King of Mountain Trail Run 10km (June 13 ,2009) - Post Race

The King of the Mountain Trail Run was held recently at Timberland Heights, San Mateo Rizal. This was my first trail run for 2009 (but definitely not the last!). I wanted to do the North Face trail run last month but forego it for fear of being injured for the Marathon event the following week.



I know I shouldn't be doing any races right now and should be focused on recovery instead, but it was hard to resist the urge to register for this run. Trail races are still considered rare in the Philippines (as opposed to the weekly road races) so I was quick to grab the opportunity when it presented itself.



Joining me in this fun (but torturous exercise) are Natalie, Gigay, her friend Nino, and Neil. It is always more enjoyable to do a race with family and friends rather than doing it alone so you can share your experiences afterwards!



We got to the race site at around 5:30AM (quite early for 6:00AM race but not as early as Neil, who arrived at 5:00AM . . .hehe!), did a few stretching and very short warm up jog before heading to the starting line.



The crowd was quite small but we didn't mind it as it felt more intimate.



At about 6:10AM, the race started. It was just a 10km race. No option for shorter or longer distance. But there was a bike race held 2 hours after the trail run. Hard competitors can join both races if they have the strength to do so. I of course, am NOT one of these hard competitors!



Right after we started, it was a very steep climb as we head from the paved ground to that of the trail. We were hit by the incline and a lot of people (including me) had to walk at some point to keep on going. This was a hard and tiring start!



The trail wasn't easy either. There was no way you can enjoy the view as you had to focus on looking at the ground and avoid the large rocks and mud scattered everywhere. There was a point where I got caught off balance and had to skip a few steps so that I wouldn't fall to the ground. At a certain part of the race, you had to submerge your feet in a small body of water in order to get across it. The paths can be wide (fitting two to three runners) to very small (for only one person). On the uphill climbs, you had to walk going up as ground was very slippery. Same thing going downhill (even more dangerous should you fall).



The race was quite organized in that there were ample marshals and directions for the runners, and sufficient water stations scattered around the 10km course. Great job guys!



For most part of this race, we just kept on climbing higher and higher. But that ended at 8km as we headed back to the cemented road and had the time of our life running downhill for the last 2km. This was the part you can really run again as there are no rocks to avoid, no mud to jump across and no wild boars to kick in the nuts (latter point obviously an exaggeration).



I ran right to the finish line (and saw my sister there) and clocked a time of 1:17:59 (7:57 min/km pace). Total distance of 9.79km. Automatic PR as never done a 10km trail race before! :)



This was definitely a great experience. If you are sick of running weekly in Fort Bonifacio and/or U.P., you should try trail running. For those people who missed this event and wanted to try trail running, no worries as Men's Health will have their own trail running event this Sunday (June 21) at Sta Elena. Check out http://www.menshealth.com.ph/ for more details.



This was my third time running in Timberland Heights but first time I did a 10km race. Previously, it was an 8km and 12km race, both as part of Men's Health All Terrain Race. Out of these three events, I find this latest one to offer the best course as it was challenging but rewarding for me. I especially liked the 2km fast downhill run to the finish line. Many thanks to Second Wind for plotting the course!

10km finishers!

Long climbs indeed! We all survived it!

POST- RACE

We got sample juice drinks, some healthy capsules and free breakfast! Perfect for us as we were all hungry by the time we finished the race. We sat inside the tent and watched the awarding of top 10 women racers.

Nino, Nat, and Gigay happy after doing their first 10km trail race

Adobo chicken and rice meal.

The shoes I wore were old trail shoes that I had and I got a blister on my left foot after the race. Said shoes were light enough for running and steady enough for uneven trail but size were too tight for me. I may need to wear ordinary running shoes for the 15km trail running next Sunday.

See you there!

6/16/09 Update: Race results are out and can be found at this link. My official time was at 1:18:05 and I rank 56th out of 88 male runners for 63%. Total of 126 runners who finished this race..