs. I am not saying that these shoes are not light, they are lighter than the ASICS Gel-Kayano & Kinsei but they simply don’t suit to my style of running on paved roads.
My Hoka One One, for the meantime, is being used as my recovery workout shoes and it is still waiting to be used in an ultra trail run or in a road race.
Now, if you ask me if I am recommending this one for you. Of course! Get one pair of this shoe and experience what is like to wear a different one and be a standout from the rest. Just take note of the shoe sizing and the price. I really don’t know yet if they are available in the local running stores. However, I’ll give you a tip. Ask Raul, Perkins, and Mario of ARC Manila if you can have it ordered from Joe Matias of ARC Los Angeles. I know Joe will give you a nice deal on these shoes.
This was the elapsed time it took me to reach the peak of Mt Taklang Damulag as I started from the Fernandez Hill of the Special Forces Regiment’s Camp and Training Area inside Fort Magsaysay. The place is also popularly known as “Molave Complex”.
The plan was to recon and hike a segment of the 100-mile endurance run route that includes the Fernandez Hill-Taklang Damulag- Cordero Dam-Special Forces Training Area and back to Fernandez Hill. This a trail loop which has a distance of 13 kilometers. However, at the back of my mind, I was thinking of coming up with a first attempt with a record time for a trek to the famous Mt Taklang Damulag’s peak with the Fernandez Hill as the starting area.
Fernandez Hill Marker Serves As My Starting Line/AreaMt Taklang Damulag On The Background
I was accompanied by Lt Col Dennis Pacis, the Chief Operations Officer of the 7th Infantry Division who is a triathlete and an ultrarunner; Captain Jason Que who is the Chief of the Training Department of the Special Forces School; Jack, a member of the Elite Team Bald Runner; two NCOs of the Special Forces who are both runners in the PA Battalion Run Team where I was the Commander; and nine (9) soldiers who are presently on training to become members of the Special Forces Regiment. I personally named this group as the “Ultra Recon Team Six” (based from the famous and popular US Navy Seal’s Team Six).
We started at 10:45 AM with overcast sky from the Fernandez Hill in line formation with at least 6 soldiers in front of me. As I was strictly following my HR training to include this trek, I maintained an HR of 135 about 100 meters from the start with LtCol Pacis and Capt Que behind me. However, our hiking started to increase its pace as we started to climb the mountain.
The trail leading to the peak of the mountain was a combination of crossing at least 3 streams where our feet/shoes have to thread on the water current; sticky, slippery and muddy soil; rocks; and single-track trail covered with grasses. My TNF trail shoes were no match to the combat boots of the soldiers in crossing the streams and walking along sticky and slippery mud along the route. My advantage to these soldiers was that my shoes were lighter than their combat boots.
As we started to climb the mountain, I started to think of coming up with a record time for a Military General, retired at that, to ever climb and reach the peak of the said mountain. Although I am not sure if the past Commanders of the Special Forces and Special Operations Command had undergone this record timing process, I thought that I might as well start coming up with a “trivia” as to who and what is the fastest time for a General (retired or active) to reach the peak of Mt Taklang Damulag.
In less than 400 meters from the start line, my HR started to spike to 145 bpm from my training max of 135 as a result of my excitement to reach the peak with a record time. And my HR steadily increased as I got higher towards the peak of the mountain.
I was wearing my GF 305 on my left wrist (to measure the distance and elevation) and my TIMEX HR Watch on my right wrist. From time to time as I moved upwards, I had to glance of these two watches for the distance covered and my prevailing HR.
From 145 bpm, my HR spiked to 165 and later to a maximum of 183 bpm when I reached the 2.4K mark on the uphill climb to the mountain. I decided to take a rest/breather for about 2 minutes just to be able to adjust to my breathing and to be able to look around on the lower plains of Nueva Ecija. I felt like I was going on a “blackout” or pass out as I started to feel dazed and exhausted but the scenery and the beauty below made me happy and satisfied. A lot of “deep breathing” repetitions made me recover and kept on glancing my HR watch as my bpm was decreasing. As soon as my HR watch reached and indicated 155 bpm, I continued my hike on the last 400 meters to the peak of the said mountain.
I simply tapped the white cross at the peak of the mountain with my right palm to signify that I reached and conquered the very peak of the mountain. My time was 52:37 minutes and I asked Capt Que to make a record/journal of it as part of the trivia of the Special Forces Regiment.
BR With the Special Forces' "Ultra Recon Team Six" On Top of Mt Taklang Damulag
The two Special Forces NCOs were surprised and gave me two “thumbs-up” for being the fastest hiker (whether in my age category or being a General of the Philippine Army, retired or active) to reach the peak. I just smiled to them while I was gasping for air! I wanted to tell them that I was not yet running and it was all hiking. In due time, I will try to run it and improve my time on my next trek to the mountain.
Resting and Looking Around the Scenery On Top of Mt Taklang Damulag
As per gathered by my GF 305, the highest peak has an elevation of 409 meters with a route distance of 2.7 kilometers from Fernandez Hill. It is a short course and a very low mountain but if you think of going up to this mountain for four times in a single event, then you have a very high mountain!
Now, I am thinking of a short trail running event which is dubbed as “Mt Taklang Damulag 5.4K Challenge” !
It could be friendly and humble. These two words simply describe a person whom I’ve met during the Miwok 100K Run at the Marin Headlands where I served as one of the volunteers.
He is Jorge Maravilla, pronounced Hor-He. I mentioned his name (first name only) in my post about my experience as spectator and volunteer during the said run. He was with another guy whose first name is Rich but I later identified him as Rich Conder. As we were doing the things we were instructed/requested to do at the Finish Line Area, Jorge was the one who was starting all the conversation among us while Rich was always silent. So, while the three of us were doing the same job, Jorge was the one who was very much engaged with some conversation with me.
As far as I can remember, these were some of the salient points about our conversation:
Jorge: You said your name is Jovenal, how will I call you? Call me Jorge (Hor-he)
Bald Runner: Call me Jovie, that’s my nickname!
Jorge: Where do you stay here?
BR: I am from Manila, Philippines. I came here to run the Miwok 100.
Jorge: What happened?
BR: I had an injury in the middle of March while doing a 7-day adventure run covering a distance of 270 kilometers and it got worse during one of my practice runs here.
Jorge: Oh, I am sorry. How is ultra marathon in the Philippines?
BR: We are trying to expose our runners in ultra distance runs. We started with a race which is called the “Bataan Death March 102K Ultra Marathon Race” three years ago but the race is done on paved roads. The race is done on the exact place where history happened during World War II.
Jorge: Great! Philippines is hot and humid, right?
BR: Yes, we train our runners as if they are running the Badwater! I am glad we don’t have any cases of “heatstroke” in our ultra races.
Jorge: That’s good.
I was trying to think of a question to ask why he is volunteering for the race with Rich but I concentrated on the task requested us to do. Jorge was later requested by Tia Bodington, the Race Director to get some stuff inside the U-Haul truck. After few minutes, Jorge was back and he started another conversation with me.
Jorge: Jovie, you must be popular in the Philippines!
BR: What? (And I just smiled. I assumed he saw the FrontRunner Magazine placed on the Driver’s Panel Board of the truck)
Jorge: I saw a Running Magazine with you as the Cover Page and I saw you autographed it for Tia.
BR: Oh..The publisher of the magazine is also an ultra runner and a friend of mine. Both of us are promoting ultra running in the country.
Jorge: Maybe, I’ll get to know you some more. Do you have a Business Card?
BR: Yes, I have. They are in my car. I will give you one later. I’ll give one also to Rich.
Jorge: Thanks!
After we finished the task requested of us to do, Jorge and Rich left the place and acted as Marshals in an intersection 500 meters away from the Finish Line.
I was not able to give my Business Card to Jorge and Rich as I left the area after the 10th overall runner crossed the Finish Line.
After one week, I read a blog of Mark Tanaka about his Race Report on the Diablo 60K Trail Run. I was surprised to find out that Jorge was the Champion in that race which was held on May 1, one week before the Miwok 100. I can conclude that he was there at the Miwok 100 as a volunteer and not as an injured participant like me! Rich Conder was also one of the top 10 finishers in the said race where Jorge won. At Athlinks.com, Jorge has a PR Marathon of 2:49+ hours which he got on the 1st quarter of this year.
What surprises me more is their voluntary act of helping another race to make it a success. Instead of resting and recovering from a previous race, Jorge and Rich, upcoming elite runners in ultra trail runs, were there at the Marin Headlands for the whole day as volunteers! I am sure these guys offered their time and services to the Race Director without any “strings attached” or renumeration. Simply, they were there to help!
Last weekend, I found out from the Race Result of the Bishop High Sierra 100K Trail Run that Jorge Maravilla won again in the said distance, breaking the course record by 55 minutes! By being humble, Jorge does not even have a blog where he can, at least, brag about his accomplishment. I wonder why.
As I gathered from reading the blogs of ultra runners, I found out that Jorge will be running his first 100-mile run at the Tahoe Rim Trail next month. I am sure this guy will make it to the top 10 in this race.
As I recall my brief meeting and conversation with Jorge and my brief conversation with the top elite runners in the Miwok 100 last month, I came to my personal conclusion that these runners are simply friendly, humble, kind, accommodating, and simple/”low-profile”. They also find time to help one another as race volunteers, pacers and support crew to other runners. Ultra running is simply a good community of runners.
How I wish some of the Pinoy ultra runners will be offering their services as volunteers in my races.
Jorge Maravilla & Mark Tanaka (Source: Mark Tanaka's Blog)Mark Tanaka & Rich Conder (Source: Mark Tanaka's Blog)
I have created and organized the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU) as the official sports federation on ultrarunning (road races, trail races, 6/12/24/48-hour endurance races and multi-day stage races) in the Philippines which is under the umbrella and approval of the PATAFA. PAU had been an accredited member of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU), the world’s governing body of ultrarunning.
When I am tired of reading books, I usually browse to these inspirational blogs which happen to be the blogsites of the top mountain trail runners in the United States. Yes, these elite trail runners are very good writers and they are very transparent in their daily journals and in their race reports. They follow the same principle of “consistency” in their training as well as in their writing to update their blogs! Continue reading “Inspirational Blogs”→
The following is the Official Result of the 1st Mt Pinatubo Challenge (MPC) 50K Trail Run.
I would like to specifically mention that the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines gave me the “GO” signal to push through with the trail run as the Balikatan Exercise (Proper) is scheduled to start yet on October 14, 2010 with the AFP components and the US Armed Forces Counterpart. I did not want that the race would be cancelled, re-scheduled, or terminated when most of the runners are still on the trail. I have the impression that the Philippine Air Force scheduled a practice run on the events/activities that they will be performing during the said military exercise with our US counterparts on the prescribed scheduled dates.
However, the top runners who were fast and strong were not affected with the practice runs of our Philippine Air Force and I have decided that their Finish Times will be upheld as the prevailing record for a solo run finish time from Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac up to the Crater Lake of Mt Pinatubo and back. As I could not determine the exact elapsed time for each runner who were directed to stop in one of the Aid Stations due to the helicopter-airborne firing from a MG helicopter, the finish times reflected below will be considered as the official time. Guys, you will have your chance to redeem yourselves and improve your finish times on the next edition of this trail race!
Due to this predicament, I decided to remove the prescribed cut-off time of 10 hours and allowed everybody to finish and awarded each one who crossed the finish line with their “finisher’s trophy” and Finisher’s T-shirt.
My congratulations to all who started and finished the race. You have finished what I consider as the “hardest and most challenging 50K trail race” in the country.
The following “dirty secret tips” are highly recommended to those runners who will be participating/competing in the TNF 100 Solo Run which will be held on 23-24 May 2009:
1) On problems of Bowel Movement & Gastro-Intestinal “Issues”—At least 1 1/2 to 2 hours before the start of a long race (marathon or ultramarathon distance), take one (1) tablet of Diatabs or Immodium. An intake of one tablet will “stabilize” the food and fluids in your stomach/intestines for the next 24-36 hours or even as long as 48 hours. Just be sure that after the race, take a lot of hydration fluids/water and fresh fruits to lessen any problem of constipation.
2) On Pain Relievers—This is one aspect where nobody among the trail runners openly admit that they take “pain relievers” before or during the race. But I have a strong suspicion that these “hardcore” runners take Ibuprofen; Tylenol; or any pain relieving tablets during races. If you are joining the TNF 100 Solo Run, try to take one Alaxan FR after running your first 25 kilometers. That pain reliever will bring you to the finish line without any major leg pain or muscle cramps as long as you follow your food/hydration strategy and race strategy.
3) Dose of Caffeine—GU Roctane had always been my favorite sports gel that has more caffeine than ordinary sports gel. There are other Sports Gel which have the same properties and purpose like the Hammer Gel but I’ve never tried it. Try to take a GU Roctane sports gel every 10-12 kilometers. This regular intake will make you awake during night time and give you the much-needed energy during the race. (Note: Do not litter the trail with those GU empty packs)
4) Preserve Your Strength—On the first half (50 kms), maintain a slow pace and try to preserve your strength for the last 50 kms of the course. Brisk-walk while you are going for the uphill climb and then run on the downhill and level portions of the route. If you think you still have the strength on the last 10-20 kms of the route, then go for it for a strong and hard finish. Learn to brisk-walk and practice in the urban streets of Metro Manila through “walkabout”. Put more time on your feet to the ground. Expose yourself to the heat of the sun during your “walkabouts”.
5) Recon the Place of the Race—Get the map of the route and conduct a “test run”. Don’t wait for the Race Organizer/Race Director to call for a “test run”. Take the initiative and be the first to explore the route. Such initiative will give you the much-needed confidence to finish the race and apply your race strategy. “Knowing the Enemy” or “Know The Terrain” simply does the trick in ultra train running survival. You can also conduct a “test” if there is any cellphone signal in the area. By conducting a recon of the trail route, you will be able to determine your hydration needs and be able to adjust on what type of hydration pack you are going to bring for the race. You will find out if you need extra clothing needs for the race if you conduct your “test run” in the race route. (Note: The place always rain in the afternoon)
6) Energy & Chocolate Bars—Expect that there will be no solid foods or “hot” meals to be served in the Aid Stations. The most practical solution for this is to have Energy Bars and/or Chocolate Bars or dried fruits in your shorts pockets or in your pack. (Note: Do not litter the trails with those empty packs of your energy/chocolate bars and other thrash)
7) Extra trail shoes and socks—Through your “test run”, you’ll be able to find where you can have your drop bag located along the route. There is a need to change your shoes and socks as they will become wet due to river crossings and perspiration from the body. Try to look for running socks made of “Coolmax” or “DryMax” materials. I highly recommend them, as well as, from famous ultramarathon runners. During your “test run”, try to run with your wet shoes & socks after crossing those lahar-filled river and test how it feels to run with them (to include some lahar sands inside your shoes).
8) 3-Pocket Trail Shorts—If you don’t want to carry too much load on your pack, get a trail shorts with pockets where you can store your energy bars and sports gels.
9) 2-Bottle Hydration Belt—I prefer to use this type of hydration belt/pack rather than using a bladder hydration pack like Camelbak or TNF Thresher. I have an option of using one bottle for water and another one for sports drinks/electrolyte drinks. Alternately, sipping water and electrolyte drinks would be a nice hydration strategy during the race, making sure your hydration supply will last up to the next Aid Station. When I joined my first Bulldog 50K, I was using my “Small On The Back” Nathan Water Belt for my sports drinks and a “Quick Draw” Hand-Held Nathan Water Bottle for my water. It worked perfect for me.
10) Headlights & Flashlight—Be sure to have those lights during the race, most especially during your night movement. Bring fresh/new batteries just in case you need immediate replacements.
11) Petroleum Jelly and/or Body Glide—Blisters on your feet are prevented by applying petroleum jelly or Body Glide in-between toes and entire feet. This is also to include the crotch area, nipples, upper right arms, Heart Monitor strap area and armpits.
12) Runner’s Cap, Sunglass, OFF Lotion, Sunscreen Lotion, Watch, Bandana & Compass—Bring these items to the race for obvious reasons. Why for a Bandana? Aside from being a “coolant” on your neck when it is already damped and wet with your perspiration, you can use it to cover your mouth to prevent those small insects to get into your mouth as you inhale, on daytime or nighttime.
13) Run With A Group or Have a “Buddy”—Be sure to have somebody with you as your “buddy” during the run or come up with a group of 3-4 runners to make the trail run more fun and enjoyable. You must be running almost at the same pace. Alternately, act as “guide” or “pacer” for the group. Try to Help & Motivate each other to finish the race.
14) Do the “drills” and try the “100-Km Challenge”—One of the “drills” I’ve picked up from my readings and been doing for the past months is the one-leg squats or one-leg bending. Using only one leg, try to bring down your butt at the exact position when one of your legs land on the ground while running and then bring up your butt with the leg straight. Repeat this bending for the next 5 minutes. Do the same one-leg bending to the other leg with the same number of minutes. Try to increase the number of minutes until you are comfortable doing the drill for one hour or more. For your endurance test, find out my previous post on “100-Km Challenge” and try to experience it.
15) Lastly, the Camaraderie and Helping One Another During The Race is the most important virtue to be developed and encouraged in ultra trail running races. Competition among runners and yourself is only second to the love of the sports itself. Try to develop that habit of asking a runner who is sitting or lying on the side of the trail of what is his condition so that you can relay such information about him to the next Aid Station. Try to share what you have for runners who are in need during the race. You will never know when you need also some help from the other runners.
Do not “whine” during and after the race. If you “whine”, then you did not do your homework!
The following is the Race Report of Ben Gaetos on his participation to the Leona Divide 50-Mile Run:
LEONA DIVIDE 50 MILE RUN
Lake Hughes, CA
April 18, 2009
Is it me, or are the races these days just get tougher and tougher? This thought came to my mind as I climbed the infamous hill at Mile 28 of Leona Divide 50 Miler. Changes were made to the course this year to comply with United States Forest Service safety issues. As if the course was not hard enough, the revision turned out to be a survival race.
In previous years, weather has always been favorably cool. Happy days were over, my friend. Mother Nature has a surprise in store for us. Co-race director Dennis Trafecanty started the race exactly at 6am in low 30’s temperature. A slightest delay would have resulted damage control procedure as temps rose to high 80’s at mid day.
This year, long out and back climbs on exposed fire roads were laid in the early stage. I looked at the faces of runners. I didn’t have to be a mind reader. They were all telling me that we’re here for a long day. After a couple of weeks of cold and windy weather, this blazing heat was a surprise. Immediately, I backed off even on tempting downhill sections. I had to save something for the big climb at M28.
At M28 AS, I was treated with wet wipes in my face, hot noodle soup, Coke, potato and salt, pretzel, ice on my hat, etc. I took a couple of salt pills too. This is it, time to get down to business in these seven miles of straight uphill. Light headedness struck me a few minutes later. I checked my GF305 and it was only M30. No leg cramps but what did I do wrong? I let a couple of runners pass. Slowly, my power walk put me back in the race again. Luau signs on the trail meant M32 AS was just around the corner. That was stimulus energy for me as they had popsicles. Volunteers were even dressed up in Hawaiian outfits. That was a much needed relief to finish up 3 more miles of rolling hills before the turnaround.
Coming back, I waited until M38 to make my usual downhill sprint at the single trail. There was no question my previous 10 hr finishes was already in the clouds. Give it my best shot anyway. At the bottom of the hill M42 AS, it was festive moments again as my buddy volunteers tended to my needs. They gave me lots of energy and encouraging words for the final 3.5 miles of climbing. It was steep without the luxury of slightest wind breeze. My legs were tired but I was also closing in to the runners up ahead leading to the last aid station. It kept me going. And guess what, they had ice cold Corona beer. That was all I needed to shift to higher gear.
Finally, the finish was in sight. There was no mind reading this time as happy faces and cheers greeted me in 11:52:–.
Congratulations and Thanks, Ben for sharing us your experience on ultra trail running in California. More of our runners here are now interested to try the ultra runs after the BDM102. We hope to see you again next year. Good luck!
The 2008 TNF 100 in Batangas was a significant running event as this was the first race where the newly-formed Elite Team Bald Runner had participated and since then Team Bald Runner started to be known in road races as well as in trail running events in the country. Last month, I started to see and read posts of runner-bloggers about the TNF 100 @ Sacobia, Clark with the proper display of their teaser-ad poster. I really wanted to ask questions from these bloggers in their comments portion but I knew that they are unaware of the details of the event. After waiting for sometime, I was happy to see that there is a dedicated website for this event and I immediately posted some questions with the Administrator of the site.
So, these were the questions I posted in their website’s “Contact Us” page which were immediately answered by the Administrator.
I have the following questions for the solo 100K:
1) What are the prizes for the top winners? Are there age category top runners’ prizes?
TNF: We plan to give out prizes worth as follows: 1st – 30K ; 2nd – 20K ; 3rd – 10K plus freebies from sponsors. Top finisher gets a trophy while runners up get a medal. Both 100K solo and 100K relay are OPEN categories.
2) What do I get from the P 1,650.00 registration fee?
TNF: As of now reg fee entitles you to a race kit with a singlet/jersey, race bib, drop bag, stub for energy drink, photo vendo, insurance and 20% discount on all TNF products (all registrants get this). 100K finishers will receive a special token. We are working on possible free or discounted accommodations within Clark prior to the race. Reg fees will be collected upon claiming of race kits, 2-weeks before race day.
3) How many Aid Stations will be available along the route? Aside from water, what other drinks and foods will be available in your Aid Stations?
TNF: We intend to have at least 7 aid stations , aside from marshal points and roving support vehicles. We plan to have some energy drinks and fruits, although we encourage runners to be self-sustained.
4) Is there any cut-off time for the 100K solo race? Or do you have cut-off times in your checkpoints/Aid Stations?
TNF: 30 hrs will be the cut-off time for the 100K race, although we will also implement cut-off times in Marshall points/LPs. These will be announced as soon as details are finalized.
5) Are the runners allowed with a support crew and pacers?
TNF: This is yet to be decided on.
6) Is there a possibility that the RO/RD (Race Organizer/Race Director) would arrange for a “test run” for the participants at least one month before race day in order to orient the runners?
TNF: Yes, we intend to have a series of running aid clinics to better cascade information and help participants prepare for the race.
If the Administrator of TNF 100 is reading this post right now, I would like to make some comments about their website. The website is very nice and attractive but putting those pictures of US & International Ultra Trail Runners whom we don’t even know and met in person is giving us the impression that these runners will be joining the said event and/or TNF is using these runners as their models. May I suggest that TNF Philippines should use the pictures of the male/female top runners of the 2008 TNF 100, 2008 Mt Mayon Trail Run, latest TNF 20K Trail Run and Neville Manaois’ Pinoy Ultra Runners in order to promote our very own ultra trail runners. How about featuring the “running legs” of Isidro Vildosola or Elmer Sabal of Team Bald Runner in your Website’s Main Page? Filipino runner’s legs in TNF trail shoes & socks would be great!
If you want to know more about the 2009 TNF 100 @ Sacobia, Clark, please visit their site at www.thenorthface100.ph
Bald Runner 
You must be logged in to post a comment.