Sky-high run

MANILA, Philippines - Over a hundred high-altitude runners participated in the Pilipinas Akyathlon: The Philippine International SkyRace last Feb. 18 at Mt. Ugo in Barangay Tinongdan, Itogon in Benguet province. Most of the runners were from Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Bicol and the Cordillera Administrative Region. One expat came all the way from Australia, two from Kenya and nine were runner-delegates from Malaysia.

According to Nina Patricia Dacanay, president of the Philippine Skyrunning Association (PSA), the extreme sport and fast-growing discipline of skyrunning, or high-altitude running above 2,000 meters, has finally been organized on a worldwide level in the Philippines. As the official member-organization of the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF), PSA now has more clout to continue with its goals of bringing together people interested in trail- and high-altitude running for nature watch, training and education, event management and the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle as well as in advocating responsible stewardship of natural resources, particularly the mountains.

Pilipinas Akyathlon, from the Filipino word “akyat” meaning “to climb,” is part of the 2012 SkyRunner World Series Trials. With point-by-point race announcements over loudspeakers ably provided by PSA director & vice president for marketing Ramon Marchan, the Akyathlon is a 33-km out-and-back race where all participants negotiated the first 1.7-km downhill jog on paved road and the mostly uphill run to the summit with a total elevation gain of 1858 m and loss of 195 m. The turnaround point at the summit is 2162 masl.

The scenic route navigated pine forest trails which led to the vantage point with magnificent views of surrounding mountains and portions of Binga and Ambuklao dams. From the summit, the skyrunners passed through the 16.4-km route which concluded with a 1.7-km (280 m vertically) ascend to the finish line at the Tinongdan Barangay Hall. 

Cut-off time for finishers was eight hours for the entire route, which normally takes three days to complete on a regular hiking trip with overnight camping or home stays with the local community.   

In a statement read by Regional Director Purificacion Suanding-Molintas of the Department of Tourism-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOT-CAR), Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. extolled the Akyathlon for promoting Mt. Ugo as a major hiking destination and in bringing ecotourism, nature and adventure tourism in the Philippines on a global scale.

“With the event’s successful staging and the sports’ increasing popularity, we shall work for an annual competition here because we now believe that skyrunning at Mt. Ugo can be number one for fun and it’s more fun in the Philippines,” the Secretary added.  

In the male category, 26-year-old Kenyan Eliud Kprugut Kering ruled the race over-all by being the first to reach Mt. Ugo’s summit at one hour, 55 minutes and 38 seconds. He finally clocked in at three hours, 42 minutes and 36 seconds at the finish line despite losing his way and taking a longer route downhill for the race.

His compatriot, Jackson Chirchir, came in second and Malaysian delegate Saffrey Sumping was fourth, with respective finish times of 3:46:08 and 4:01:14.

Mario Maglinao of Albay was third at 3:59:46. “I could have won if I did not accidentally slip on a rock and had to rest for a while due to leg cramps,” the 24-year-old Maglinao said in an interview while resting. Unlike the government-sponsored Kenyans, this strong-willed Bicolano youth trained by himself and supported his own trip to Mt. Ugo.

For the female category, Malaysian Kuilin “Danny” Gongot bested the others with a time of 2:33:07 for the summit reach and 4:29:16 for overall finish. The 44-year-old Gongot, a rubber tapper in Sabad, is the defending champion of the Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon. She thought that the 2,150-m Mt. Ugo was easier to scale than the 4,095-m Mt. Kinabalu, which has a steeper terrain and is the highest peak in Southeast Asia.

Aussie Julie Green and Filipino Olympian mountain biker-cyclist Baby Marites Bitbit settled for second and third places with times of 4:44:39 and 5:11:44, respectively. 

As the top Filipino finishers, Maglinao and Bitbit received all expenses paid trips to represent the Philippines in October in the 2012 Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon in Sabah, Malaysia.

Other noteworthy race finishers were Senator Pia Cayetano and Leo Oracion, the first Filipino to ascend Mt. Everest. They admitted their reasons for joining were mainly for fun and well-being. Sixty-six-year-old Brigido Balaba and 17-year-old Josiah Ballagan both won first place in their respective age groups of 60 up and 17 below.

Salomon, maker of the best trail-running shoes, has disclosed that it is sponsoring Ballagan to the Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon due to his amazing performance and immense potential.

A native of Mt. Tabayoc, Kabayan, Benguet and a freshman student in Industrial Technology, Ballagan is the youngest winner and fifth overall finisher at 4:05:40. His toes, however, bled during the race for wearing worn-out running shoes.

ROX althlete Pen Nepomuceno, Tinondang local favorite Gretchen Felipe and Mt. Pulag guide Belina Libag ranked first, second and third in the 18-29 age group for females. Forty-three-year-old Monina Tam-od won for the 40 above group. 

Although disappointed for not having made it to the top three, Itogon residents Marcelo Bautista, Joel Bengtay, James Tellias and Dino Mantilez admitted that the race was tough and brutal, especially when they reached the cold, windy and cloudy summit followed by the dry and hot downhill run. It will, however, serve as good training ground for future competitions. These four athletes placed sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth over-all, respectively.

All top six winners were awarded trophies and gift certificates while all 69 finishers received Benguet specially hand-crafted medals.

“We are happy that the Akyathlon was enthusiastically supported by the DOT-CAR, DENR-CAR, and the local government units of Benguet, Itogon and Tinongdan. Private sector assistance was extended by ROX, Salomon, Rope Access Services & Consulting Inc., High Angle Rescue Team of the Philippines, Duty-Free Philippines, and our beneficiary, the Cordillera Conservation Trust, which made this a green event as we endeavor to help reduce waste or non-essential resources in the region,” Dacanay stated. 

In his speech during the awarding ceremony, Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan rallied the local people’s involvement in tourism development, but in a responsible, ethical, and sustainable way. Such tourism fosters wholesome intercultural exchanges between residents and visitors as well as the increase of decent jobs and livelihood.  

Itogon Mayor Oscar Camantiles enthused that he has been working closely with Tinongdan barangay chairman Benjamin Medina for the tourism programs of the locality as the barangay is the municipal seat of cultural heritage and natural wonders. Even with Mt. Ugo as one of the prime attractions – especially for the forthcoming 10th Mt. Ugo Climb on March 30 to April 1 – Tinongdan has other tourist attractions including Binga dam and its six gateways; other forested mountains; flowing rivers and streams; plantations of fruits, vegetables and flowers; rice terraces, caves, tunnels, quaint human and animal footbridges, old-world houses of vernacular architecture, traditional gold panning and, of course, the local Kalanguya tribe’s native heritage and their simple, warm and humble ways.

Tinongdan is 45 minutes from Baguio City via zigzag, and at times rugged, roads. It is one of the nine barangays of Itogon town, which has a population of 48,778 people over a total land area of 450 sq. km. These tourist attractions are spread out over the entire barangay and will need a good trek to reach them.   

For more information, please call the DOT-CAR at telefax (6374) 442-8848, e-mail [email protected] or PSA at tel (632) 566-4956, e-mail [email protected].