have you ever tried running 102 kilometers in one day?
i did.here is my 102-kilometer, 17 hours and 22 minutes worth of story.
on the morning of april 4, 2009,together with my hardcore friends,we left for ground zero, mariveles,bataan.
after picking up the 2 singaporean runners,baldwin and lucas in clark,we finally arrived noontime in mariveles.on the way,we saw mariveles,from the top that is.what greeted us for 4 kilometers was a narrow 2-way downhill stretch which meant only 1 thing-we would be running up into the race early on.i thought that stretch would be a good warm up.after that,3 kilometers of flats onto the town proper.we dropped by the kilometer zero post for the usual photo-ops and rested in our hotel.save for jollibee and the export zone,mariveles is small coastal town where you can see cavite and corregidor island across manila bay.i saw ships anchored along the bay.
i couldn’t sleep.much as i tried to,i couldn’t sleep a wink so i decided to walk around the town,had my head shaved clean and dropped by the church.after that,i had dinner.i have had it with jollibee that day so i decided to have my race adobo baon instead.
soon it was close to assembly time.i made sure all my stuff were ready.at the starting line,it began to drizzle.somebody’s rain dance was working.it was a good sign i thought.i greeted my fellow runners and sir jovie.everybody,runners and supporters were in a happy mood.after the short program,i was ready to do battle.
kilometer 00-20: i started at the back together with my regular running buddies.as it was, the 1st 3 kilometers were flat.as it is in our long runs,everyone had a story or two to tell plus the usual jokes and ribbing about watching others doing a breakaway.we stopped at km 3 just before the inclines and did our stretching. kim o’connell and coach jo-ar would soon passed us.ivy and her friend joined us stretching.as soon as we were done, we started again.i found joe,the loony runner,running at a pace i thought was comfortable.i told joe that i came to run and run we did.i can’t remember our pace.i decided to join him if only to get me going.i forged ahead,feeling good.there were parts that were pitch black.good thing joe had a flashlight on hand.it was a beautiful early morning.the moon was up,the breeze was relaxing and there was complete stillness.with all the big trees around,i kidded joe about ghosts that might appear out of nowhere.it was eerily silent.looking at mariveles from atop the zigzag was a sight to behold.the atmosphere at this point was so serene in contrast to the hell that i would encounter later on.mercifully,the 4-kilometer uphill climb passed by uneventfully.i was feeling good.sweat i wanted but did not get much.it was colder in the flats.not exactly flats really from km 7 onwards.i remembered km 32 going to mariveles.i counted as many as 6 inclines but nothing compared to the first 4.and so i ran,sometimes talking with joe,sometimes just keeping silent and trying to think about something to keep my mind out of the race.i was on lsd mode.one good thing running in darkness is that you don’t see how steep the inclines are nor how far ahead the flats are than when it is daylight.i would be surprised at times whenever joe would say that we just did an incline.in between running,i instructed my support to wait for me every 5 kilometers.at this time early in the morning,all i could only see mostly were support vehicles passing us by back and forth and trucks either coming or leaving mariveles.the drivers would tell us how far the lead pack was.of course,the “good time” places were still open and in the heat of the night(morning).by joe’s watch,we did 2 hours, 41 minutes of running.i finally reached the 1st support station at km 20.coach salazar,marecil maquilan, team br staff,lester and margaret were there to greet me.i took in some food,drank water but that was about it.i was feeling good.yet.
km 21-40: it was good to see not only directional signs but also marshals led by elite runner cris sabal and his brothers showing us the way to take going to limay.we diverted onto the town away from the roman highway to take on the death march route.again,there were parts which were pitch dark.i remember seeing arman fernando(who made a breakaway at around km21 and left me for good),isko lapira,albert henson, ronnie de lara and christian alacar.at this point,i think joe was ahead but the darkness prevented me from seeing him.dogs were barking crazily.at one point,a dog almost jump on us that we had to run faster beyond 110% effort.soon,it was the 2nd aid station at km 40.from joe’s garmin,we did 2:47 for this stretch.so far,so good.i was feeling good.yet again.
km41-50: the 1st major aid station with hot food was located at km 50 in abucay,bataan.whatever i ate at km 40,i don’t know,but for whatever reason,i suddenly found myself doing a 10k race pace.somehow,it was at this point that i knew that i was going to make it all the way.i was just in the groove.i couldn’t stop myself from running.i overtook joe and isko going into the town.i can’t explain it.i just felt like running.fast.soon,i reached km 50 and as planned,i changed clothes and shoes,took a shower,ate arroz caldo and started to take salt,rehydrated some more and exchanged stories with sir jovie whom i finally caught up with.joe,sir jovie and i took off at around 7:30 am.by the way,i reached km 50 after around 6 hours and 30 minutes of running.except for the scheduled aid stops,i was running.somewhere along,i stopped for a photo at km 42.this was a full marathon i just did.so far.if you think about it,102k is like 2 fulls and 18k.all in a day.
km52-60: with the 3 of us alternately pacing, we had a good time exchanging stories.joe even suggested a medical certificate requirement for next year to which sir jovie said yes.as it was,it was palm sunday so we would passed many crowded churches.at this point,it was starting to shine brightly.whenever i could,i would run on the road shoulder to soften the impact and to have lesser heat reflected on me.that piece of advice i got from ben gaetos-thank you! i think br paced us fast enough for us to reach the 4th aid station a little quicker.we reached it after 2:45 of running(km41-60).after the usual reloading of food,salt and drinks we went on.from this point,i instructed my support to stop every 3 kilometers.
km61-80:hell starts to break loose from my rein. feeling good,i started off still with br and joe up until about km 63 or so.we had an ambulance tailing us.but i soon noticed br going faster and for whatever reason,i was not able to keep pace with him.until he was out of sight.joe was gone too.ah, joe was at my back-walking.i tried my best to maintain my pace but i slowed down almost to a jog.till joe caught up with me and told me to conserve my energy and walk instead since my jogging pace was his walking pace.we just passed by hermosa,bataan i think.and the sun was shining more brightly.it was around 10:30 am at km 66 when i heeded joe’s suggestion even if i told him earlier that i came to run.i broke my only set rule of no walking.we reached roman highway finally and i remember telling joe that km 68 would be the turning point of sorts since i was familiar with this segment having done the test run last february.here,there would be vehicular traffic keeping us company.and the sun,it was getting hot.along the way,i would passed by fellow runners obviously bothered by the heat.it was closed to midday after all.no wonder i thought.i tried to run or jog but my mind won’t even let me lift my feet.if i were an engine,i would say i ran out of oil.i was thinking if i had enough time to make it to the cut-off time of 18 hours if i would walk all of the 36 kilometers left.but i had no choice.i did some mental calculations.and walked and timed myself every kilometer.so far,so good.i was on target even if i walk the rest of the way.this stretch of road i would say was the beginning of hell.not only did i start to walk,not only because of all the vehicles or the sun but also because of a kilometer of road repair which was dusty.no choice but i had to walk side by side with buses,trucks and cars.it was dusty and hot! i kept telling myself(and joe) that whatever we were going through was nothing compared to the 1942 march.i kept repeating this to myself.i remembered haruki murakami’s ultramarthon mantra-“i am not human.i am a machine,forge on.”the mental part of the race was clearly in play now.i reached the 5th station after 3:56 of part running and majority walking.it was past noon or so.i was trying not to think about how long i was on the road,how many kilometers i have done nor how many more were left.i just walked on with the mindset that i was going to finish this one.along the way,my support would stop every 1 kilometer.i saw my ultra classmates,jan and ysmael and jonas and wife along the way.thank you for your encouragement.lester and margaret would shuttle back and forth as well.
km 81-100: after that dusty and nasty stretch of road,i was back in the clear.but it was getting hotter and i was walking slower.i kept calculating the time and distance left.at around km 92,i tried to run but unfortunately,i really couldn’t.pain on my lower body started to set in.it was difficult not to count the hours left nor the distance left.at this point,it was a kilometer by kilometer ordeal i was going through.but not once did i think about quitting altogether.i told my support not to leave me and joe out of sight.i would pour ice-cold water all over myself and did not mind getting my shoes or feet wet.i did not care.all i wanted was to feel refreshed.but sooner,my wet cap and clothes would dry up from the heat.it was REALLY hot!i kept telling myself,this is nothing compared to 1942.there was a point especially during the last 20 kilometers that i was hydrating and wetting myself at distances of 100 meters apart or even less.that was how hot it was.and i would relieved myself every so often as i drank gatorade,water,mountain dew with salt and yes,coffee too!at times when i would feel a hint of muscle pain that did not previously hurt in training and a headache would start and my chest would go pounding fast,i made breathing exercises and slowed down my walking some more and relax.the last 2 kilometers was the loooooongest i have done.i think i did it in 1 hour.every step i made and the closer i got to the finish line,it seemed that every part of my lower body would locked up and started to ache like it never did the previous 100k.but i had to ignore it.however slow,i took gingerly and calculated steps like a baby would.just getting back into the pavement from the roadside was an ordeal for me.every step was painful.i asked joe,he felt the same too.at this point,we broke into a smile.nearing the end,the early finishers encouraged me.i wanted a strong finish but i thought it would be foolish to do something stupid at this point of the race.i did not want to risk injury.i got scared for awhile as around km 95,i felt my feet which was soaking wet, starting to feel the onset of blisters.so i decided to change shoes and socks one last time.
km100-102.i call this the “evil” twins.if i could hyper-extend the stretch in the word homestretch into 2 kilometers,this was it.finally, km 102 was in sight and was there for the taking.however,my steps got smaller and slower all the more.hand in hand and raised triumphantly,joe and i crossed the line after 17 hours and 22 minutes.66 kilomters ran and 36 kilometers walked.this run was peanuts compared to 1942, this thought carried me through.joe and i did the last 22 kilometers in 5:10.if you can imagine watching a film slower than slo-mo.that’s what i did going the last 1 kilometer.
i can’t described how i felt when i raised my hands, kissed the finish line banner,got my medal,shirt and trophy from br.i had mixed feelings.i was both happy and relieved- i was finally a certified ultramarathon runner.happy for my feet that the ordeal for them was over.i was happy to see my buddies arriving one by one.i was worried about those still on the road.i was wishing for them to make it before 6:33pm.at this point when i stopped,i could feel my legs locking up.i couldn’t stand firmly.i was wobbly and ready to fall at the slightest nudge.i sought help from my friends just to be able to stay put.from all the fatigue,i did not even do my post-race stretching.i dare did not sit for i knew what would happen.finally,one by one other runners would arrive.
the one very poignant scene that struck me the most was the sight of my friend,nicko nolasco,getting to the finish line barely 1 minute before cut off.it seemed like a scene out of 1942.he was supported side by side with his grilfriend anne on one side and another friend,george dolores, on the other shoulder.what a finish.what a day!
THE MORNING AFTER: everything was a blur after the race.the moment i sat in the car going home,i could barely remember the things that happened.joe rode with us.my support had dinner in san fernando.joe and i chose to sleep in the car.before i knew it, at around 10pm,i was home.what i feared the most about sitting happened.i could not lift my leg to get off the car.i needed help to get out.it was a such a struggle that i did not even make it to my room.my strength could get me only as far as the living room.i was fagged out like anything. and slept like a baby i did.
as soon as i woke up at around 8:30 am,monday, i still couldn’t stand up without pain.i took a look at me feet-they were red and swollen.my knees and ankles seemed locked too.i really have a problem standing or walking for extended periods.no choice but i had to relieve myself.i literally crawled like a baby would to the bathroom.i was down on all fours.i was laughing at myself.after this,i started sending congratulatory and thank you text messages to my fellow runners and friends who wished me well.here i learned that i was not alone feeling the pain.jay cu unjieng said that nothing he drank nor ate had a hint of taste.br and joe said it was struggle just to stand up and walk.enrico was nursing skin rashes all over.our hardcore muse,odessa,was in pain and had blisters too.jerry,mercifully,having learned from our 52k test run, was alright this time.arman,george and mark were up and about.and martin and mari were game for a recovery run!talk about hardcores.
as i am wont to do after a race, i tried to recall what possibly did i do wrong for me to break my own no-walk rule.i think i went out too fast too early and ran the uphills.that is a lesson learned for me at least.for really long races-STICK to the planned pace no matter what the tempation to go fast is.and since this is an ultramarathon,one should train to walk for extended period of time if only to teach the walking muscles to endure long periods of walking.i did not and so i suffered the consequences.
i would say it again.the one thing that carried me through this was the thought that 1942 was way far more painful compared to what i was going through even in the most difficult part.and that i was a machine designed not to fail.again and again i kept telling myself that there was no way that my 7-month training would go to waste.now i believe ben gaetos when he said running an ultra is a mental thing too.it REALLY is.
let me thank all my friends who sent me best wishes.i had you all in my mind when the going got tougher.to the bald runner events staff,you did good.bards,your rain dance might not have made the skies cry for so long but the good jujus surely made my day.to kevin,boyet,susan and enrico’s own jeanette,thank you for your words of encouragement along the way.to lester and margaret,thank you for your help without hesitating when i requested.to my support group who egged me all the way and for following my requests to the letter.-thank you to you all.
lastly,i would like to congratulate my fellow finishers-arman,enrico,myke,odessa,mark,jay,mari,martin,nico,george,jerry,gene,ric,isko,sir ric, isko,sir jovie(extra kudos for you for making us part of history and for your crazy dream) and my buddy throughout all of 102k-joe.way to go people! and to those who did not finish,you are still worthy if only for having the courage to start.in my list,you are winners.fret not,redemption is coming.from what i know,registration for 2010 bataan 102 starts tomorrow!no way? yes way!
running an ultramarathon alone isn’t enough.you need not only training but you also need friends and mental toughness to make it.this is the lesson i learned painfully but happily.and stick to the plan pace no matter what.this i totally forgot when i started running.i don’t know what got the better of me.
i knew i came prepared.why,i even prepared a finish line song-my way.you know, the first line that goes…”and now ,the end is near…”.unfortuntely,i was not able to sing it to myself.my mind was wandering.
my bataan 102k.how sweet it is!
FRONTRUNNER Philippines 
