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March 13, 2014

MAP 50KM ULTRARUN 2014: Surge or Disgorge?


EmoticonBack in the late 70s , every time our family would drive to Manila from our home province of Camarines Sur, I would  dread the zig-zag road of the Quezon National Park.  

Without fail, I would get dizzy with the heights and slithering trait of this road and inevitably, vomiting would follow for me.  I would curse to high heavens the wise guy(s) who engineered this road to be serpentine.  Why not make it a straight road? My adolescent mind would scream out.

Fast forward to 2014 and the Bicolano Penguin, together with Mau and Ernie,  have registered for the Malicboy-Atimonan-Pagbilao 50-km ultra marathon (https://www.facebook.com/events/1441603912738175/) scheduled for March  16.  We join roughly a hundred (and counting)  ultra runners. No doubt, the centrepiece of this ultra is the same zig-zag road that has given me fits.  Would I surge to a successful finish (within the 10-hr cut off time) or disgorge some vile matter?


Whatever the outcome, BP is excited about this ultra.

For one, the MAP 50K has one good-looking finisher shirt. Aside from sporting a mean-looking pussy-like mascot, the shirt has the Altra logo indicating that the zero-drop running upstart is an event sponsor. One wonders if Altra will be selling shoes at the finish line.


Secondly, the event organizer is Team Runn’ Active of which Rodel Mendoza is a leading proponent. It turns out Rodel is an ultra runner the BP  got to share a handful of kilometres at the 2012 T2N (http://www.bicolanopenguin.blogspot.com/2012/05/3rd-t2n-50k-run-top-hit-among-newbies.html#more). The progress of Rodel from ultra marathon participant to ultra run organizer is both inspiring and admirable. And one needs to point out that Team Runn’ Active has been steady in promoting sports tourism in their vast province of Quezon.

Surge?  Disgorge? The long snake that is the  zig-zag road of Quezon National Park awaits this March 16. Emoticon 
         

             

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