The Sto. Nino trails descending to the town of Laiban have been previously used many times during Pimco’s Love A Tree race series and it’s easy to see why this route has been a staple for trail runners, specially those running Pimco’s longer distances from 21k to 50k races here in Tanay, Rizal.
Being here with other trail runners in the early morning is forgetting that you’re just an hour away from Manila. The small communities that compasses the area: Baranggays Cuyambay, San Andres, Sto. Nino and Laiban gives you a lot of variety. Here you have wooded areas, single track paths, rough roads, rivers, waterfalls, meadows and wetland areas to keep you interested.
Last Sunday when many of my trail running friends were roughing it out at the TNF 100 trail race in Baguio City, me and several others who opted to stay in Manila went to Tanay to attend PIMCO’s last test run and try out some parts of their 50k route for their May 25 Nature’s Trail Discovery Run III, Leg 1. You can check out my previous blogs on the 10 and 21k routes (here) and (here 2). It was my first trail run since the Salomon X-Trail Run a month ago and it was great getting re-oriented back in rural settings.
We went out for a 20km run and we had our shoes wet for most of the time trekking the various rivers that surrounded Sto. Nino. This course threads on rolling terrain, some elevations but the inclines were minimal. It alternated between access roads, crushed gravel, dirt paths and the ever present rivers–they’re always there.
This is one of my favorite routes! If you like discovering the undiscovered, running along a river and meandering in the heart of Tanay’s rural community, then the NTDR Trail Run is for you.
Here’s a glimpse of the NTDR III, Leg 1 50k race route:
For more details about the race/how to register, check out their website: http://www.pimcosportingevents.net/#!ntdr-ii-3rd-leg/c1py8
(Thanks to Emn Muncal for some of the pics!)
JAZZRUNNER 