The TNF, . . . .Anyone?@?!

Might as well call it, the Nasugbu Fear Factor, or rather, the Survivor Nasugbu Series . . . .anyone?@?!

The sacredness of the trail makes one exclaim with despair, should you not have the durability of a massive roadblock. As it rained throughout the hours before our twenty kilometer trail challenge (perhaps just to celebrate the ultramarathoners’ feats), it is to be expected that the trail is going to be yes, maputik. And thick in putik it all was. Thanks to Tricia (Chiongbian) for the anxiety-busting prayers she piloted before the race. At two-kilometers past the start, you could see runners stucked on mud and even some, going back to fetch their shoes, as it deemed better to run-away without them. Hee-hee. Midway, down my favorite bridge-trail (2x to-go round for 20k runners), you could hear Tricia’s running mates screeching adversity in their beloved English lingua. They’re right behind me. Then I had a stop-up, as the cutie-chinoy guy in front of me has a dilemma in climbing up the cliff, este, the hill. “Sir, is there traffic?” When he didn’t say anything, and discerning him openly in the eye, I knew then, he has a crisis. I excused myself to get ahead of him and started crawling up the abyss, este, hill-chocolatey. Which then he finally amassed the grit to follow. What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him. Ena balu kasi, scaredy-cat ku mu naman (what he doesn't know am one scaredy-cat too), oneng ana pin pareng (but according to buddy) Howard Behar (of Starbucks International), “What we face frees us.”;D Ing prublema, tikyan na nakung tikyan angga keng melili ku mu naman (the only problem is he followed me wherever I went until I found myself at a lost too, wahaha). Bala na siguru, aku ing kayang star to bethlehem (he may have thought me as his star to bethlehem).

Back at the camp, I had to rinse off the clay so as not to create a trail of bloody mud to the hotel. As I sat down for the hose, being interviewed to my right is a striking ultramarathoner (who made small talk after the interview), while to my left is a ten-km runner. “Miss, half-mara tinakbo mo? Naka-running shoes ka.” Meaning to say, I should have worn trail-shoes, as the North Face is after-all, trail-running (or was it, climbing?@?). Kayapin, mengadalusdus kaming wa poise La Greta king metung downhill track (me and La Greta rolled over one down hill track in disorder), with matching candid picture from a photo vendor. I heard La Greta at the background screaming, “Ididemanda kita pag pinalabas mo yan sa dyaryo!!” But of course, kidding only ya.;D