Nature's Trail Discovery Run Trilogy : Message From the Organizer

photo from Manghusi Photoshop

There are flaws in each of the Legs - hydration, bananas, and food but we'd like to believe the runners did not come for them, the runners came for the race - the trail. This belief has kept us going in spite of the hard work that goes with organizing trail running race event. For organizer its a learning experience. We started out with the Trilogy last May 27, followed by the 2nL last September 2 and finally November 25. To find the route, organizers have to go through hundreds of kilometers of probable trail routes. Its not easy as you all experienced going through the mountains.
Unlike in road running where the streets are paved and easy to find ideal routes, we have to search, explore, and go through the same experience as you had - climbing the mountains, going through the forests in an unknown territories even to us but we must go through first, running it first, being bruised like you, injured, go hungry and thirsty. We will not let runners go through the routes unless we first go through them. We must feel the adrenalin rush, we must feel the joy of finishing, we must feel how it is to be there where you will go through to have the confidence that yes, this is the route, this is the race. 

At the race day we have no other recourse if something goes wrong in the preparation it goes wrong. If nutty driver wont drive and the runners will be late we just bite our lips. If the food got spoiled, we bite our lips, if we run out of water in the mountain we just bite our lips...FOR IN TRAIL RUNNING THERE IS NO TURNING BACK ITS EITHER YOU QUIT OR FINISH THE RACE. ORGANIZERS AND RUNNERS ARE IN ONE BOAT, QUIT OR FINISH. WE BOTH FINISHED THE RACE. THANK GOD!

I'd like to draw inspiration from the book "Little Prince". What is essential is invisible to the eyes. When we experienced discomfort we become agitated missing the most essential things which for many trail runners its racing the trails and finishing. 

Here are the 3 medals photo by Doug Laz, for others they are just medals why go though all the difficulties and even exposed yourself to danger just for the medals? But for the proud owner, who conquered self, they are evidence of his will power, of determination, of how far he can go through anything in life. Of the tens of thousands of runners they all have the same medals of honors in finishing but all these 3 only a few hundred have. That makes it priceless. The owner of these three medals would look at these mountains and with a smile would say "I know these mountains, they were my playing field, I conquered each and every step" - These are badge of honor, of conquest, of personal triumph, of being - THE TRAILBLAZERS AWARD WINNER 2012. 

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FINISHERS. YOU ARE ALL CHAMPIONS. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE RACE. SOME WILL STOP AND QUIT AND SOME WILL GO BACK TO CONQUER MORE SUMMITS FOR THERE "AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH" THAT WE CANNOT REACH IF WE HAVE THE WILL TO DO IT.