RockenRun: Hooked on Asphalt

I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to run the 2nd BDM test run even if I am not participating on the race itself. This is my first attempt at an ultra-marathon and I’m glad I tried it.

With the strong CAMANAVA Runners

50K in 7:56:40

When we arrived at the Bataan shrine in Mariveles, it felt quite different, considering that the first time I have been here , it was dark … because the 1st BDM strarted at midnight.

The 1st 7 kilometers were well, very difficult, most runners (me included) walked the up hills.  We were very lucky last Saturday that the weather was a bit overcast, because had it been sunny all throughout, I may not have been able to finish the race.

Now I understand what Isko says when he speaks about attitude and mental toughness … having completed a couple of full marathons, I thought that running for 8 more kilometers would be easy – I was wrong!

My easy pace became  difficult,  my target times – lost … I was worried that after 4 hours, I haven’t even reached the 30 KM mark. In fact, I had doubts that I will be able to complete this daunting task.

Then, it all came to me – the reason why we were all doing this :  to pay tribute to those brave souls who marched these same streets of death more than half a century ago.

After all, who am I compared to them? What is running a mere 50 kms compared to the distance our martyrs have traveled? Who am I to complain?

102 kilometers may just be a moment in a poet’s play, but for me this is as real as it gets.

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