These bootlegs
are "running is free" endeavors with no registration fees, no singlets, no
waivers, no nothing. Just the sheer joy
of running with friends in a place remote and seldom visited by runners.
This kind of running
appeals to me and a handful of my fellow
83neans. All we need is a road and
equally-minded running buddies.
The next and 3rd bootleg I did in Bicol was the Bagolatao
Adventure Run last May 4, 2013. It was a
17-km run from the town proper of Minalabac, Camarines Sur to the seaside
barangay of Bagolatao, also in the 3rd-class municipality of
Minalabac. For quite some time already,
I have been salivating about a run to the western coastal side of our
province. A Batch 83 classmate of mine,
Jose San Jose talked about a white beach in one of the coastal barrios of his
hometown Minalabac. But when I googled
the map, I could not locate any roads going to these parts. However, my
Naga-based running buddies Ric Lozano and Allen Tolledo assured me there was a
newly-built, partially-constructed cement road, courtesy of the pork barrel of
the sitting congressman of the newly-created 2nd district of the
province. I then requested them to do a recon of the road. This they did with their motorbikes and
emailed me last month several pictures.
With the detail
about the existence of the road settled, we set the date of May 4 for the
adventure run to the white beach of Bagolatao. I requested Ric and Allen to
invite the usual suspects of running buddies in Naga. When word leaked of this adventure run, two
Manila-based 83neans, Ed Balcueva and Ernie Badong, emailed to express their strongest intent to
be part of the action.
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| Dirty Dozen of the Bagolatao Adventure Run: Allen, Bicolano Penguin, Ryan Roy, Nene, Belle, Ric, Sherrylou, Mariano, Gary, Joji, Ernie and Ed |
Come 7:30 am
(May 4), 12 runners gathered at the side of a road in the outskirts of the town
proper of Minalabac. The "dirty dozen",
in addition to us five 83neans, included Mariano Basagre of Nabua (the 5th
placer at the 2013 Mayon 360 ultra marathon
http://www.bicolanopenguin.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013-mayon-360-ultra-winners-rise-of.html) and Joji Asis of Naga.
There was a newbie runner, Gary Castillo
from a younger batch at the
Ateneo de Naga (HS Batch 1986). Most
welcome additions were a trio of lady runners: Belle Romualdo, Sherrylou Desaliza and Nene Panganiban. These 3 are gym buddies whom Allen has recruited for running. Rounding off
the 12 was Ryan Roy, a nephew of Belle. On hand to provide logistical and
hydration support to the expedition were a couple of vehicles driven by Ronel
of Fatima and Ramil, Belle’s brother.
As we started
the run to Bagolatao, a question ran
thru my mind – - - - What beauty and peril, fun and despair await us?
Feast your eyes
to the photos (courtesy of Ernie and Ramil) to get a taste of the answers to
the question:
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| Start of the run with a single line against the oncoming vehicular traffic |
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| Enjoying the flat road at the start. Note the colored banners on the side of the road which are present almost thru out the run |
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| Belle keeping up with the old boys |
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| Allen keeping up with one of his protégées |
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| Nearing the 5km mark, the gaps are increasing |
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| Crossroads with 7 kms to go to the beach |
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| At 6 kms to go, the climb up the mountain starts |
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| A great feeling to see others, a campaigning congressman at that, riding SUVs to go up the mountain while runners like us do it self propelled |
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| And we have power to spare to run after the SUVs |
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| Heat training and hill training combined (I am only smiling because there is a camera pointed at us.) |
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| Damay damay sa hirap at takbo |
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| While the old 83neans suffered thru the climb, the young Mariano exhibited his speed training Bicol style |
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| Bicol style as in running after and overtaking motor vehicles up the mountain |
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| I don't recall these Beauties and a Beast overtaking me at the uphill... |
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| ...but they were at the top (200 meters above sea level) for the group picture when... |
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| ...the Bicolano Penguin came huffing and puffing to the top (Note the background to see how far and up we have gone from the town proper in the plains below.) |
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| At the rest stop at the top, my back felt broke, inspiring Ernie to call this the Broke Back Mountain |
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| Time for some Mountain Dew to recharge; Close to 2 kms left till the beach |
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| Now it is downhill and running can’t feel any more free than this. It is Hoka time for me. Time to fly. |
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| Finally, we see the blue sea ... |
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| ...and the fishing village of Bagolatao |
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| Running thru the beach of white, not sands, pebbles |
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| The Dirty Dozen at the beach.Victory indeed. |
Close to 3 hours
of running for 17 kms under the heat and up and down the mountain. An adventure
to remember this summer of 2013.
Overall, I would
place the Bagolatao Adventure Run over that of Mt Iriga/Mt Asog and Tiwi-Sangay
Road. This despite it being the shortest
run thus far. Three factors come to
mind. First, the participation for the
first time in our bootlegs of lady runners which kept us on our toes less we
get trumped. Second, the thrill and
satisfaction of going mano y mano with SUVs up the mountain. Third, the end point of the run is a lovely beach
which refreshed us like no dew can.
Running is life
lived free. Life is good.
7 comments:
To Bicolano Penguin.. it was again a memorable run w/ my friends/batchmates(83neans) together w/ our running buddies esp. to the 3 lady runners….’hope this will inspire them to Run more…..Looking forward on our next group run anywhere in Bicol, tnx
Thank you pading Allen. Without your efforts and that of Ric, this Bagolatao adventure run would not have materialized for us. Great job in recruiting fresh faces for our running adventures. Looking forward indeed to more adventure runs there in Bicol. Our Home. Our Run.
I would like to thank the Bicolano Penguin and his fellow 83nean running batchmates for spearheading the Bagolatao run.. Hope I can join again in your adventure runs here in Bicol especially the 2nd anniversary run of the BP. Again, thank you thank you.
Your welcome Gary. I am happy that Ric was able to "recruit" you into running. We will make sure to give you an invite on the 2nd Bicolano Penguin Anniversary Run. Tentative date is Nov 1 or Nov 2. We plan to have it around Lake Bato. Matira ang matibay. Matira ang Bato. hahahaha......
Thank you for this wonderful feature! It was indeed a very wonderful experience. I'm definitely looking forward to the next run :)
Thanks Belle for the kind and generous words. We enjoyed your running company and, most definitely, we enjoyed the salad and the gulay na santol. Our next adventure run will most probably be a run around Lake Bato (this will be ultra marathon distance) come early November. You and your friends are welcome to join us in the adventure. You guys can do it.
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