Running my first ultra marathon (any distance 50 kilometers or longer) was largely influenced by a fellow triathlete who finally convinced me that joining the All Women’s UltraMarathon (AWUM) in Cebu was going to be “fun”.
Getting a slot in AWUM was as elusive as catching a rabbit as the 350 slots were quickly filled in record time of four minutes of online registration by runners from around the country. So imagine my surprise when I received one week later an email from Think Tank, the organizers, notifying me of a confirmed slot.
My four-month training plan was largely dependent on the scheduled runs provided by the local team called DARS (Dumaguete Adventure Runners & Striders). Maripol “Mommy Ying” Tecson would send out a message to our chatgroup on Messenger called Running Mommies, detailing the week’s activities: speed works at the Perdices Stadium oval, the Wednesday easy run, marathon-pace run, the much-dreaded early morning tempo run to Magatas in Sibulan, uphill run to Casaroro in Valencia, the traditional quick Thursday night run, and the mandatory long-slow distance (LSD) to Dauin or the town of San Jose, back-to back/consecutively on the weekend. Assembly time would be normally 4 in the morning or 7 in the evening.
I would happily tag along with my two closest fellow runners, Irma Pal and Dr. Nini Cabrera. Leading up to the race, I would cross-train by spinning indoors as well.
Women in all ages, shapes, and physiques showed up 350 strong at the starting line, eager and ready for the 10 pm gunstart at the Cebu Capitol. The veteran runners had all their gear in place — headlamp, blinkers, whistle, compression sleeves, gels, and refillable water bottles — afterall, this was an LNT race (Leave No Trace). Lesson learned: Always check equipment requirements to avoid last minute purchases.
Irma and I agreed to run together, like we always did during our training sessions. We started out nice and easy for the first five kilometers. By the time we hit our 11 kilometer mark, I was on the verge of quitting, and needed to find a comfort room quickly. In one aid station, the gracious volunteers offered us the use of a CR — a clever contraption covered with trapal right by the side of the road. Had Irma not pushed me at that early point, I would have found a taxi and headed back to my hotel.
The highlights of this ultra marathon for me included meeting a lone runner from Gen. Santos who was running happily by herself; seeing other runners meet their runner-friends from other cities (turns out, the country’s long distance running community is a compact group); receiving full support at the hydration stations filled with food, including leg massages; and seeing the DARS mommies running as one.
We also met Debbie Downer at around Kilometer 35 who bluntly told us we wouldn’t make it to the cut-off. But at that point, our Garmin told us it was only 4 in the morning, and we actually had four more hours to get to the finish line that was [merely] 15 kilometers away. Anyway, this Negative Nellie prompted us to just continue running, making sure we would prove her wrong.
If there was one area of this ultramarathon that made me say to myself, “Never again!”, it was the ‘uphell to Busay’, which comprised the last 10 kilometers to the finish line. The 550-meter (above sea level) elevation and steepness of that climb spiked my heart rate, and battered my quads and calves. And I was not even running. The two-kilometer uphill was absolute sheer torture.
The beauty of it though was that all the women running that race were experiencing similar pain and torment, and yet, we trudged our way to the Kilometer 42 turning point at the top of the hill, then took advantage of the steepness by running downhill.
As we were heading to the finish line at the Cebu Capitol, the nagging pain on my right knee just kept me from pushing towards the last kilometer along Osmeña Blvd. My right leg could hardly fold anymore. Irma waited for me as I tried to massage and bend it; she told me to just grin and bear it. Another friend drove by to provide me with cold orange juice.
Around 7am on Sunday, after nine long hours of running beginning Saturday evening, Irma and I crossed the finish line. I couldn’t have recounted my story here had it not been for Irma who helped me through the entire 50-kilometer stretch with her positivity and encouragement.
Indeed, it does take an entire village to finish something of this magnitude: Doc Nini, who would wake me up for our early morning training runs; the local running team DARS, who consistently scheduled training sessions and waited for us to greet us at the finish line; and other friends who showed me their support through their own gestures of love.
___________________________
Marikit Armogenia is an entrepreneur and mom to Amaya, 11 years old. They moved back to Dumaguete in 2014 after working in Chicago, Illinois for some 20 years in the hospitality and travel industry. She has completed two Ironman triathlon races in Cebu and a relay Ironman triathlon race in Vietnam. She helps her mom manage Azalea Casitas & Restaurant in the mountain town of San Jose, while also managing KRI Catering services.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});