Conquering Corregidor: The Corregidor International Half-Marathon

The CIHM (Corregidor International Half Marathon) was the year-end race that almost never was. My friends and I had decided to run right after we'd run in Camsur in September. It was quite expensive, at P2,500 for early registration, but we figured the overall package -- roundtrip ferry transfers, an official backpack and drifit shirt, a humongous medallion (shown to us during orientation), buffet lunch, and the chance to visit the last bastion of freedom during second World War would be worth it. However, due to budget and/or time constraints (it was held during the weekend right before Christmas), quite a few people backed out. About a month before the run, there were in fact rumors of the event getting canceled, though they were quickly dispelled by the organizers themselves.

The CIHM marked many firsts. It was my first trail run (even if trail comprised only about 20 - 30% of the race). It was my first trip to "The Rock." CIHM was also the first race I'd ever joined with a cut-off: we were supposed to have crossed the 10k mark at 10:45 AM, after which all runners would be "netted." This gave us an hour and fifteen minutes to finish the first ten kilometers. This was easily attainable, but rumor had even the most hardcore of runners cursed Corregidor's hills, so I was thinking my two prior half marathons might not have prepared me enough for what lay ahead.

Corregidor's Eternal Flame, said to symbolize eternal freedom.

I didn't get that much sleep the night prior to the run, and for the first time I almost missed a run. My friend Mich and I were both knocked out and thankfully our friend Ron woke us up with a phone call. We panicked and were up and out of the house in fifteen minutes to meet up with Ron and another friend James. Panic number two came at the port when we realized realized we hadn't been given ferry tickets, but that was quickly resolved since we had our bib numbers anyway. The ferry trip wasn't all that smooth. It was raining slightly when we left the port, so I'm glad the Bonamine I'd taken eventually knocked me out.

The Ferry by Star Cruises. I hate my seasickness.

Overcast weather greeted us in Bataan, which we were happy about since it meant it wouldn't be as hot as we'd feared an 8 AM guntime would be. When we got off the ship, I could finally feel the slight excitement while the fear faded a bit once I started seeing familiar faces. And while waiting for the starting gun to fire, I couldn't help but feel that despite all the hill training I still hadn't prepared enough for this race.

Welcome to Corregidor!

I didn't really have much of a choice, however, and once the gun had sounded I could feel myself getting dragged to the end of the pack while hating myself for failing to warm up for the nth time, especially since after a few meters, the first of Corregidor's hills greeted us.

The first four or five kilometers were quite fuzzy to me. I remember being greeted by inclines almost immediately and passing Malinta Tunnel, which served as a bombproof shelter during the World War and as the headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth government under President Manuel L. Quezon. Malinta Tunnel featured replicas of various prominent figures in Philippine history. It was dark in the tunnel, which made it difficult to run too fast, but it was worth the experience.

As you can see, it was dark.

I do remember passing through trees and seeing a few ruins along the way, but I could only glance at them as there was no time to stop. There were old weapons, batteries, and a lot of u-turns, but I was kind of expecting the latter since they'd mentioned we'd have to collect seven different-colored strings along the way.

Turnaround point.

I should also mention that the hills seemed endless, and that I had that familiar "why on earth am I torturing myself this way again" thought echoing through my mind again. At the same time I felt quite thankful for all the hill training I'd done in the months leading up to the race. I forced these thoughts to melt into my fast and perky music playlist, hoping the tunes would make the torture easier. I stopped at almost every hydration station (there were more than enough stations, I must say) and treated myself to water and bananas along the way to ease the boredom.

After the fifth kilometer or so, I suddenly felt myself getting inexplicably lighter and I was off. It also helped that there was a soft breeze while the view cleared up and runners were treated to a majestic view of the ocean. And I was treated to my first taste of trail running, across barren fields and tall grasses. It felt good not feeling the impact of concrete or asphalt against my feet (and more importantly, my knees). I actually turned off my music a couple of times and I still didn't get bored. I also encountered my friend Alain, who was also my pacemate during the Adidas King of the Road (my first half-marathon). After a bit more running, I saw the 10k marker. I had no idea what time it was, but I couldn't help but let out a soft "Yes!" upon seeing that the bright orange net (yes, there was a literal net) was still folded up and hanging from the tree on the side. I could take it as easy as I wanted and I would still get that pretty 21k medallion!

Trail running with Alain :)

I also noticed that runners seemed to disperse after the 10k mark. Perhaps most of them started taking it easy knowing they'd beat the time limit. There were still hills, hills, and more hills, but in any case nature continued to provide a feast to the eyes, with trees providing ample shade even as the sun's rays continued to shine brighter. And after a few more kilometers, we had the rare opportunity to marvel at the famous Mile-Long Barracks. I also encountered my friends James and Ron, so we had a blast with taking photos again.

Smile for the camera! With Ron (L) and James (R).

We ran many more kilometers of running road and trail, but I didn't feel the distance as much anymore. And considering it was already quite late, the heat was perfectly bearable, and there was in fact a slight breeze. We passed Malinta Tunnel again, and having been exposed to copious amounts of sunlight, it became more difficult for us to navigate through the tunnel since it felt darker than before.

KM 18.

As we passed through more trail and road, I knew I still hadn't seen the worst, and guessed that it was coming, since I'd heard many horror stories about it. And finally, there it was: Corregidor's famous killer hill that boasted a sixty-degree slope, the hill which had humbled even the most hardcore of runners and athletes. I'd think to say that I'd topple over if I stood on the hill without controlling my weight would be no exaggeration. I didn't see a single person run the hill; in fact I passed someone else walking along the way and we could only exchange sheepish grins.

Killer hill...run me and you die! (This picture doesn't give it justice.)

After that I was home free. I actually had enough stamina in me to the sprint to the finish line, but I was embarrassed since I was the only runner around at that time and all eyes were on me so I picked up my pace just slightly instead, and graciously accepted the medallion and a free visor upon crossing the finish (which, by the way, was HEAVY). I'd clocked in at 2:39:30, and I have to say I was feeling an extraordinary runner's high.

Roses for the ladies!

After meeting up with the rest of my friends, we took a few snapshots and then dressed up then headed to claim our other reward, a lunch buffet that was part of the race package. There wasn't anything special about the food, but it tasted extraordinarily good. I had to go back for a second serving to satisfy my craving.

Photowall/camwhoring with Mich!

 

Ravenous!

We still had a few hours before the ferry back to Manila so we sprawled on the benches and tables to rest our legs and eyes a bit, and we finally got bored we decided to take the guided tour of Corregidor in order to better appreciate the monuments and sights we'd encountered. The passengers of our bus seemed exhausted though, each time the tour guide asked us to get down for photo opportunities we barely budged and there seemed to be a mutual understanding among the members of our group that we were just plain tired. After a bit more of waiting we were finally called to board our ferry. I got knocked out almost immediately after boarding, and when I woke up we were almost in Manila. We were starved by then and treated ourselves to a hefty dinner at Teriyaki Boy before heading home.

That said, I give you a rating of the race:

HYDRATION: 8/10
Water was overflowing, yes, but I passed a few stations where you had to wait. Bananas, cut up into manageable portions, were overflowing as well, and there was a honey station. I kind of regret getting a honey packet, though, for a while I couldn't find a place to throw away the packet, and unlike most races I couldn't just throw the plastic away; I felt I'd be desecrating the place. There were also sports drinks, albeit a bit diluted.

Gatorade, albeit a bit diluted.

ROUTE: 10/10
This race takes definitely gets the best route of the year award in my book. This was probably the only race of the year during which I had to turn off my music several times in order to better appreciate the sights.  Although this race began at 9AM, an hour that would normally scorch, the heat was perfectly bearable and there was in fact a cool breeze.

Nature at its best!

ORGANIZATION: 7/10
The actual organization was almost flawless. The organizers were easy to reach in case of questions, the runners' orientation and race kit distribution went smoothly, and this was the first race I'd encountered where the results were released the AFTERNOON of the race (via SMS, e-mail, and their official site). The hydration was sufficient and the trails were obviously cleared for the runners. The only problem was coordination with Sun Cruises. The wait for the ferry trip was unnecessarily long (marketing ploy?), they couldn't find our names on the passenger manifest (though this was resolved within a couple of minutes), and the ferry left Manila late.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 9/10
A race backpack, a very pretty medallion, a drifit shirt, RFID timing device, roundtrip transfers, no smog (the good and bad "scents of nature" were all we could smell), island closed off to outsiders. Plus, we discovered a day tour of the island alone would already cost P2,000. P2,500 is steep, yes, but we could very clearly see where the money went, although they might considering doing away with some of the freebies to lower the price and encourage more runners to participate next time. (And yes, I still prefer singlets to shirts.)

Our MEDALLION + the seven strings.

 
OVERALL RACE EXPERIENCE: 10/10
The Corregidor International Half-Marathon was the perfect race to cap off 2010. More than the best route award, I'd say the CIHM deserves the prize for the year's best race overall. It was a challenging race (who could forget that dark tunnel and the killer hills?), it was fun (it helped that I was in good company; let's just forget the panic of not waking up in the morning), and it served as a trip that encouraged historical/cultural appreciation (since, as I mentioned, it was my first time in Corregidor). Despite the bad 21k time, I expect the CIHM be remembered as one of those unforgettable races which remind me why I love running.

So shall we return? I sure hope so!

Photo credits: Many thanks to Memes, Ron, and Alain for the photos I grabbed from their Facebook albums :)

2010 Running Awards

Whoops...I just realized I left this unpublished last year.  Feels weird posting this given how I've already started on the 2011 edition, but oh well, I figured I'd post it anyway!


Best Loot Bag: Neutrogena Chase the Sun

The Neutrogena Run's loot bag might not have been the most jam-packed, but I think it held had the most number of useful items.  Johnson's body wash, Neutrogena Deep Clean facial wash, Johnson's baby powder, and a Team Manila finisher's shirt to boot.  That was definitely one sulit loot bag!

Runner-up: Unilab 1 and Fit n' Fun.  From registration to post-race, Unilab provided runners with rather useful items such as facial sunblock, vitamins, and ibuprofen capsules that would be handy to any runner. Fit n' Fun, on the other hand, showered runners with grocery bags full of grocery items. It was overwhelming to dig through the contents of the bags, which stretched far beyond the P300 per head we'd shelled out for registration!

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Best Route: Corregidor

The race organizers advertised Corregidor as "the ultimate running frontier," and for good reason.  My first experience with semi-trail running (the route was comprised of 60% pavement, 40% trail) took us through historical landmarks including the dark Malinta Tunnel (which served as the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth Government during the second World War) and the Mile-Long Barracks, through grasslands with both fresh and odd scents (I was glad I "christened" my new compression pants during this run!), and finally, up the killer sixty-degree hill that reduced even elite runners to walking.  I actually had to turn off my Walkman a number of times to appreciate the sights.


It was also an enormous plus that we had the place entirely to ourselves that day.  The venue being closed off meant zero smog and vehicle emission, no traffic problems, and no garbage littered on the streets.  In fact, the place was so clean that throwing our empty plastic cups on the floor almost felt like sacrilege!

Runner-up: Camsur. We might have needed to rough it a bit, but the world's wakeboarding capital certainly had an interesting route in store for us!   The whole city of Pili seemed to have turned up for the event, and the rustic feel provided a nice change from the usual city scenery.

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Best Singlet/Finisher's Shirt: Adidas King of the Road

Black might not be as daring as people would want it to be, and some people might even find it boring, but it still does wonders to hide the love handles.  Also, I find that Adidas' Climalite technology works for me.

Runner-up: Activate! Run and Pump it UP

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Best Medal: Corregidor

The best medal of the year by far is Corregidor's enormous medallion.  Being 3 inches wide and 10 mm thick, with the logo of the race engraved on the front, this medallion is pretty hard to miss and ogle at!

Runner-up: Camsur Marathon.  How I regret not working hard for that sili medal!

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Most Organized Run: Unilab & Unilab 2

Despite the sheer volume of runners that took part in these two events, Runrio and Unilab were still able to carry off an incredibly smooth run (with overflowing hydration, I might add), no strings attached (except maybe the price).

Runner-up: FS Run, Condura. Nothing like races that are organized by runners, for runners!

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Best Weather: Unilab 2

Unilab 2 was my first 15k hence it was impossible for me not to PR, but even if it weren't my first 15k, I probably would have PR'd anyway because the weather conditions were nothing short of perfect.

Runner-up: PSE Bullrun

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Best Value for Money: Fit n' Fun

Overflowing shopping bags full of grocery items for the price of P300/person (or P600/pair) for 5k, a pretty decent singlet, and a pretty well-organized run.  It's hard to get something more sulit than that!

Runner-up: FS Run, Corregidor

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Best Overall Race Experience: Corregidor

First Runner-up: Camsur.  The route was one of my favorites, the run was well-organized, the singlet was quite decent, the price wasn't bad, and I did my 10k best.  Adding that all up means an experience that would be pretty hard to beat!

Runner-up: Condura

Worst Singlet/Finisher's Shirt: Men's Health

I don't really mind the fact that it's a finisher's shirt that I will never be able to use for running.  What I do mind is that I'll probably never use this finisher's shirt ever, owing to the neckline that chokes and the not-very-creative design.

Most Forgettable Run: Rexona Run

I almost forgot I even did this run until I started recounting them one by one.  And to think this was my first (and only) run at Mall of Asia.  What I do remember, however, was the breakfast at my friend Mich's house after!

Worst Overall Experience: Globe and Rock n' Run

Rock n' Run -- It wasn't the rain that I worried would destroy my beloved iPod.  The rain I don't really mind.  What I DID mind was that everything from the singlet design fail (it looked like a cheap version of the template), to the non-appearance of the promised loot bags, to the 10k distance that was almost 2km short, to the non-performance of the bands (so much for "rock"...it was June, didn't they anticipate the rains?) was a mess.

Globe -- This Rio-organized run was actually pretty organized.  But what I hated about this one was how my knee injury prevented me from running; it was a good thing I had my friends James and Albert to motivate me and help me from melting boredly under the scorching heat of March.

Worst Organized: Figaro Run and Rock n' Run

Figaro Run -- Poor hydration, distance lacking (4.4km for 5k and 8.6km for 10k), sucky loot bag.  Although it was a moderately-priced run, I still say this run wasn't worth the price I paid.

Rock n' Run -- Just see the reason why I voted as the "worst overall experience."

Runner-up: Earth Run, Adidas King of the Road, Century Superbods Run

Remembering Old School BodyJam

BodyCombat may be my undying workout love and gateway to fitness, running may currently be my most effective calorie-burner, and BodyPump may be the best "toner," but few people know that none of these got me hooked on working out and getting fit.  The honor of my first workout love would have to go to BodyJam.

What's BodyJam?  BodyJam is a dance-based cardio workout that makes use of a hodgepodge of various dance moves, adapting moves from all genres from Latin to Jazz, Hiphop to Disco.  It's probably the Les Mills program with the most updated music, as it often utilizes the latest chart-topping hits.  Recent BodyJam releases have a more or less standardized format, starting off with a slow warmup and stretch, then proceeds to building up two long sequences with a recovery track in between and a cooldown track at the end.  The second sequence usually ends with a breakout dance.

But BodyJam hasn't always followed this format.  Once upon a time, BodyJam was structured much like all the other Les Mills programs -- nine single standing tracks, and usually, with the exception of the warmup and cooldown tracks, all tracks offered a challenge to participants' cardio/fitness levels assuming they exhibited proper form and enthusiasm.








Music from one of my favorite BodyJam tracks ever, "Feel the Need" by Weird Science, from BodyJam release 25.

Given the "single-standing tracks" format, it was easy to tolerate boring tracks since they came only occasionally, and anyway tracks were usually less than ten minutes long.  On the part of instructors, it was easy to pick out the best tracks -- or perhaps the most "hyper" tracks -- if they wished to give their students the ultimate workout.  It also didn't hurt that members of my home club then, Fitness First ABS-CBN, were so into dancing and that their passion for swinging their hips and clapping to the beat was infectious.  Most instructors made use of more recent releases that used the newer "two long blocks" format, but my favorite instructors then, Laqui, Rio, and Kenneth, all shared my passion for what was eventually dubbed as "old school jam."








Let's baila, baila, baila! Baila Casanova by Paulina Rubio from BodyJam release 29.

Gradually, more and more new instuctors came into the group exercise world and they were allowed to make use of the more recent releases when teaching.  I, on the other hand, became more and more fond of BodyCombat, since I found that it achieved results much faster even if punching my way through the whole class was torture, as it rendered me out of breath and caused my muscles to ache.

Finally, Les Mills issued a memo to all its instructors.  It was said that Les Mills wanted to "standardize" BodyJam's format, but there were rumors that circulated saying Les Mills encountered copyright problems since the BodyJam choreographers of old school jam had joined a new company.  Either way, they prohobited them from the use of "old school jam" tracks, first during regular classes, and eventually, during special events as well.  At the same time, the Les Mills programs such as BodyAttack and BodyStep were introduced in the country.  Slowly I fell out of my love for BodyJam, first lessening the number of classes I attended per week, and eventually, removing BodyJam from my workout routine altogether.  But BodyJam, specifically old school jam, will always be special to my gym ratty self, since I probably wouldn't be this enthusiastic to get fit if it hadn't encouraged me to do so in the first place.