I "Survived" the Merrell Adventure Run 2011!

Nope, I'm not a runner and I wasn't a participant in the Merrell Adventure Run (MAR). Nevertheless, I'm still saying I survived! :p 

See, I haven't slept much two nights before the run and I didn't sleep at all the night before. I had a full day of work (magazine interview, press con, etc.) and came home around midnight from covering the Miley Cyrus concert. By then, there was no point of sleeping (and risking not being able to wake up) because hubby planned to leave for San Mateo Rizal at 2:30 a.m.

Timberland is higher than the clouds!

So I just worked and did some catching up with my backlogs while waiting for hubby's cellphone alarm to wake him up. I was already dead tired but was determined to be there and cheer my husband on since this is his first trail run and I'd like him to bring home not only memories but photos as well. So we left home around 3 a.m., took a bus to Commonwealth and, from there, a taxi to Timberland Heights.

Despite my exhaustion, I was glad I came. The place is fantastic! We were literally above the clouds from up there. More than a thousand people were milling about when we arrived and the 21km runners were already being prepped for their run.

Hubby joined the 5km race and the gun shot sounded at 6:15 a.m. Here's the video I took of the participants when they started running.

While waiting for my husband to cross the finish line, I walked around the various stalls and chatted with several members of the Merrell team. I also took photos of the amazing views.

According to the press release I was given, the Merrell Adventure Run 2011 was by far the toughest, most challenging, and most exciting off-road and all-foot adventure run because there are untamed trails, river crossings, boulder-strewn pathways, and rocky roads to push the limits of the 1500+ runners who signed up for the race. 

waiting for gun start

The run aims to heighten Filipinos' awareness about the need for a healthy lifestyle and to enjoy the green outdoors our country has to offer. But unlike typical runs done on paved roads, the MAR gave runners a tough time with all the natural and man-made obstacle courses and roadblocks. It was really a test of skill, endurance, and fitness.

Hubby finished at 40 minutes 7 seconds. According to the unofficial results at Pace Book (I love the name!), he ranked 66 among the 800+ runners in his category. Not bad for a first trail run. I'll leave it to him to give more details of his experience. You can visit his blog post at http://trailsunlimited.blogspot.com.

photo op only :)

By the time we got on the bus that will take us back to Bonifacio Global City, I was drained. I fell asleep as soon as I sat down and reclined my chair. I woke up groggy when we reached Taguig and felt like a zombie as we waited for a BGC bus to Edsa and then another bus back to Alabang.

I called the Jollibee Delivery hotline before reaching home so I won't have to cook lunch. Wonders of wonder, the delivery guy arrived the same time as the tricycle we were riding pulled up in front of our house. It just took him 17 minutes to deliver the food! Nice!

The thing is, as hubby and the kids started eating lunch, I told them I'll take a quick nap first. Guess what, I woke up the NEXT morning! I think I slept for about 15 hours and I'm so grateful that hubby took care of the kids and everything else while I was sleeping my fatigue away. Thank goodness there are trade offs for being a supportive spouse :) 

For more details about the MAR, visit Merrell Philippines' Facebook page. For more of the photos I took, please check out the MAR album uploaded in this blog's Facebook page.