Falling in Love with Trail Running

July 22, 2011

After running and racing city streets for the longest time, my legs were becoming road-weary.  I felt the urge for a change of scenery and discover new running routes – off the beaten path.   And so I signed up for the 3^rd leg of the Columbia Eco Trail Run.  I almost knew nothing about the race, except that the starting line will be at the Guadalupe Church and runners will traverse the trails of Barangay Kalunasan.

On Saturday morning I showed up at the starting line, I felt out of place in my in my short split shorts and runner’s long bra.  Almost all the women and most of the male runners were wearing throw-away tights, long sleeves or arm warmers.  We were less than 100 runners.

During the briefing we were told that runners had to bring their own water, the race route was 12.5KM and that the cut-off time is 5 hours.  Five hours for a 12K race?  Why would you need that much time to finish 12.5K?

Three hours and 10 minutes after, I got my answers.  If you’re a new runner, you would probably need all of five hours where more than 50% of the route involved technical ascents and steep down hills, tricky and slipper ridge walk, jungle trek with grass, plants and foliage up to your neck, and two water (stream) crossing.  The tights and arm warmers were protection from mud and nasty cuts during the jungle trek.

When I reached the top of Barangay Kalunasan just before the turnaround point, I understood why the band of runners who showed at the starting line paid P350 registration without any complaints for a race with no water station and with only shirts (and no cash) as prizes for the top 3 males and females.  The view of the city from an elevation higher than the Transcentral Highway was priceless.  As I stood there, my eyes felt misty.  I breathed, took it all in and felt truly happy to be alive and healthy enough to make the climb and see the city that I love like I’ve never seen it before.    

Photo credit: J. Robles 

There will be a 4^th leg of the Columbia Eco Trail Run.  If you wish to experience for yourself the magic of trail running, consider these trail running tips I gathered (albeit belatedly) from the web:

   Run on roads for a while before moving to trails. It helps to have a base level of fitness before you attempt your first trail run.

Wear trail-running shoes, and dress in high-performance running clothes that are appropriate for all potential weather conditions.

Prepare by eating and drinking the proper things before and during your run.

 Run on trails that are suitable to your level of fitness. Choose flat trails if you're a beginner or more challenging trails if you're an experienced runner.

Pace yourself. Save energy for the miles ahead.

 Slow down on steep climbs. Many experienced trail runners "power walk" steep sections and make up the lost time on flats and downhill slopes.

 Stay in control on steep descents - keep your head up, control your speed and avoid obstacles.

 Take water and some gels because it will take longer than you think.

 Leave the trail as you found it.  Don't leave your gel packs, plastic bags, gum, gum wrappers, banana peels or anything else.