Our Trail Run To Mt. Manalmon

Running buddy June Santiago didn’t mind making the two-hour drive from Quezon City to San Miguel, Bulacan and i didn’t mind tagging along with him as all i was thinking was getting my hands on some of the town’s famous pastillas and their crispy chicharon-laman (pork rinds) when we get there.

Super special “suntok-batok” chicharon

No, we didn’t travel this far just to buy these delicacies. June had this idea of scaling a mountain peak and running the trails that led to it. Mt. Manalmon in Sitio Madlum, San Miguel, Bulacan offered some great sights and the trails along the way offered a little bit of everything. Gorgeous river ponds, boulders, rock formations, mostly single-track technical trails, river crossings, rocky ascent climbs and a hosts of many other delights nature has to offer.

A young boy, named Jerome acted as our guide and he kept insisting to run and climb with us even if we repeatedly told him that we could manage the climb ourselves.  Before we arrived, June and i took breakfast of congee, eggs, bread, tofu and coffee at a small restaurant near the entrance of the Biak-na-Bato shrine and this fueled us up  for our run and climb up Mt. Manalmon.

The run-climb up this mountain just took about 5kms one way but it had one of the most treacherous trails i had ever done. Good thing, i was wearing a new trail shoe for review, the Viking Anaconda-Boa II which really held on very well to slabs of rocks on descents and ascents, protruding tree roots, uneven soft surfaces covered by fallen leaves and river crossings.

The mountain hike is so called beginner-friendly and although the ascent was quite manageable, i took some rests in between those climbs as the trail was undulating, non-stop zigzagging where you hold on to vines and barks of trees to protect you from falling. Alas, i was always trying to catch my breath.

The view up the mountain was breath-taking with the Madlum River criss-crossing within the foothills of the Sierra Mountain range.

The trails here are awesome as you can see on the pictures below. This is a must run for trail runners who also wants to scale up a mountain for good measure.

Hope you enjoy the pictures of our trail run, below:

Vehicles are charged when entering the site. Car fees will cost P20.00

The first river basin you see upon entering

Nice rock formations

June finds his way along the rocky trails

Rocks, uneven surfaces and a misplaced rock on the middle of the trail. A trail shoe here is a must.

One of the small caves along the route

Trying to balance myself on a slant trail

More of the rock formation 2 kms east

Good idea to wear trail shoes here

Wooded area provided our cover from the heat

Boulders of rocks where walking is a must

We could almost hear the slightly gushing river nearby

This scene is what greeted us upon reaching the banks!

Taking a step at a time

A balancing act!

Crystal clear water

Great views along the trails

Approaching the northern side of the river

Postcard scenery

Time-out for a pic

June’s river-crossing

It would have been nice to take a dip if not for time constraints

June at the other side of the boulder

A view up Mt. Manalmon. Boy in picture is Jerome, our guide in waiting

Various trails on our way up Mt. Manalmon

At the top of one of the peaks

At the second highest peak!

At the hump-back rock, the highest peak!

Made it on top!

Highest peak of Mt. Manalmon

The Sierra Mountain range on the background

Praying to the mountains

The view from the top

We tool another route going down and the trails were less technical

A lone pineapple along the trail

On level ground, at last..

June inspecting one of the caves

(Photo credits: Chicharon pic fr tapsilogatbp dot tumblr dot com)

Adventure Run At Ipo Dam

I had originally planned to run another 32k last Sunday to complement the 29k run i did the Sunday before figuring it would be a good way to get back to back LSDs before the big one in Camsur, three weeks from now. However, with regular training partners Betty and Mel “out of commission” (Betty is abroad while Mel is still recovering from his PAU 70k run last Sunday), i called up Harry Contreras, another Runnex member and asked him if i can join his group on their Sunday run. Seems that they were going to do a 19-20k mountain run and their destination…Ipo Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan. So great, another adventure run!  

Harry fetched my at the Q.C. Hall at about 4:30am and he was with his son, Brian, also a runner. We arrived in Lagro before 5am and met up with his group and turns out to be other Runnex members (Obet and Gani, among them) who were also preparing for the Camsur Marathon. The drive to Norzagaray took another 25 minutes as we finally arrived at a Maynilad Office’s private compound where Obet’s brother works for.  

The Runnex group at the Maynilad compound in Norzagaray

Before long, we were up and about and did some warm up jogs and light stretching as we were warned before hand the the first 2.5 kms were all uphill and the rest of the route would be rolling up and down (whew, another Tanay-like route!). The distance up to the entrance gate was about 8kms and from there up to the Dam itself would be another 2k so it would be 10k, one-way. I was going to approach this run just like an easy training run, walk the ups, run the flats and speed-up the downhills. It would basically be a nice training run, with no expectations of time nor pace–just a fun day of adventure running. 

There were about 14 of us who lined up the narrow but scenic roads with Harry and Gani leading us to the ardous uphill passes that made me breathe heavily while trying to break those hills in segments. To keep the uphills more manageable, i tried to concentrate more in taking the views around me with mountain mists and flora that were attractions to itself. Here are some pictures: 

The run started with a 2.5 kilometer uphill climb

One of the breath-taking views along the way

Lush foliages at the right side of the highway

Continuous uphill going to a place called "Hilltop"

A rice paddy on top of a hill

Foggy mountain crests on the horizons

There were more of this views all throughout the run

Taking a break, from left Edwin, Gani, me and Harry

L-R: Edwin, Gani, Harry and Harry's son, Brian

At the 6th km mark

Coundn't resist taking a picture of this

After 8 kms, we're at the gates of the Ipo Dam at last

Thank God, "Running" isn't included in the no-no list:-)

The Ipo Dam is located at Baranggay San Mateo, here in Norzagaray where it siphons the water from the Angat River direct to La Mesa Dam and ends up at the Balara Filtration Plant in Quezon City. Ninety-five (95%) percent of the water requirements of Metro Manila come from Norzagaray through Ipo Dam. The compound leading to the dam itself have wide streets with tall Ipil-ipil trees lined-up in both sides which zigzags its way down to the bridge area. It somewhat resembles the roads going to Loakan airport in Baguio City except that on this area, the temperatures were now in the mid to high 80s, really hot if not for the trees that shaded us. 

Continuing our run down the tree-lined roads, we saw a small waterfall where we made a stop to freshen up. I had noticed the gushing water below that indicated we were nearing the dam. So close to it, we rushed down to see what’s in store… 

Now inside the reservoir, we re-grouped and took on the downhills slowly. L-R: Harry, Gani, Linda, Rizza, Doc Benny, Doc Lito and Glenda

We had the road all to ourselves

The view atop a zigzag road

Saying "hi!"

Enjoying the downhill but would be a torture later when we climb back those hills

The trees offered shade on a very hot morning

Linda, on extreme left is about to stop and buy a rice cake from that vendor

Just a few hundred meters from the dam

We see a small waterfall up ahead and rush to it

The waterfall can be barely seen, at right

Another shot after cooling ourselves

Winding down the stretch

Getting down to the dam which from here is now visible

Here we are now at the bridge stern of the dam

The view, at last!

The old Ipo Dam

We all were glad to have seen this place for the first time

At the other end of the dam which is all but dried up

A memorial marker which commemorates the recapture of the Dam by the Filipino-American forces from the Japanese invaders

Applying sun-tan lotion and hydrating for our trek back up to where we came from

The painful journey on the way up back those hills. "Gallowalking" rules!

Time seemed to pass quickly and soon we made the exit out. Harry, Gani, Obet and myself decided to run an extra 2.5 kms up the “Hilltop” which was the route going to the entrance of the National Power Corporation where the Angat Dam ( read it here)  is located. Obet, who grew up in the town himself, almost knew all the people we encountered at the streets saying his highs and we joked that if he would run for Mayor here, he would get all the votes, hands down.:-). As we stopped at the hilltop mark, with a birds eye view of Ipo Dam, we met some cyclists who were also on their way to Angat Dam. 

Cheers with C2!

Making our way to the "hilltop", we met these bikers who were on their way there too.

We got on top of the hill near the National Power Corp going to Angat Dam. At the back is the Ipo Dam

Ipo Dam. We were just on that bridge an hour or so ago

Completing about 18k, we headed back the main road on our way back to the Maynilad compound. I took my last sachet of GU banana-strawberry flavored gel and gobbled it down with some 8oz of ice-cold water before the descent. That was a nice long gentle downhill (part of the 1st 2.5k uphill start) that seemed to go on forever. It was an easy 6:30/pace coast until we reached our starting point. We covered a total of 22k. We all had a giant sized breakfast of eggs, giant tilapia fish, spare ribs, corned-beef, egg-plant garnished with tomatoes and onions, rice and even tasted for the first time “baboy damo” (wild pig) cooked as adobo. Yummy! 

Thanks to Obet and family for hosting us a great breakfast and to the Runnex club for taking us in an adventure run. It was a wonderful experience–the scenic route, fresh air and wonderful people–it’s one of the joys of running! 

On our way back to home base, we saw some trails that lead us to this stream

The water streaming here came from the Dam itself, as we were told

When Harry met Obet...Obet, a Bank Manager (in singlet) has about 12 full marathon finishes under his belt

Our Run To The Aquarry Trails (Part 2)

Last of two parts. From: (Part1/)

After that 8 kilometer stretch of mostly wide trails that started from the farm estate of the Araneta family clan taking us to the inner and obscure barangays comprising the town of San Jose Del Monte, the five of us decided to run the last 7 kilometer distance with a short stop-over at the Aquarry, a small riverbed oasis.

The single track trails to Aquarry was once shrouded with thick cogon grass on both sides as tall as we were. That was a year ago. Now, all those greeneries have vanished and what remains are black burnt grasses, a result of the intermittent wild grass fires that occur on various spots in the fields brought about by the El Nino heat.

Still, the scenery was amazing in itself, the provincial “country” feel was still evident, a vast sea of forest were in front of the horizon as water bufallos were feeding on what remained on the ground. The path leading to the Aquarry river was refreshingly panoramic as we threaded through rocks and grass that you really had to watch your steps.

The river now was mostly silent, as the water that caressed its banks had shrunk to trickles although there are still parts were the water was still moving gently. Though less than the grandeur that’s found in Daraitan (daraitan-part-1/ and ( daraitan-part-2/), the river rocks here are more accessible as you can hop over them to cross the river. It was getting hot as the sun was casting ash glow across the horizon as it raised slowly through the sky.

We had a company of picnic hikers sharing the river with us so we had to head back our way before the sun would take its toll on us. The last 3 kilometers were all downhill so we all increased our pace until we sprinted the last few hundred meters.

That said, i was hoping that the trail run didn’t put the first timers off. And i was pleased to hear that they all enjoyed the experience and would like to run on them again next time. We went out afterwards for a hearty breakfast at a McDonalds joint, had a couple cups of coffee and talked about where our next runs would be.

It was one adventurous morning!

Three wooden crosses at the courtyard

The two getting the hang of running in the trails

The road to Aquarry

Stretch pose?

On our way

A surprise awaits them

Finally, Aquarry River

The once rushing river, now reduced to a stream

In the middle of it all

A closer view

Taking time to rest

Mel guides Betty on where to step

Last pose before we left

Shoe Review: New Balance 609 Trail Shoe

It’s one of the best shoe purchases i had (and the cheapest)– an entry level, low profile trail shoe. The New Balane 609 All Terrain shoe offers more than your average trail shoe where it combines stability, comfort and enough traction to handle rough, rocky and soft trails.

A note on the NB609 shoe however, that this shoe is a ‘hybrid’ or more known as an “all-terrain” running shoe that represent somewhat of a cross between a road and a trail shoe. This is intended for runners who cover distances on hard pavements going to and from trails. All terrain shoes provide a softer, road-like outsoles without the extra-hard traction of a pure, technical-trail shoe.

The first break-in i did on the 609 was a 15 km run around the U.P. Campus so it was running on a combination of asphalt, cement and short tracks of dirt pavements. It didn’t consciously feel that i was wearing an all-terrain shoe as it hugged the hard pavements well like an ordinary road shoe. It provided enough cushioning and stability for me.

Prepping up for a trail run

For its next test, i took it to where it should feel more at home, at the Licao-Licao trails in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan ( licao-licao). The trails here are rough and rocky but the 609 was up to task on this demanding terrain as it performed well. It provided enough shock absorption as it hit sharp edges many times and was flexible enough while tackling steep inclines.

Rocky trail

The NB609 is just right for runners who have wide feet like me and it felt like a glove. It’s not light and neither too heavy and hugs the cup of my heel just perfectly. I never felt any tightness and felt that i could wear this forever. I would give this the highest marks in terms of performance, quality and its price. Well, you can’t beat the “bagsak presyo” price currently being offered at The Sports Warehouse where i bought the shoe.

Being an avid trail runner, i’m often asked the question, “Can you run on trails using your ordinary road shoes?” Of course, you can enjoy trails–specially smooth trails without running in trail shoes. However, if a trail is hilly, rocky, wet, muddy or slippery, it would be to your advantage and protection to wear a trail shoe. Why? Because it gives you more traction, water protection, a longer lasting upper and greater safety.

But if you just run trails once in a blue moon or on rare occasions where there are trail races, i suggest you get the “All-Terrain” type so you could use it for either on or off-road running.

Recovery Trail Run at Licao-Licao

It was just supposed to be a recovery run.

After Sunday’s grueling Condura marathon, there’s not much i wanted to do but to take things easy in the days that followed: jog for a few minutes a day, walk and jog some more to loosen up those tight muscles and regain some mobility and flexibility.

I dread the days following a marathon as much as the race itself, as the effort to recover leaves me physically and mentally flat the weeks after. While a complete rest will never be an option, i have nevertheless continued to cross-train by attending Taebo classes after completing my 30 minutes of easy running.

When running pal, June Santiago proposed that we do an easy trail run inside Ciudad Real in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan for an easy run, i immediately accepted and took this as an opportunity to regenerate the muscles by concentrating more on the “pleasurable” act of running.

However, little did we know that the route to Licao-Licao was going to be a very long stretch of endless trails that runs for about 10kms one way that ends at the Veterans memorial in Brgy. San Isidro. We ran and walked and it took us a total of 4 hours covering about 21kms to traverse the whole route.

It was great to recharge the batteries by running in scenic settings bounded by trees, mountains, fauna, animals and all that nature presented. Moreover, it was nice to finally break-in the New Balance 609 Trail Shoe i bought recently (on sale) at the Sports Warehouse.

Although my legs felt the burn more that it loosened on what was supposed to be a relaxing run, i can honestly say, “we’ll be back again in a couple of weeks!”

Here’s our trail run, in pictures:

Entry to Licao-Licao via Ciudad Real, Bulacan

Inside Ciudad Real

June posing in front of the seminary

Start of the long trail

The rough road that challenged our trail shoes

Near the Salikneta Farm (De La Salle-Araneta University Research Lab)

Happy trails:-)

June with local town folks and a runner from the Fairview Running Club we met at the trails

Resuming our run

Approaching on our 4th kilometer

One of several short inclines

Rocky trail

One long stretch

The shade of trees kept us from the heat of the sun in the early part of our run

Which way to go?

Resting to pose

Run we go!

Running on rocks made the run much harder

This trail is now part of Licao-Licao

Trails were mostly double tracks

The sun's rays piercing through the foliage

Running high inside nature

Stopping at a shallow stream

Lady fetching water

We continue our quest

Couldn't resist taking a picture here amidst the quiet surroundings

Looking for a store to buy refreshments along Licao2 Highway

Logs residents stock for firewood

Farmer transporting some fertilizers for his farm

Searching for a possible "kilawin" dinner?

The long road back

Running The Trails of Ciudad Real

Picking up a trail among the dozens of forest trails in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan is a challenge.  We initially planned to go to Licao-Licao to explore its rough roads and trails but vehicles were not allowed to go past Ciudad Real (CR), another wide forested area that leads to Licao2 as CR has been off limits to vehicles. Nevertheless, we settled to cover Ciudad Real instead, which is just a few hundred meters north of the boundary with North Caloocan.

Start of the run from the entrance of Ciudad Real

Run starts with slightly rolling hills

Valley view

Scenic mountain vista

I’ve never read anything about running on Ciudad Real’s trails on any blog but rest assured, this 18km stretch of trails ranks right up there with the best i’ve ever ran. So why is it amongst the top of my list? Because these trails embodies everything that is great about trail running: rough and cragged tracks, uphills, solitude, post card sceneries and the one element that every asphalt, cement or tartan strider should experience: adventure.

Ciudad Real has it all.

Starting at the checkpoint entrance where a guard house is stationed, you warm up with an easy 2 kilometer jog of slightly rolling terrain, enjoying the greenery on your right side until you see a green-colored steel gate on your left. I don’t know why they bother to lock this gate (maybe to prevent 4-wheel vehicles from passing through?) when there are two small side openings where you can freely enter. Upon entering, you’ll immediately see the trailhead where the adventure begins. So, last May 3, running partner JUNE SANTIAGO and myself, each clutching a digicam headed off, not knowing what to expect.

Start of the trail

Towards the inner sanctum of the trail

A few words of caution, though. This isn’t your ordinary mud, sand or small gravel pathway where you just let your road or all-terrain shoe do the work for you. Protruding from the ground are jagged rocks and small ledges partly embedded so part of our visions were transfixed on the rocks as a slip-up could mean a serious ankle sprain.

Notice the jagged rocks of the track

June, setting the pace

The trail run begins with a moderate downhill passing isolated nipa huts. A few minutes later, we passed by a stud farm (reportedly owned by the Araneta family).  From here, its a long cautious run that never bores due to the numerous ledges, rocks and goat dung that were intermittently scattered. Yes, you’re going to suffer the smell of goat’s dung but then, after a few minutes, you’ll be able to breath some fresh air again and take in the scenic views of the valleys.

June skirting away from the trail. Didn't want his new Pegasus 25+ to get wet!

The enjoyment continues

Once he sees a dog, he stops!

We continue our run

Turning right on a T-bone junction

Green fields and beyond

Asking directions from a farmer

Seven kilometers into our run

What makes this trail so challenging is the continuous rocky terrain. You hop, sidestep, and weave minute after minute along rows of immaculate green fauna.

Not much of muddy potholes nor Parawagan-like steep hills to climb here. It’s just one blur of bushy, old growth foliage.

Traversing a switchback

The trail seem endless

In the middle of a double track

A funny incident is about to happen here. See picture below

A cow quietly grazing at the left side of the trail suddenly rushes to the middle of the track and steadfastly blocks our path as if to say we can't run inside her territory! We stood there for 3 minutes not knowing what to do but we were prepared just in case it runs after us. We tried to sneak in to its left but it would move too on that side to block us. She did the same when we tried to sneak on its right. We laughed nervously as she was trying to play "patintero"! After another 3 minutes, it finally leaves and lets us run to freedom!

Continuing our uphill climb

Avoiding the rocks

June follows

Almost at the crest

Now running the rough roads

Beyond the green horizon

A wider view, 10 kms into the run

Arriving at the Agustinian Catholic Church and Monastery

With one of the Church's caretakers

Still running as far as we can see

Another stony uphill

Road that forms like a hair style parted in the middle.

We'll be charging that uphill soon

Emerging from the hill

Seeing those banana trees sure made us hungry

Another nice green scenery

Good thing the road had dried up

On to the singletrack trail

Long single track

Couldn't be more detailed than this

Exiting to a paved road at last

Another stop over in a monastery, the Blessed Sacrament Novitiate

On our way back

Another trail, no guard. Maybe next time

Shade of trees kept us cool

1.5kms from home

The trail run ends on to a cement road and from here, it’s about a 2.5 km cool-down back to the car.

When all is said and done,  we had ran through 4 Barangays (Purok 8, Pagrel, Carmel Farms, Ricafort), 2 Monasteries (Augustinian, Blessed Sacrament), been witness to scores of cattle herds, meek stares of rural folks and the floating feeling of a runner’s high.

Trail / Mountain Run At The Angat Reservoir, Bulacan

Trail running has its special magic. It is mostly quiet with no cars and traffic to contend with. The scenes appear to change every few meters and you seem to be in sync with nature itself, appreciating unspoiled woodlands, rivers, vegetation and the like. Expect the unexpected as many experienced trail runners would fondly advise. The jazzrunner and his running friends were in for a surprise as the trails would lead to uphill mountain ridges, rock climbs and a great view of the Angat river basin and dam.

Last Sunday, we hied off to San Jose Del Monte (SJDM) in Bulacan to pick up non-running friends who were our main contacts in order to gain entry into the heavily secured Angat Water Dam and Reservoir. This Reservoir is strictly off limits to the public except when special requests are made in advance for groups who wants to tour the place. So Darryl, June and myself met up with Edwin Ang, our point man (June’s friend) and Joel Salazar, our main man who knew contacts inside the reservoir who would let us have access inside the reservoir.

We left SJDM at 6:00am and arrived at the first main gate of the reservoir at about 6:30am. Both reservoir and dam are located at the Angat River in San Lorenzo, Norzagaray, Bulacan. Its main purposes are to supply water in Metro Manila, provide irrigation for the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, to reduce flooding to downstream towns and villages and to generate hydro-electric power to feed the Luzon grid.

There are 3 main security checkpoints before we could reach the reservoir itself. We started our run at the first main security gate where we left June’s car which would be later driven by Edwin to follow us wherever we went.

Running up to the view deck

The deck was about a kilometer away from the entrance

We ran up to the main view deck where you could see a bird’s eye view of the reservoir.

Jazzrunner with Darryl

With June on left

Darryl with the best view

From the view deck, we would later run down on the mountain slopes where lush green trees and other fauna were on both sides of the road, similar to those of back wood roads in Baguio City.

Enjoying the view

Air was still cool at this point

Taking our time

From the main road, we would enter trails that offers challenges in navigating its different terrain. We had to traverse dirt, pathways of dry leaves, grass, rocks and roots. Unlike running on paved roads in big cities, running trails is rarely monotonous.

Start of the trail run

There were even choices on what trail to run on. We chose the left trail

Meeting a native of the place

It was a good day for a run, the early morning breeze was cool but the sun was about to come up. We all came prepared with our hydration belts, trail shoes with both June and Darryl wearing their caps on.

At the bridgeway

At the foot of another dam, the Ipo Dam

June arrives

Our hosts, Edwin (second from left) and Joel (right). Once upon a time, i weighed nearly as much as Edwin's

After coming in and out of different trails, we were lead back to the main road which was now all 3kms of downhill. We were now running along another bridge way just atop the spill way. The view here was magnificent like we were on a lake somewhere in Europe.

The main reservoir in all its magnificence

Taking a pose

Like a silhouette

There were still many trails that were to be discovered so off we went further…

Running near the dam's edges

More trees along our run

Shade of trees kept us cool

Another trail among many others

Pushing thru inside

Tall trees to keep us company

Photo finish

Unto another wooded area

Small rocks and roots were now all over the place

Now threading on uneven surface

Resting atop the turbines

Posing on the bridgeway

Resuming our run on another trail

Traversing a narrow path

Pumping for the top

No way but up

Making our way to the top

Nearing the top

Almost there

Success!

Darryl running the muddy edges

The bane of trail running. A prelude to TNF trail race at Secobia?

Back on the dirt roads

An opening towards the lake

Ahh...another magnificent view!

Pose muna

Tired and weary?

Navigating thru huge rocks to get a better view

My turn to push down

More rocks on way down

Now sprinting towards the top of the ridge

Rendezvous with Darryl

Nearing the head of the ridge

Nearing the lake

Sprint towards the end!

There!

View at another angle

Short cooldown

June, at peace with himself

Darryl, testing the edges of the ridge. No way i'd do this!

Isa pang pasaway!

Another memento with June

Running back to main base

On my way back

June and Darryl in tandem

Emerging from the woods for cooldown

Our main man Edwin preparing fire to cook our lunch

Preparing the rice

And now, the best part...set on banana leaves, our lunch consisted of broiled tilapia and dalag fresh from the Angat River, Rice, Shrimps, Bulalo, Tomato Salad and Pesang Dalag

It was one of the most exhillirating trail/mountain runs we ever had and one of the most scenic. On this run, we had forgotten to track our time but time was not of the essence here anymore as we had before us spectacular views we wished would have continued on and on.

Our heartfelt thanks to Edwin Ang and Joel Salazar for their support and friendship for without them, this run would not have taken place.

We’ll see you on our next trail run.

THIS RUN IS DEDICATED TO THE COURAGEOUS PARTICIPANTS OF THE 1ST BATAAN DEATH MARCH 102K ULTRAMARATHON RACE THIS COMING SUNDAY, APRIL 05, 2009. GOOD LUCK AND SUCCESS TO YOU ALL!!!