Thursday, January 23, 2025

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Breaking News

  • Schools Run for School Rooms
    Jul 11, 20122 Comments

    About three (3) years ago in November 2009, Stradcom Corp. supported the very first McHappy Day fun run with the aim to raise funds for McDonald's two...

  • Treading Forward
    Jan 26, 20133 Comments

    The previous year of racing and running brought a lot of fun, opportunities, new experiences, both bad and good news, and some... running heartbreaks....

  • Witnessing the Tri-United 1 2013
    Mar 22, 2013No Comment

    Overwhelmingly challenging, yet fun and exciting – that was how I described the Tri-United 1 that was held at Dungaree Beach in Subic Bay last March...

  • Fun Hike at Mt. Maculot
    Aug 08, 20123 Comments

    Elevation: 947m Ascent/Descent Dates: 02-03 April, 2011 Entry/Exit Point: Brgy. Poblacion 7, Cuenca, Batangas Other Names: Mt. Macolod, Mt. Makulot S...

  • 21K UrbanAthlete
    Nov 10, 20124 Comments

    For the 6th consecutive year, Men's Health Philippines has successfully staged its signature, much challenging Urban obstacled-adventure race, and mak...

  • The Energen Family Run 2013
    Jun 05, 20133 Comments

    After my back-to-back Merrell 4 and NatGeo 21K run almost a month ago, my body succumbed to a few weeks hiatus from running, a break from the physical...

  • Run for Pasig River - Ride 'n Roll
    Oct 11, 2012No Comment

    After successive years of ABS-CBN's Run for Pasig River, this year's event dubbed as "The Quezon City Experience" paved for another successful fund-ra...

  • Immuvit Fearless Challenge
    Aug 28, 20127 Comments

    What I knew about this race, is that there will be five (5) obstacle courses along the route which made it challenging and exciting for the anticipati...

  • PhilHealth-DOH Nationwide Run, Manila Leg
    Feb 22, 2013No Comment

    A debut race for the year made as part of tempo training run in preparation for my upcoming Run United 1 in a few weeks from now. I didn't know that ...

  • SkyRunning in Mt. Ugo
    Feb 04, 2013No Comment

    A few days after my first 50K feat at the PAU-T2N, I realized that my body wasn't really built for such long distance races. The self-torture of going...

  • National Milo Marathon
    Jul 31, 20133 Comments

    "Kaya mo 'yan!" I have first joined a Milo race way back on its 21st eliminations season on 1997 in Baguio. It was my second official running event, ...

  • Independence Day Beach Run
    Jul 08, 2012No Comment

    The following post is one of my backlogs, lying idle for more than a year already on my drafts. As I think I wouldn't be able to complete the post any...

  • Immuvit MetaTrail Challenge
    Oct 19, 20122 Comments

    Just a week after the body-numbing, head-spinning Metafit workout of the 2nd leg, the hard-surrendering participants were put into yet another challen...

  • The First Amazing Pinoy Fun Run
    Jun 04, 20131 Comment

    Last May 25, the long-awaited non-officially timed fun run aimed to raise fund for the Clark Foundation and Filipino Needy Children's Fund Inc. was ...

  • A 3K Race for Dear Life
    Apr 12, 2013No Comment

    That's how I ran at last Sunday's BDO Race for Life - I was literally running towards the finish line, gasping for my dear life. What I did here, shou...

  • Urban Trail Haven at Filinvest City
    Apr 21, 20132 Comments

    How do you like the idea of having a green and tree-lined trails inside a modern metro and central business district that is highly accessible from va...

  • The 2013 Merrell Adventure Run’s Trail Route
    Mar 12, 20134 Comments

    Who loves a winding route coupled with a great loss and gain of trail elevation? Last Friday, March 8, the people behind Merrell brought us to one ...

  • A Trek to Mt. Pinatubo Crater
    Sep 01, 20122 Comments

    Elevation: 1,485m (1,745m before the 1991 eruption) Ascent/Descent Dates: 04 June, 2011 Entry/Exit Point: Brgy. Sta. Juliana, Capas, Tarlac Climb Purp...

  • Video Event Recap: Six30 Running Group at the 2012 Epic Relay 250
    Nov 06, 20123 Comments

    Video event coverage of Six:30 Running Group's 2012 Epic Relay in 2 vans, 10 Teammates, 5 support crews, 250 kilometers. An adventure that...

  • HyperSports Get Fit Run
    Jul 22, 20122 Comments

    It was January when I first met the People and humble Athlete/Coaches of HyperSports Phils. Inc. (HSPI) at the 1st Session of their GetFit 2012 campai...

  • Indoor Duathlon Challenge by Fitness and Athletics
    Jul 21, 2013No Comment

    Two years ago (2011), I have visualized myself that by now I should have already finished an Aquathlon event, but that did not happen as I can't ...

  • A Peek at the 2013 Salomon XTrail Route
    Feb 25, 20136 Comments

    For the 3rd consecutive year, Salomon Philippines is once again bringing us to another heart-pumping road with crossover to wild trails. On March 23,...

  • Immuvit MetaFit Challenge
    Oct 01, 20127 Comments

    2x6x20 If you are a gym rat, you'll have an idea what this means. It is 2 sets by 6 types by 20 repetitions, or doing 2 simultaneous sets of 6 types ...

  • Epic Ride at the Globe Cordillera Challenge 4
    May 10, 20131 Comment

    The Chaser Imagine a bike ride along the heaven-bound roads of the Cordilleras with their welcoming villages and communities, overseeing the stunni...

  • Year-End Race
    Jan 19, 2013No Comment

    Yes, you read it right! I know 2013 has already stepped ahead and I should have done a kick-start run by now, but you see, I haven’t found yet the sel...

  • A Short Rave Run at Mt. Pinatubo
    Oct 25, 20121 Comment

    The first time I step afoot at Mt. Pinatubo was during a fund-raising trek from Capas, Tarlac towards the crater. Together with my runner-companions A...

  • Run for Light - Inspired by a Blind Runner
    Jul 26, 2012No Comment

    Saturday morning, it was raining since a few days ago and this bed-weather almost made me hibernate at my Saturday race schedule. I alarmed one and h...

  • Merrell Adventure Run at It's Toughest
    Jul 20, 2013No Comment

    (This is a 3-months late post, but... better late than pregnant ika nga!) This is already my fourth (4th) year of enjoying the brutality of Sir Thu...

  • Salomon Beach and Mountain Run
    May 12, 20135 Comments

    It was another year of Salomon's famous road to mountain-trail crossover running, and I am once again delighted that I got to join challenging trail r...

  • Planet Infinity's Planet Games
    Jun 16, 2013No Comment

    Last Week (08Jun2013), I was supposed to explore the trails of Porac, Pampanga for the #Explorac invitational trail run together with Primer Group and...

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Running On Empty - Book Review

If you’re well into the circulation of famous Marathoners and elite endurance Athletes, you might have heard of Marshall Ulrich, author of "Running on Empty – An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-setting Run Across America", as the runner who purposely made his toes pulled-out. Yes, he just did that. Insane? Perhaps! But experts say that one of the quandaries that Ultrarunners face, such as Ulrich, are their toes. Battered toenails, blood pools beneath the nails which can cause pressure and pain, turns black and blue from friction and wear, fungal infections take roots in the nail beds.

But beyond toenails pulling, Marshall Ulrich is an ultrarunner like no other. I don't have any idea about the locations of his records, but all I could say, is he have such will and endurance that not many of the Runners has. He completed all six hundred-mile trail races in just one season; he champed the Badwater-146 four times; current record holder for the summit of Mt. Whitney; had done the Pike Peak Quad twice; ran across Colorado thrice; did the Leadville Trail 100 and the Pike Peak Marathon within one weekend; accomplished all nine Eco-Challenges; did the Badwater solo and without any aid, clambered the peak of Mt. Everest and other top seven summits on first attempts. His greatest feat of United States cross-country run from San Francisco to New York, and he conceded the struggles and regrets he had through his running years with his personal life.

An individual who went the course of a lot when he witnessed his first love suffered and lost, scared of facing his daughter with anguish, instead, he chose to run the other way to escape his reality. Love lost, and loved again, though because the misery and pain was never shared, another love was lost to a divorce. Despite of having three wonderful children, still, he kept on going, inflicting more challenges, reaching his personal dreams, breaking his physical barrier. Until he had found his new love.

Ultra Running, Ultra preparation, Ultra efforts!
His trauma of losing a loved one and nothing he could do was still there. When he lost his father and father-in-law to cancer and his friends within two months, the old role of strong facade happened again and yet again, running became his comfort zone. By the time his beloved wife, Heather, confronted him with the big "why?", why they have to go through the impending transcontinental run and another year of it, finally he told the truth and finally, she understood him and became one of his pillar of strength in his leg-breaking voyage.

Running on Empty is a sneak peak of the life of an Ultrarunner and what it will take to accomplish such feat. Clearly, family relationships often suffers because of times they are away from home, the solitaries and the stubborn self-reliance could take their toll, but if everything were open and priorities were the people you love, perhaps the curse of personal predicaments might be eluded (hmmnn... right on through my bossom!).

I have not yet finished reading the entirety of the book, but from the few pages that I came across, I could say that I admire his perseverance in his every endeavor - being afraid but still had the courage to face his faults and fears at the end. I would definitely recommend this book to all running fanatics and even to not so much of a fan because not just it has tips, medical advices, mind and body preparation counsels to be able to endure the challenges, but there are also a lot of lessons to be learned from the Author's personal experiences.

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