Thru the years, Filinvest City in Alabang has evolved into a bastion of wellness and clean living in the southern part of the National Capital Region. For one, there is the Shared Zone where a number of streets and avenues inside the 244-hectare property are closed off to vehicular traffic every Sunday from 5am to 10am, thus forming a loop that runners, bikers and families can use for sports activities, healthy exercises and other work-life balance activities. Expectedly, many a fun run events have been held on its tree-lined wide avenues, almost on a monthly basis. Surprisingly, Filinvest City is a rare place in the urban jungle that is Metro Manila where you can still see fireflies in all their light blinking glory. Even its mall, Festival Alabang, is becoming a magnet for wellness afficionados due to the opening of the first super store in the Philippines of Europe's number 1 sports retailer, Decathlon.
It is therefore just about right that a rare treat for urban-based mountain bikers is held in Filinvest City. Such an event is the Filinvest City Endurance Weekend and it has been happening for 4 years straight already. Make it 5 years straight as come September 30 and October 1 this year of 2017, there will be the 5th Filinvest City Endurance Weekend.
What exactly is it? Why call it "Endurance Weekend"?
Good thing, there was this Media Night last Aug 24 and the Bicolano Penguin was fortunate to be included among the bloggers and media practitioners invited. Thanks in large part to good friend and long-time blogger Kulitrunner.
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| Race Director Neville Manaois conducting the briefing. |
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| Group photo of bloggers at the Media Night. |
In the said Media Night Media Night where Neville Manaois (Race Director) and Don Mari Ubaldo (Project Head - Filinvest City) conducted a briefing, here are the things I learn about the Filinvest City Endurance Weekend:
1. It was first held in 2013. In the words of the Filinvest executive, the Endurance Weekend is a baby of Filinvest. It is envisioned to be a race for the community.
2. It is the mountain bikers' equivalent of an ultra marathon. The Filinvest City Endurance Weekend is an exciting two-day MTB event that challenges riders - either in solo and team categories to push themselves to the limit in the 6-hour, 12-hour, or 24-hour race spans. In those 3 time categories, participants will try to finish as many loops as possible around the 5km trail route consisting of hills and grasslands. For the 2016 edition, one biker completed 63 loops in 24 hours, equivalent to a total of 315 kms. That is certainly ultra marathon quantity.
3. The 24-hour leg will start on September 30 (Saturday) at 12 noon; the 12-hour leg will start on September 30 (Saturday) at 5pm: while the 6-hour leg will start on October 1 (Sunday) at 6:00am.
Here are some more details:
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| Route Map |
During the briefing, there was a Q & A portion and several took the opportunity to raise certain queries and make some insights. One that stood out was the comment by renown mountain bike coach Donjie Dormitorio who is a regular participant in the annual event. He said that a more apt name for the 2-day event is "cramps weekend." He further added that "Filinvest Endurance Weekend is a race that is something that you don't train for. It's something that you just want to try yourself "
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| Coach Donjie Dormitorio making a point at the Q&A. |
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| It was an honor for the Bicolano Penguin to have a photo with Coach Dormitorio and his daughter Ariana who is arguably the best female mountain biker in the Philippines, if not the whole of Southeast Asia. |
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| Group photo of mountain biking enthusiasts present during the Media Night. . |
Hearing this comment from Coach Dormitorio, I was nodding with a knowing smile. Endurance enthusiasts like ultra marathoners and mountain bikers are not easily swayed or discouraged by this kind of comments. In fact, this was more of a "test-your-will" pep talk that would surely have hundreds of moutain bike afficionados making a beeline to register for the 5th City Filinvest Endurance Weekend.
Such is the world of endurance.
Photo Credits: Jamil Buergo
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