02 June 2011

NEW PLAYGROUND & ACHTUNG!


ACHTUNG!

Calling all trail runners, guides, even soldiers, fugitives from law, insurgents (joke) and others who have knowledge of the trail that connects Clark to Subic via San Marcelino, Zambales based on the post of the anonymous in the comment section below. Please email me. Thanks. Cheers.
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Oh my. It has been a while since I posted here. Why? For several reasons. Foremost of which is there was nothing significant to write about. Although I am quite busy now training for UTMB which is slated on 26August of this year.

Speaking of training, I am happy to note that I have the pleasure of running at my new playground inside Clark for the past month or so. It is just a few minutes away from where I work and live. Very convenient indeed. 

The place is called Donggwang (formerly True North). The area covers more than 300 hectares of rolling hilly terrain. Sorry, I am not allowed to divulge more than I should. Anyway, it is being developed now. It has trail paths rising to several hundreds of feet in a few minutes of climb. It is still under construction but what it lacks in distance, it makes up in elevation. Good enough for me for my weekday training. However for weekend long runs, nothing beats Miyamit to Pinatubo for its sheer distance and elevation. With these training grounds, I am confident it will serve me well for UTMB.

To break the monotony, I will just mix my training by joining in some of upcoming trail races as training runs. Closest race is a 50K (over 50K I was told) on 18 June 2011 - the Valley Trail Challenge at Nuvali. Thanks to Jonel for the registration. Some friends and teammates will join me as well. I am tempted also to run the Manila International Marathon one week after Valley Trail. If things pan out, I might head out to Cagayan de Oro for the CDO-Dahilayan ultra race. This will be in July. Of course, my ultimate run prior to UTMB will be the Sapang Uwak-Miyamit-Pinatubo and back. A long  run of 8-10 hours. Sarap! :)     

Yesterday, I invited some members of Team Clark to join me for a quick climb/run at Donggwang after office and here are the pictures. Perhaps, we can have a race here later this year. More details on this.

Cheers,
Jon (steadily getting back the groove)

Start


At the peak. Clark Expo and Sacobia at the background

That is Mt. Arayat over the horizon


Mt. Pinatubo behind them.

Albert with his sons, Renz and Pot, Boss Red, Boni, Precy and Noel.

I can't wait for this trail to finish.


13 comments:

  1. nice training ground, indeed! maybe, we should connect clark and subic through mountain trails! that would be fun! good luck on your UMTB training.

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  2. atty jon, pwede ka ng mag start ng run from clark to sapang uwak now, alam ko na ung trail from sapang bato going to sapang uwak, sabi ng mga locals na nakausap ko nung dipa pumutok ang pinatubo dati palang dinadaanan ng mga americano ung trail pag gusto nila lumabas ng clark...puro sapa nga lang dadaanan mo hehehe...

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  3. @BR - Jerry Guiao is raving about this trail connecting Clark to Sapang Uwak (Crow Creek) to Miyamit to Pinatubo. (I spoke to some of the locals here and they say there really exists a trail). My initial assessment is roughly 35-40K one way. Now if we can connect all these trails all the way to Subic, the possibilities are endless. I'll work on this while training for UTMB. We are looking at the first 100-mile trail race in the Philippines.

    @Jerry - What are we waiting for? Set the schedule and let's go! I'll invite some runners who I am sure are bored as well running the same place always.

    Cheers guys!

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  4. @BR - I am sure you know this already. I was told you and Jerry have talked about this.

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  5. there's indeed a trail connecting Clark to San Marcelino Zambales all the way to Subic.

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  6. @Anonymous - You did not mention your name. Anyway, if you know the way, I am willing to spend several days (weekend of course) just to explore this trail. This is exciting. Thanks Anonymous.

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  7. Nice trail. That must be a long walk.The road seems okay, not bad at all. Where is this place?

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  8. My sources confirm a "third" trail accessing Mt. Pinatubo from Subic.
    > billy_sj

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  9. atty jon...

    -open ba sa public ung dongwa trail?

    -maganda yung plano mong clark-subic via san marcelino at yung clark-sapang bato- sapang uwak-miyanit...dame palang trail routes diyan sa clark...yung mga locals cguro sa sapang bato..alam nila ung daan diyan..(diba meron ruta sa sapang bato going up to mt pinatubo? pero halos tubig/ilog ang dadaanan mo daw)

    Thanks,

    junar

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  10. @JJ - Am unsure if it is open to public as the place is under security. They only allow me because I work in Clark and only by leave of the head security. Opening it to public at this point may pose security and health concern.

    About this trail, I will check this out after Trail Valley race. Cheers.

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  11. @junar, hindi ka makakarating ng Mt. Pinatubo kung dadaan ka ng Sapang Bato trail, pag lampas mo ng hot spring ay dead end na.. ang ilog na sinasabi mong trail up to Mt. Pinatubo ay sa Pasig Potrero Porac..

    @atty jon, 2 ung trail from clark to subic,#1 ung sa Clark-Porac to Mt. Pinatubo via Pili Lake, San Marcelino to Subic at ung #2 trail ay from Clark-Porac to Florida-Batiawan, Subic Zambales.

    jerry

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  12. @Jerry - Let trace the route in segments after Valley Trail race. So I am looking at the dates June 25, 26 (If Manila Marathon is a no go), July 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 23, 24, 30, 31 and first weekends of August. These are all Saturdays and Sundays. I am okay doing it back-to-back. We can invite other runners.

    Okay to you? Cheers.

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  13. salamat po sir jerry and atty jon sa info( i thought ung ilog sa abacan will lead to mt pinatubo)...

    maganda ung plano mo atty jon na trace routing ng clark-subic trail routes...

    junar

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