This was no ordinary ultra. As if the 65km distance was not hard enough, the route also goes up and down Cebu's mountains (800m elavation). By the time you get down from the mountains (at 40 kms), it's blistering hot, and you still had 25kms to go.
I'm very happy that I made it. I've been waiting/wanting to run this ultra since last year. I almost didn't run it, due to knee and shin injuries I incurred this January to late February. And it was also too late to train, and I didn't get the mileage that I wanted to feel prepared for the race. But I made up for it. By March I was back to my weekly runs, then I got to run two half marathons, then I did two LSDs on the actual race route. After that 2nd LSD, I knew I was going to be able to finish the race, and I did.
I'm still sad that Rose and Mark didn't make it. They worked so hard for this race. But I'm also very glad that Armie pushed on even after the cutoff. And also to Odina and our new found running member Stacey for finishing at the exact cutoff time. Jade blew us all away for finishing at the top 3 in women's category.
Ultra thanks to our support crew, and also to all support crews that day (I think I asked for a sponge from every one of them). Special thanks to JD for pacing with me on his bike from km 30-ish until the end. Thanks also to Balamban and Toledo locals who offered water when I was near fainting from the heat. I wouldn't have made it to 11 hours without all of them.
