It was another sleepless race—that’s one of the downsides of having an out of town race. But it doesn’t matter—what matters is that after two years, I’ll be back onto one of my favorite trail routes of all time: the lahar fields of Mt. Pinatubo!
The surreal view of the lahar fields
The Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU) brings another ultramarathon “to the masses,” this time to the trails. For its debut trail ultra we were taken to the site of second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century—Mt. Pinatubo.
The crater lake of Mt. Pinatubo (Credit: Chris Tomnong / Wikipedia)
Finally, D-Day has arrived! Ultramarathons sure are gaining popularity, fast! Thanks to PAU’s efforts, more runners are now braving ultras. Considering that this race was staged more than 500 kilometers away from Manila, the turnout was phenomenal with more than a hundred runners!
The runners, courtesy Mark Hernandez
Saturday, the second day of our “vacation.” One by one our comrades arrive in Laoag for our race that is practically hours away. After meeting a few of our newly arrived friends over breakfast, we went back to our hotel to freshen up, and start our mini tour.
Courtesy Ronnel Go
Without trying to be naughty as it may sound in some Philippine dialect, Poque-poque is an Ilocano dish made of eggplant with onions, tomatoes, and egg. It was one of the dishes that I really missed, and it was one of the dishes I got to eat—but with a twist.
Saramsam Restaurant’s Poque-poque Pizza, courtesy Ronnel Go
I just returned from one of the best experiences of my life, in one of my favorite places in the Philippines. I sure have a lot of stories and pictures to share, but for now here are some select few photos that I could share while I cook up my narrative:
At Terminal 2 (Manila), bound for Laoag International Airport (August 27)
Goodness gracious! I didn’t realize that my second season (anniversary) of running had just passed last August 17! And as of that date I accumulated a total of 2,012 kilometers (since August 17, 2008, my first ever race). I’ve no idea though how much of it was earned during the last 12 months, but it’s at least 1,000 kilometers. So I guess that wraps up my second season of running!
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