Take 2 at Club Punta Fuego?

CPFI in cooperation with Mizuno, presents the “10th Anniversary Sunset Run” on 13 December 08 (Sunday) at Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas.

Members and guests take on the peninsula’s challenging terrain as they run amidst the spectacular view of South China Sea.

Entry Fees as follows:

* P500 – Pre-registered Club Member
* P650 – Members who register on site
* P650 – Invited Guests

Inclusions are Race Kits, Giveaways, Awarding Dinner Buffet at the Lower Beach, Finisher Shirts for those who complete the race course and exciting prizes for race and raffle winners.

For inquiries and registration, please contact 7514025 to 27 or info@clubpuntafuego.com.ph

[view course map]

The North Face 100

[Pictures courtesy of TNF100.com]

We had just come back from one helluva race… THE NORTH FACE 100. It was a trail run only for those who had the guts to dare 100km of rugged terrain, to be completed within 30 hours. Take a look at pictures of the course.

The event was held in Nasugbu Batangas, within the premises of Evercrest, Golf and Country Club. There were also 10, 20, and a 2x50k relay event. Coach Ruel Ano did the 2x50k relay event and they won first place! Coach Jan (current 800m Philippine record holder won 5th place for 20k and Coach Rio got 6th place).

[Thanks to Coach Rio’s for the pictures]

Fuego! [ Part 2 – road trip ]

Our trip to Punta Fuego is now added to the list of places I’ve gone on a road trip to. First it was Los Baños, then Tagaytay. Now Nasugbu, Batangas. Getting to Club Punta Fuego by public transportation was relatively easy but it was kinda expensive.

We started the road trip by getting to the bus terminal in Pasay near the Taft MRT Station. The bus ride cost us P165 all the way to Nasugbu, Batangas. We left the terminal at around 4:00pm and got to the town proper of Nasugbu at around 8:00pm. The trip would have been shorter by 2 hours if it weren’t for all the stops the bus had to take.

Upon reaching the final stop, we asked the locals how to get to Club Punta Fuego. They said that the only way to get there way by jeepney or tricycle. Since it was already late, there were no more jeepneys. I was surprised to find out how much the tricycle ride cost… P300! When I heard this, I started texting my friends who have a place at Punta Fuego and asked if it were really that far and if that ride really cost that much.

Since I wasn’t too keen on spending P300 for a tricycle ride, we decided to have dinner first. We started walking around the town looking for a carinderia since we were trying to save our money. We had to save enough money to cover for our transportation going back to Manila and our contribution for the house we were going to stay at. Everywhere we’d turn, tricycle drivers would ask us where we were going and if we wanted to get them to take us there. I think my huge backpack was a giveaway that we were transients.

After going around for about 30 minutes, an insistent tricycle driver finally got us to say yes… aside from the fact that our companions had just left Manila. It would take them 2 more hours before they got to Nasugbu so riding with them to the Club was out of the question. We got the tricycle driver to lower his offer of P300 down to P230. He even said that we could adjust the price if we thought it was too expensive but we had to see the terrain and the distance first. We agreed.

On our to the club, the P230 fare was bugging me. I think it was the most expensive tricycle ride I’ve ever been on. As we were going up, I realized how far it was and we went through rolling hills. Think Ayala Heights or White Plains. By the time we got to the main gate of the Club, I felt that the tricycle ride was well worth it… only to find out from the caretaker that the usual fare for locals was only P150!

We stayed at this beautiful house along Long Beach drive. It had a spectacular view of the beach (which we only got to see the following day). Thank you to Nana Mayen Ordovesa and her family for accommodating us for the weekend. We had a wonderful time!

Right after the run, we went to the Lower Beach Club for the awarding ceremonies and brunch. We took several pictures but… SOME ACCIDENTALLY ERASED ALL OUR PICS IN THE DIGICAM… Grrr 😛 You know who you are!

After lunch, we took an hour to nap then had some lunch then headed straight to Terrazas Beach Club. They also had an “infinity pool” which seems as if it extends to the sea.

I’ll post pics soon 🙂

Fuego! [ Part 1 ]

I wonder what Rizal was thinking right before the captain shouted “FUEGO!” In any case, makes me wonder if it’s anything close to what I felt when I saw the hills at Club Punta Fuego… they’re MURDER. Hehe

Well, luckily the organizers changed the route last minute the night before since they realized that the inclines were just too steep. According to Marj, one of the communications managers of Fuego, they didn’t want to traumatize the first time runners with steep hills. They wanted to make them enjoy the run.

The view was fantastic. The weather was ok, not perfect, but still better than running the polluted streets of Manila.

[singlepic=428,150,,,center]

[singlepic=416,,100,,center]

[singlepic=415,150,,,center]

[singlepic=419,150,,,center

[Pictures Courtesy of Marj from Club Punta Fuego]

Subic Run

The last time I was in Subic, I participated in the 1st Subic International Marathon. It was a memorable event for me since it was what triggered my running addiction. I ran 10k with an official time of 01:15:26. It was my first 10k and after that, I got hooked.

This weekend, I was there for a planning seminar and I couldn’t stand the idea of not being able to run. As I got into SBMA, I was already thinking of where I would run. Would I use the same route as the Subic International Marathon or make a new one altogether? I also had flashbacks of our experiences last time I was there, like miscalculating the distance and going full speed from Petron, only to find out that we don’t turn at Remy Field but instead take a turn 2 blocks after… miscalculating the last segment by over 1km… Haha! I was waaaaay off! Explains why I found myself slow jogging to the finish line.

As we headed up to the Biniktikan cottages and Subic homes, I measured the distance. From the “guard house” where the golf course starts, I measured 4.5km until reaching Brent International School. So doing a turn around, that would be 9km. Good enough for my Sunday run.

We got to Subic Saturday morning at around 10am, looked for accommodations and went shopping. I finally got myself a pair of Nike running shorts! I got them for only P732 when they normally cost at least P1,295. We had our planning the entire day and ending up at 2am of Sunday. I felt it was going to be difficult to be able to wake up… true enough I woke up 7 hours later at 9am. Nevertheless, I decided to run still.

That Sunday morning, from Grand Seasons Hotel and Casino (where we ended up staying) I took a walk to Petron to have breakfast. I think it was a good 2.5 kms. It was already 10am by that time I did my warm-up jog from Petron to the Golf Course, I think that was another good 2km. Then ran up to Brent International School. That was 4.5km. By the time we got to the 5km mark, it was already high noon.

I found out that there was no public transportation inside Subic. Either that or I just didn’t chance on any. With about 9-10km back to the Hotel, there was no way I’d run all the way back under the heat of a the high noon sun… I walked my way back. (Should’ve woke up at 5am and ran at 6am… hehe)

All in all, the run was good, but it could’ve been definitely better.

A running adventure… UP Los Baños, Tagaytay

I had a running adventure with my friend Ivan. The plan was to go on a road trip to UP Los Baños to be able to run on campus, then head up to Tagaytay the next day to run from Sta. Rosa all the way up to Tagaytay. The adventure started when it started to rain cats and dogs. We left my house in Parañaque around 4pm (originally, we were supposed to leave 1pm, but the rain would not let us). We found our way to Buendia to take a Bus en route to Sta. Cruz. We didn’t know that there was a terminal somewhere near the Buendia MRT station that we boarded a bus that was passing through EDSA. We ended up standing for over 2 hours for the duration of the trip and we were freezing! The bus air-conditioner was hitting us straight in the face, as well as our hands as we were trying our best not to fall over as the bus was moving. The trip seemed longer than it actually was! When we got to Los Baños, it was already 8:30pm. No way we could run anymore.