Tag: Ultramarathon

Preview: 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Pictures, Running, Ultramarathon7 Comments

I am dedicating this post to Kim O’Connell of the Fort Striders Club who, together with her husband Patrick, hosted a Christmas Dinner last month to runner-bloggers in her residence in Metro Manila. Kim, after finishing the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon last 7 December 2008, had told me that she is seriously considering of joining this first ultramarathon race event to commemorate the famous Bataan Death March where it really happened.  

The following pictures will show a glimpse of what to expect and see along the route of the Bataan Death March:

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Last 27 December 2008, I went to Mariveles, Bataan in order to trace the actual route of the famous Bataan Death March. Mariveles is 164 kilometers away from Manila and it took me two hours and half to reach the memorial shrine & park where Km 00 marker is located. The park is located adjacent to Mariveles Jollibee and the Municipal Hall. Inside the shrine/park are two big metal plaques/markers from the National Historic Institute where the story of the event is inscribed. The markers are flanked with the flags of the United States and the Philippines.

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Out of the total 70,000 prisoners of war (POW),  about 10,000 were US forces and the rest were Filipino defenders/soldiers who were all forced to walk from Mariveles & Bagac, Balanga, Bataan  to San Fernando, Pampanga.

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This is Km 00 marker and the actual route of the Death March is properly marked with this kind of structure from Mariveles to San Fernando, Pampanga to Camp O’Donnell, Capas Tarlac. This marker is located on the right side of the road as one goes from Mariveles to San Fernando, Pampanga.

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This is the 1st kilometer of the route. The first seven kilometers and half is an uphill climb to traverse a mountain and the rest of the route to Hermosa, Bataan (Km 65) has a rolling terrain.

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This Km 8 post/marker is located infront of a residential house. This was the only km post where I saw two flagpoles on its sides. On the back of eash post along the route is an inscription/dedication of one of the fallen heroes of the Death March and the specifc person or organization who sponsored/supported the construction of the said marker.

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I was surprised to see that FAME (Filipino-American Memorial Endowment)  was the one that constructed these obelisk kilometer markers and presently maintaining them. FAME is under the auspices of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

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This is Km 101 which is the 2nd to the last Km marker before reaching the old San Fernando Railway Station (Finish Line of the Ultramarathon Event) where the prisoners boarded a train to Capas, Tarlac. I was surprised that this is the only post which is painted with blue color. Take note that beside the Km marker is a waiting shed which is almost buried due to the lahar from Mt Pinatubo’s eruption.

The “trial run” for this ultramarathon event for participants will be on 22 February 2009 (Sunday) which will start in Balanga, Bataan (vicinity Km 50) to the Finish Line, covering a distance of 52 kilometers. Details of this “group/trial run” will be announced later in this blog. 

To all the participants of this ultramarathon event, I suggest you start running under the heat of the sun, preferably during noon time! Good luck on your training!

95 Days: Bald Runner’s Top Posts

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running4 Comments

The following posts are the top seven (7) ranked stories that got the most number of hits by my readers/visitors:

1) Running Shoes Review: ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2—I posted this article last 24 April 2008 and it got 7,320 views/hits as of the present. I am stil using the said shoe during my “long runs” and “runabouts”  but I have used it only once in a 10K road race. It is the “heaviest” pair of running shoes I am using but it is also the “most comfortable” shoes!

2) Bald Runner—It is the first Page I created with the blog describing me and lately added a list of my road/trail runs & races in it since I created this blog. It got 3,334 hits/view with this page.

3) Road Races—This is the second Page I created where I posted the races I intend to participate/compete. It got 2,961 hits/views.

4) Results: 2008 Women’s Olympic Marathon—I was fascinated to see Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania, live on TV, on her last 5 miles to the Finish Line. She is now the oldest Marathon Champion in the history of the Olympic Games at the age of 38 years old. She finished the 2008 Beijing Women’s Olympic Marathon in 2:26:44 hours. This post got 2,238 hits/views.

5) 2008 Olympic Games & Philippine Sports—In this post, I stated that there are thirty-three (33) sports events in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and out of these sports events, Athletics (Track & Field) has a total of 47 competitive events or gold medal chances for each country to qualify and compete. Since “Athletics” has the most number of gold medal chances for the country, nobody answered my question as to what Sports Event does the Philippines should concentrate in developing and training our athletes so that we have a greater chance of winning our first Olympic Gold Medal. This post got 1,815 hits/views.

6) My Running Idols in the ’80s—Before the Kenyans and the Ethiopians started winning Marathon Races in the 90s and never been featured in cover pages of Runner’s World Magazine, I had the US, Australian, New Zealand, Japanese, and British marathon runners as my idols, each of whom were featured in cover pages in almost all running magazines in the world. Today, instead of featuring the famous African runners on the cover of runner’s magazines, you could see unknown, beautiful, and American women runners on their covers. This post got 1,505 hits/views.

7) Olympic Games Qualifying Standards For Track & Field Events—I suspect that future Olympic athletes, here and from other countries, click on this post as their source of reference. The elite members of Team Bald Runner are closely checking on the qualifying standards for the 1,500-meter, 3,000 Steeplechase, 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter, Marathon (Men’s & Women’s), and race walking events. This post has 1,486 hits/views.

Once again, I would like to emphasize to my readers that this blog is a journal of my running workouts and races and sharing the knowledge on running from what I read and the experiences I got from other runners. My critique and “lessons learned” from road races will also be maintained. I make posts about my reviews to running attires and running shoes but it doesn’t mean that I advertise them. I never advertise any running apparel or running shoes or any item related to running in this blog. This blog does not announce or advertise future road races in my posts except for ultramarathon races. Takbo.ph and the other Pinoy Runner’s Blogs are posting such road race schedule.

Simply said, this blog is about running seriously—competing with yourself to improve & attain your goal…and competing with the digital clock at the Finish Line…and testing the limits of one’s endurance!

Happy New Year To Everybody!!!

A Comment From RunDmoon

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runner's Fashion/Attire, Runners Accessories, Runners' Training, Running, Ultramarathon4 Comments

RunDmoon is one of the regular readers and “commentor” in this blog and I met him during the Adidas KOTR Run somewhere at Km-11 post during the race. He greeted me and we exchanged a brief conversation. While running, he told me that “I look so tall in my pictures but I look more handsome in person”. I just laughed and said “Thanks”. I tried keep in pace with him and two other runners but they were on a blistering pace and I just simply maintained my pace. However, he made a parting words of joining the Bataan Death March 102K next year.

He made the following comment on my post where I PRed last Sunday’s Milo National Finals Marathon: 

Hi BR. Can i request a post? I always notice from your posted pics that you are wearing a rolled scarf on you neck. Is that your anting-anting (amulet)? Also, you are wearing cycling shorts in most of your runs. Are there benefits of wearing a tight shorts? Are you trying to make a running fashion statement?

BTW, i’ve reached 999km today. I started Sep 29, 2008. Thanks for the inspiring people to run.

I will answer the first question about the rolled scarf or “bandana” on my neck. When I witnessed the start among the elite runners of the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon Race last July, I observed that most of the ultramarathoners were wearing such scarfs on their neck. These scarfs are special scarf where a runner would roll into them pieces of “dry ice” that would keep him/her cool during the run/race with 110-125 degrees Farenheit heat along the desert. This was the “secret” of the early ultramarathoners in the early edition of the said ultramarathon race. Some of the ultra runners would simply tie the bandana on their necks to protect their nape from the heat of the sun. Others would simply tie around their head or forehead to catch the sweat dripping from their head. As for me, the rolled bandana/scarf is used as a “catcher” and “absorber” of my sweat from head, making the whole scarf as my “neck cooler” during road races. However, in my past posts, I suggested that those runners intending to run the Bataan Death March 102K would also use such bandana in their runs (training or races) to show support for the said ultramarathon event.

On your question about my running shorts. I am having a “chafing” problem when I use the regular running shorts (with side slits & at least 2 inches inseam) and lately, I only use this kind of running shorts during my training workouts. However, when I use this kind of shorts, I saw to it to apply petroleum jelly or Body Glide on my groin area or inner side of my upper legs. When I run on trails, I use the trail shorts (with pockets and longer inseams with at least 5 inches long). However, I usually use a BIKE compression shorts as my underwear. While I was in the US running those trails in Bulldog and Mt Wilson, I observed that there was a pain (not severe) on my left hamstrings and I tried to look for the famous CW-X compression shorts which has some positive testimonials from runners and triathletes with problems on their hamstrings. Not been able to buy one which is fitted to my size and for my needs while I was in the US, I tried to look for my old BIKE compression shorts which I bought in the early 90s and I was able to locate them and presently using them with my trail shorts. Since my arrival from the US last September, I prefer to use the biking/compression shorts rather than the regular running shorts because of the “chafing” problem; I feel like an “elite” athlete when I am wearing such during races where I can lift my knees higher and thinks that I am “aerodynamically” efficient when wearing it; the compression shorts absorbs more of my sweat rather than my sweat going down to my socks and shoes; it can keep a bottled water or Propel tucked in on my back; the tight feeling the shorts gives to my butt and upper leg muscles gives me the confidence of not having any problems of pain or cramps; and lastly, I wear a compression shorts if I feel I could break a PR for the said race. 

Fashion statement? Following one of Machiavelli’s Laws of Power, “Court Attention At All Cost”, I am a believer/follower of this law. Dress up properly and approriately to gain respect and attention…and let your appearance do the talking.

Congratulations for being one of the finishers of the “1,000-Km Club”. You will be the 7th runner to be awarded the Finisher’s T-shirt from the Bald Runner. That was an incredible feat on your part to finish the distance in two months! I am sure you are truly preparing for the Bataan 102K Ultramarathon! Just leave a comment where I could possibly award your prize with the proper photo-ops. 

The Bald Runner is always here to be of service to the running community and to everybody. Keep on running and run faster!

Ultramarathon Training Plan #1

On By kingofpotsIn Runners' Training, Running, Ultramarathon2 Comments

 For those “hardcore” runners, you can make this training plan which I downloaded from one of the ultra running sites (www.ultrarunner.net) ) as your reference for your training to join the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race. It will not make you run faster but it will make your body endure and be able to finish the race within the cut-off time.

Good luck and Stay Ready!

THE ULTIMATE ULTRAMARATHON TRAINING PLAN

You don’t have to be crazy to run an ultramarathon. You just have to be ready.

By Doug Rennie
PUBLISHED 01/12/2005

DO. NOT. BE. INTIMIDATED. If you have completed a marathon or two, you can–in 16 weeks–add an ultramarathon to your running resume. Really. “In South Africa, 14,000 runners each year enter the Comrades Marathon, 54 challenging miles of big rolling hills, and each year about 85 percent of them finish,” says George Parrott, ultrarunning vet and director of training for the Buffalo Chips Running Club of Sacramento. “The moral here is that your expectations can get you to the finish line of an ultramarathon, and that this kind of distance is not unworldly.” Okay, but first, what exactly is an ultramarathon? Anything beyond the classic 26.2-mile distance–races from increasingly popular 50-Ks to 100-milers to solo crossings of continents. For your first adventure on the far side of 26.2, we suggest that you look a bit beyond the 50-K–really just a stretched-out marathon–to 50 miles, the first true, bragging-rights ultra. So find yourself a friendly 50-miler, count back 16 weeks from race day, clip and post the following training plan–and get to it. Continue reading “Ultramarathon Training Plan #1” →

Readings On Ultramarathon Races (100K)

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Races, Running, Ultramarathon3 Comments

To those who are  interested to join the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race, this article shows the history of 100K races.

Why 100 ?

The Universal Ultra

Although any race beyond the standard marathon of 42.195 km is reckoned to be an ultra, across the world there is one particular distance that has become universally popular – the 100km. 100km races have been held as far north as Baffin Island in the North West Territories of the Canadian Arctic and as far south as Puerto Varas in Chile; as far west as Honolulu in Hawaii, and as far east as Rotorua in New Zealand. The races are held on tracks, trails, road loops and from point to point; through cities, towns, villages, forests, across deserts and over mountains. Some cater for a mere handful of enthusiasts while others feature a cast of thousands. Each year there are probably considerably more than two hundred such races around the world.  Continue reading “Readings On Ultramarathon Races (100K)” →

173 Days: www.bataan102.com

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Races, Runners' Training, Running, Ultramarathon6 Comments

For those who are interested to experience and participate to the Inaugural Bataan Death March Tribute 102K Ultramarathon Race on 1:00 AM 05 April 2009, please visit our website at www.bataan102.com. This site had been posted last Friday, 10 October 2008. The Bald Runner’s Event is aware that there are things to be fine tuned and improved on this website and we need your comments. This site would not be possible without the help of Eric aka The Pasion Runner. Thanks, Eric!

Please post your comments and your desire to participate in this ultramarathon event by stating your name, age and contact number or e-mail address at the Comments page. Registration Forms “on-line” will be available soon. Continue reading “173 Days: www.bataan102.com” →

191 Days: “Running Generals” (Part 2); Gym Workout; & Update On Bataan Ultra Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running, Ultramarathon5 Comments

After coming from a 2-hour workout at Gold’s Gym this morning, I received a SMS from LT GEN Alan Cabalquinto (Ret.), a “running general”, my partner in past marathon races, my former “boss”, and my “idol’ as a commander and a leader in the Armed Forces of the Philippine, informing me that he just read my post about “Running Generals” which I posted during the early days & weeks of this blog. The said post was a “tribute and honor” to the members of the AFP who rose to the rank of General (Star-Rank) who had the passion and commitment to running. Lt Gen Cabalquinto (Ret) was glad to know, through this blog, that I had kept the faith and love in running. In return, I was happy to inform him of my project on the Bataan Death March Ultra Run and I was glad to know that he sees to it that running is still a part of his daily activities. Sir, my snappy salute to you! How I wish our active military and police Generals have still the attitude and strength to show to their officers and men that they are really good “examples” and “models” of physical fitness, not in words but in deeds. Continue reading “191 Days: “Running Generals” (Part 2); Gym Workout; & Update On Bataan Ultra Run” →

199 Days: Libingan; ULTRA Track; & “Running Shoe Guru”

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Runners' Training, Running, Ultramarathon2 Comments

Yesterday morning, I called up the Commanding General of the Philippine Army’s Support Command (ASCOM), who happens to be my underclassman in the Philippine Military Academy, to reconsider their policy of preventing runners from using the streets inside the Libingan ng mga Bayani. His command is the one directly supervising the upkeep of the Libingan through a Council Board. I requested that runners and walkers must be allowed inside the cemetery as the rolling hills and streets are very challenging and the most accessible route to civilians, soldiers and retirees who would like to engage in physical activities. I told him also that the runners are very responsible people who are just after a quiet road, free of traffic, and full of challenging hills and don’t have any desire to litter or conduct informal picnics/meeting inside the establishment. I was assured by the Commanding General of ASCOM that he will bring this matter to the Libingan ng mga Bayani Council Board for their consideration. Continue reading “199 Days: Libingan; ULTRA Track; & “Running Shoe Guru”” →

201 Days: Ben Gaetos & Carmela Layson

On By kingofpotsIn Running, Ultramarathon4 Comments

This post is a tribute to the two (2) Pinoy Ultramarathoners who are well-knowned among the ultra runners in California. They just finished their third (3rd) participation to the most challenging ultra trail running event, Angeles Crest 100-Mile Endurance Run, which was held last Saturday & Sunday (13-14 Sep 2008) with hours to spare before the cut-off time of 33 hours.

The following was the race report of Ben Gaetos on his 2nd Angeles Crest 100-Mile Endurance Run in September 2007: Continue reading “201 Days: Ben Gaetos & Carmela Layson” →

202 Days: 1st Day of Training For Bataan

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running, Ultramarathon11 Comments

I am formally starting my ultramarathon training for the Inaugural Bataan Death March Memorial 100K Ultra Run which will be held along the route where the event happened in World War II, not in any other place in the world, on April 5, 2009.

All my incoming road races on weekends will be part of my ultramarathon training. I should be able to run 50-60 kilometers this week.

The Bald Runner is back!!!