Salomon XTrail Pilipinas 2014 (tourist on trail)

Nothing but thumbs up for the recently concluded Salomon XTrail Pilipinas 2014. Runners of varying level of capabilities surely enjoyed the challenge of real "Salomon Experience".

My fear of joining Salomon XTrail for the very first time which is known  for its notoriously challenging route made me settle on its shortest category. A wise decision for me opting to just enjoy its scenery as it exhibits the grandness of Hamilo Coast in Nasugbo Batangas.

photo grabbed from http://www.hamilocoast.com

Center: Celebrity bloggers
Sides: celebrity photographers

For the n'th time, I'm new to running! my excitement to run on this event resulted to sleep deprivation. But lack of sleep couldn't keep my adrenaline from rushing upon arrival. We came in Hamilo Coast half an hour earlier than the first gun start. Thanks to Titanium Runner for arranging our own ride c/o John with two more running friends. Our spare time gives us the liberty to stretch our legs by roaming around the venue prior to racing. I enjoyed mingling with some running friends since 6K runners were last to run off the starting line.

Every category were reminded to have their own hydration and safety gears as a prelude to each gun start. With annoying repetition, the race director couldn't emphasize enough that hydration stations were only located on strategic places for "refills". True enough, anyone (if there's any) who missed this reminder, was surely dehydrated.

The hardcore runners were probably up on the mountains. Surmounting the high degree of difficulty of Salomon XTrail mountain run while the 6K trail runners leave the starting line. Its a common feast of runners wherein first-time trail-runners can easily be spotted - they sprint like its a 400 meter dash without any sign of letting-up.

From road to sand of Hamilo Coast, I tried to run but can only trudge on the sand. The rocky part before the first trail is short. But then again, those who discounted the fact that this part is highly technical found themselves scratched or bruised.

Leaving the coast leads to a developed echo trail site. The loose soils made slips and butt-fall a common scene among participants. On this point onward, trail shoes suddenly became necessity. Salomon trail gears will surely improve an athlete's performance on this turf. (Who knows, if only I had a pair, I could have made it to the cut-off time. lol!). But since i don't have the proper shoes for the occasion, my experiences on trails comes into play.  ;)  (boom! yabang!)

The long line of participants trekking on a steep climb gives me an excuse not to run. hahaha! On that tourist's pace, the cut-off time of 1.5 hours was set there for nothing.

Reaching the peak and experiencing its grand view makes all the hardship worth the effort. I was hoping that my spouse was there with me to celebrate life like we usually does.

After climbing for almost an hour, we reached this scenic peak.

 

The Event (my personal opinion)

Location : spectacular view, very challenging route

Gun start : Precise on schedule

Hydration : low land or upland? :D reasonable

Runners safety : More than enough medical personnel and equipment. 

Distance : 6K category is almost exact. (based on my Garmin)

I'd love to be back next year for a longer distance.

Gangters! As how Rodel would put it :)

Twas not my first to  join such challenging outdoor endurance sports. However, my lack of training for more than a year keeps me from pushing my body to its limit. Now I'm hoping that I could gradually build my strength and soon be more engaging to the sport rather than being a tourist on trail.