The final 150-meter mud crawl before Conquering. (photo courtesy of Photo-Ops FB)
TAGUIG CITY – It was worth the wait as “Conquer 2013: The Urban Adventure” finally unfolded last Sunday (May 5) at the Bonifacio Global City. Not your usual fun run, the 12, six and three-kilometer courses featured obstacles and surprise challenges that tested the participants’ overall fitness and willpower.
Similar events have been held before but I have kept distance until Sunday. Actually, the decision to sign up was made only a day before the deadline of entries.
Before Sunday, the only obstacle courses I have tackled were the simple ones of around 100 meters or so during parties or school intramurals. The original plan was just to visit and observe the race because of another fun run scheduled at the same venue the night before.
Another plan was to just run 12 kilometers straight, skip the obstacles and forget about the finishers’ dog tag. Suddenly, the competitive juices began to flow upon seeing the organizing Without Limits staff pour water on the mud crawl trail so it meant a quick jog back to the car (where I slept overnight in the parking lot) to change shoes in anticipation of the muddy finale.
As the gun start shattered the morning calm, the pack sprinted towards the first obstacle at the end of 8th Avenue, a horizontal wall climb. Apparently, the two walls were too small to accommodate the horde of runners that a long line developed prompting some to just skip the obstacle and risk disqualification.
The wall climb was the only obstacle that posed a problem. The rest of the obstacles and challenges went smoothly as the field began to spread out with the faster runners breaking away.
A few meters after successfully climbing the wall, the next challenge came at the opposite lane wherein one must carry a sandbag that weighed approximately two kilos for the stretch of 8th Avenue. Runners used different techniques to carry the load but regardless, having an extra two kilos while running a slight uphill can be very tedious.
Next was a Duck Walk along Rizal Drive. It is tough to suddenly squat and walk like a duck after running for several kilometers as one’s legs suddenly has to make a drastic adjustment.
The next two stations are modified staples of obstacle courses during school intramurals – going through a row of tires and crossing a balance beam. One had to climb up and down a flatbed truck after completing the tires while the balance beam was a zigzag.
Before the dirty ending. (photo courtesy of http://www.pinoyfitness.com)
Hydration stations served Optimum Nutrition Essential Amino Energy, a fruit-flavored drink loaded with amino acids. This is my first time to try the product and I can say it did help considering I had just completed a competitive race eight hours earlier.
Still, the arguably toughest challenge was yet to be revealed. Somewhere near 11th Avenue, a team of marshal held sewing needles waiting for a strand of thread to pass through its eye in order to earn the fifth and final ribbon, a challenge indeed because I was not wearing eyeglasses!
There was still one final station near the British School wherein one has to perform lunges for a few meters then it was off to the finish line. In between obstacles, I tried to run as fast as possible in order to make up for the time lost trying to complete them.
The final mud crawl trail was uneven so the strategy was to look for the areas with lesser moisture. Organizers suggested that participants wear gloves during the race to help negotiate the obstacles and the gloves came in handiest during the mud crawl.
I had a pair of knee pads in my bag and it was the worst time to forget about them as my knees received a few cuts along the way. Dirty, bleeding and tired, there was only one thing on my mind upon finishing the race and receiving the dog tag – let’s do this again!
The fun was only beginning. A water truck provided a makeshift open shower room as the mud seemed to be a unifying agent among the almost 1,000 runners present and a good number stayed behind awaiting the raffle for iPads and other handsome prizes from sponsors.
Elated with the success of Conquer 2013, title sponsor Optimum Nutrition dropped hints of a possible follow up event. Did I hear a vertical marathon on one of Metro Manila’s skyscrapers?
Conquer Manila 2013 is definitely a welcome break from the weekly fun runs that pass basically the same roads in BGC and other running hubs like the Mall of Asia and Roxas Boulevard. I never back down from a challenge and I can proudly shout that I have conquered!
Thank you again to the management and staff of Without Limits Philippines for making our participation possible.
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