473 conquer Mt. Mayon

Without doubt, they were no match to Kenyan road warrior Eliud Kering, who emerged overall champion of Mayon 360 ultramarathon in Albay province, with a time of 5 hours 36 minutes 44 seconds.

But the races, with various categories in the 80-kilometer (50 miles) run, were just as exhilarating to the pack of 473 finishers in the fifth staging of the run around Mayon, said to be the world’s most perfect coned volcano that rivals Mt. Fuji in Japan.

Mayon 360, held April 10-11, was one of the highlights of the monthlong Magayon festival in Albay which ended on Wednesday. The event, recognized by the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners, was organized by the Junior Chamber International chapter in Legazpi, the Liga ng mga Barangay (village) chapter in Albay and the provincial government.

On April 11, the runners took off at 4 a.m. at Peñaranda Park in Legazpi to the towns of Daraga, Camalig and Guinobatan, Ligao and Tabaco cities, and the towns of Malinao, Malilipot, Bacacay and Sto. Domingo. The route covered 77 villages at the foot of Mayon.

Dennis Shi, the event chair, said the latest addition to Mayon 360 was the 160-km (100-mile) run along the same route of the 80-km but including Pio Duran, a coastal town in Albay’s western coast of Albay.

John Glen Lee, president of JCI-Legazpi, said the 80-km run had 278 finishers in the solo category, 54 in the two-man relay (each runner covering 40 km), and 104 in the four-man relay (each covering 20 km). In the 160-km solo, there were 37 finishers, he said.

Winners’ circle

“Relay race participants in the 80-km run were given 16 hours to complete the race, while in the 160-km, the runners were allowed to race for 32 hours,” he said.

Finishers in both races clocked an average speed of 5 km per hour.

“There were 11 runners who were not able to finish the race, two were not able to meet the cutoff time while the others stopped,” Lee said.

Kering, a chemical engineer who ruled the 80-km solo run, redeemed the title once owned by fellow Kenyans. He beat the record of the two-year defending winner, Mario Maglinao, also known as “Super Mario.”

Super Mario topped the race in 2013 and 2014, while the Kenyans ruled in 2011 and 2012.

“I thought I can’t make it to the finish line, after running for 20 kilometers, I felt my knee aching. I walked for almost 1 kilometer to rest before running again,” said Maglinao, a native of Pilar town in neighboring Sorsogon province. He said he had a hard time running because of a right knee injury from continuous training in Manila, three weeks before the event.

“Runners from all over the world have come to accept that the toughest part of the sport is to beat a Kenyan,” said a blogger, The Bicolano Penguin, in April 2014. Its author, a Bicolano runner, has been publishing stories about marathon events happening nationwide since November 2011.

For Mayon 360, some of the runners are from Thailand, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

Ogenio Lao, 37, of Catanduanes, who won in the 160-km solo run with a clock of 23:47:13, said it was his third year to join. Every morning he rode a bicycle for 25 km to reach his office as part of his training.

While not as tough as Ering, Maglinao and Lao, other finishers such as model Daisy Visperas, 36, of Pangasinan province added spice to the ultramarathon. Wearing an all-white long gown and flower ponytail, she was tagged the “Fairy Trail Runner.”

“I just realized I have unused dresses inside my cabinet. I felt like I am a fairy in the forest,” Visperas said.

Nelson Caro, 48, of Cavite province, who crossed the finish line in over 12 hours, drew the attention of spectators because of his green wig. “I always use this (wig) so I can easily recognize myself when looking at my pictures in social networking sites,” he said.   With reports from Jessamine Raynera and Joshua Caleb Pacleta, contributors