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"You know where the best paths lead to. Follow them." |
Never thought I would run a 100k race so early in the year.
I’ve been really taking it slow after my last race, TMBT in September 2018; spending time with the family and doing things outside of running (I just acquired my open water diving license!). Running is one of the things I like to do, but it’s not who I am. For me, off-season is the time I would take a break from running so I can give my legs a chance to recover, work on strengthening my core and lower body flexibility.
So, how did I stumble upon Four Lakes 100k (FL100)? Like all of us, when the year-end came, it was time to plan for a new year, a new season and a new adventure. I want to do a race before Ramadhan comes in May. Most 100k races in Malaysia are held in the second half of the year. Thus, I looked abroad for races in Hong Kong like 9 Dragons and Trans Lantau Ultra. Eventually, I had to set Hong Kong aside because it was not within my budget in that short span of time.
I heard Philippines have great trail ultras too and I have never been there before. I did my research on King of the Mountain Trail Run Philippines (KOTM) series which comprises five trail running events held in the vast Cordillera Mountain range in northern Philippines. All of the five events are held in the first half of the year starting with Mount Pack Ultra 50k in January and building up to the grand event of them all, Hardcore Hundred Miles in May. FL100 is one the events of the series held in February. Then, I came across a blog post about FL100 posted in 2016 by none other than Malaysia’s finest ultra-runner, Yim Heng Fatt at yimster.blogspot.com.
By this time, I already had my friend, Saufi who’s in for the ride and also will be running FL100. I read Yim’s post over and over again especially the logistic aspects. In 2016, Yim went with Zulfazli A.K.A Ultra Jol who I personally know, so I tracked Jol down into the wilderness forest where he would most likely to be at during the weekend and talked about his experience running FL100.
Day 1: Baguio 14/2/2019 (THU)
Saufi and I took the midnight Cebu Pacific flight to Manila. After almost a 2-hour delay, we boarded the plane for a 4-hour flight. Once we had arrived at Manila International Airport, we took a bus from the airport to go to Pasay bus terminal, where we should catch an interstate bus, Victory Liner to Baguio (as per recommended by yim’s blog).
However, we came off the bus a bit too soon at a different bus terminal from where we had intended to. There were no Victory Liner buses here but they have other bus operators like Genesis that still go to Baguio. Genesis offers standard and deluxe bus to Baguio (just like Victory Liner). For PHP730, the deluxe bus has more leg room, on board toilet, free Wi-Fi, blanket, snack and bottled water provided. The bus ride is about 5-6 hours with no stops.
We decided to spend one night in Baguio to check out the bustling mountain town and make the journey to Kayapa town tomorrow morning. This is your last chance to get anything that you may have left out to bring for the race such as headlamp batteries, medicines and a hot cup of Starbucks. Weather in Baguio and Kayapa is like Genting Highlands for us here living in Kuala Lumpur, make sure you bring some extra layers. Brrr.
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With Saufi, our first crack at Four Lakes 100K. |
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List of food at every aid station. |
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Home away from home at Tessie's Guesthouse. |
Day 3: Race day 16/2/2019 (SAT)
There are only two distance categories, Four Lakes 100k and Old Spanish Trail 50k (OST50), both starts at the same time. Only 99 runners for FL100 (5 from Malaysia) and 42 runners for OST50 toed the line. Small numbers compared to Malaysia capitalist ultra-marathon scene that goes up to an average of 4 distance categories per event to accommodate different level of trail runners which takes out the allure of the main event, 100km or 100 miles.
Aid station 1 (KM10): Bundao
Elevation gain: 753 m
Elevation loss: 61m
Time: 1:30:57
It’s show time! Countdown by the RD then off we went. My adrenaline rush got the best of me and I tried to run with the front pack. After 5 minutes in, I humbly settled into my pace. It was mostly uphill on the Talecabcab trail all the way to AS1. Nothing to see as it was still dark when I reached AS1. Timing is recorded manually by race marshals every time you come into an aid station. No timing chips, so no live tracking available.
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Before the start with fellow Malaysians. |
Aid station 2 (KM24): Domolpos
Elevation gain: 844 m
Elevation loss: 941 m
Time: 2:43:21
Then we went down to Ansipsip as the sun breaks over the horizon slowly brightening the trails and landscapes. I was cruising down the descents when my foot caught a small rock caused me to fell forward to the ground. Luckily, it wasn’t serious and I only left with a small bruise on my left knee. Then we proceed with a climb to the summit of Mount Ugo (2,150 masl). The summit opened up into an empty clearing that was disappointingly surrounded by trees that block any views that we should have had. On my way down, I bumped into Saufi who just started to make his ascend to the summit from the Bacuyan Junction. That was the last time I saw him for the entire race.
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The view before reaching Mt. Ugo. |
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At the summit of Mt. Ugo. |
Aid station 3 (KM35): Kayapa West
Elevation gain: 77 m
Elevation loss: 968 m
Time: 1:27:01
It was all downhill with runnable tracks heading into Kayapa West which was the lowest point of the course at 890 masl. I had been going for 6 hours and the hottest section of the course was up next under the afternoon heat. Runners at the aid station advised me to bring extra water. I already had 1 liter (500ml each) of softflask filled with water. I heeded their advice and took a third water bottle from my hydration vest and filled it with water. Every runner had to carry a minimum of 1.5 liter hydration capacity and it was one of the mandatory gears required for the race.
Aid station 4/drop bag (KM52): Castillo
Elevation gain: 1,055 m
Elevation loss: 587 m
Time: 3:45:46
The climb plus the heat all the way to the telco tower was very long and physically demanding. I was running low on water after passing the telco tower. Then I saw a man struggling maneuvering his motorbike with a huge water container tied to the rear of his bike. The guy turned up to be a race crew who was assigned to bring water up for runners on this route. Once I reached Castillo aid station, I heated up my ready-to-eat Kembara food which I had in my drop bag for a full meal.
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Buaca Lake, the only existing lake out of the four lakes. The rest have dried up and turned to grass field. |
Aid station 5 (KM68): Banao
Elevation gain: 1,139 m
Elevation loss: 906 m
Time: 4:36:56
It was straight to work after leaving Castillo aid station with another climb to the summit where lakes which this race was named after were located. However, I only saw 1 lake (Buaca Lake) which would be hard for me to miss since it was the only one that was still filled with water. The other 3 lakes have all dried up and turned into grass field which I was told later. Route markers towards Talmoy village were not great. Ribbon markers were too far apart from the last marker point and they were not clearly visible especially at crossroads. Several times I had to track back which frustrated me. By the time I reached Banao aid station, it was already dark and the temperature quickly dropped.
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Remaining daylight after leaving Talmoy village. Breathtaking! |
Day 4: Race day 17/2/2019 (SUN)
Aid station 6 (KM87): Dayap
Elevation gain: 1,090 m
Elevation loss: 1,025 m
Time: 5:49:35
Coming up next was the longest section (19k to the next and final aid station) of the race which took me well into the wee hours of the morning to complete. First, the long climb up Mount Pack to 2,177 masl (Mount Pack summit 2,284 masl) before the course shamefully cut us short of the trail leading towards the summit into a long technical mossy forest section. The mossy forest comes out at the back of Mount Pack then descend into an open downhill section before finally back on dirt roads. Trying to keep myself awake was the hardest part. There was no other runner for company. I have been running by myself for the good half of the night. I made a point to take a snooze at the next aid station.
Finish line (KM106): Kayapa Central School
Elevation gain: 585 m
Elevation loss: 1,050 m
Time: 4:39:28
When I left Dayap aid station, feeling somewhat fresh from my quick nap, I made a wrong turn down a concrete road to the right of the aid station which took me back about 400m. I went down that far before turning back because the inconsistency placing of the route markers earlier in the course had me thinking that this was another bad marking from the organiser. This time I was dead wrong, off the course completely and had wasted any energy I had gained from my rest earlier. When back up the concrete road to the aid station, asked the race crew for direction and also gave them a piece of my mind. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel when I reached Indupit and back on the same Talecabcab trail that we had climbed up at the start of the race. Then there was the main road down to Kayapa Central School, the finish line and Saufi with Jonel waiting. It has taken me the entire night to complete the second half of the race. I finished just after the sunrise in 26 hours and 29 minutes.
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GPS track of me getting lost at the last aid station. |
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Alhamdulillah. Hard earned finisher trophy of a warrior man made from wood by the locals. |
Total distance: 106 km
Total elevation gain: 5,543 m
Total elevation loss: 5,538 m
Total time: 26:28:00
Recorded using Garmin Forerunner 935
OFFICIAL RESULTS: FOUR LAKES 100K
Cut-off: 30:00:00 hours
Rank: 35/72
Time: 26:29:09
Registrants: 102
Starters: 99
Did Not Start: 3
Did Not Finish: 27
Success Rate 2019: 72/99 = 73% *
Success Rate 2018: 87/104 = 84% *
Success Rate 2017: 147/192 = 77%
Success Rate 2016: 128/133 = 96%
Source: frontrunnermagph.com
* Updated route now includes the ascent to Mount Pack trailhead (2200 masl) via Cabayo.
Kit list**:
Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap
Compressport headband
Buff
Goodr shades
Salomon Trail Runner tee
Outdoor Research Sun Sleeves
Quechua NH100 Rain Jacket
Instinct Evolution Trail Vest 7L
Naked Running Band
Salomon shorts
T8 Commando running underwear
Compressports R2V2 compression calf sleeves
Injinji socks
Salomon S-lab Sense Ultra
Black Diamond Distance FLZ trekking poles
** All items are paid for out of my own pocket
