Last updated: 20-Aug-18
By Jonnifer Lacanlale
In what could be the toughest edition of the race so far, close to 200 runners descended upon Clark, Philippines to participate in the 4th edition of Clark-Miyamit Falls Trail Ultra 50 Miles & 60K last 23 November 2014 at 1AM. Local and foreign runners (Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan) toed the line, vied for the top positions and eventually earned the 2 qualifying points for UTMB (50 miles only).
The contrasting weather conditions of cold during the early part of the race and hot during daytime played tricks on runners as they navigated the varied terrain of sand, water, hills, mountains, the famous Miyamit Falls and the peak, 3kms close to caldera of Mt. Pinatubo.
Runners, however, got the glimpse of the beauty of the surrounding area of the peak as the sun’s rays paved the fog slowly revealing the beauty of place. The support and care of volunteers (who are mostly runners or athletes) and medical team, Team Rescue 8 at the four (4) Aid Stations helped runners to reach the finish line of the toughest 50 mile trail race in the Philippines. Sponsors gave away freebies to runners and podium finishers.
Remarkably, the course records were established in both categories.
For 50 miles, local runner Manolito Divina set a new time by a hairline for 50 miles of 10:23:48 from last year’s 10:24:44 while being chased by equally fast runners Dino Mantilez and James Tellias from Baguio City, Philippines and Simon Grimstrup aka Barbarian Trail Runner from Denmark. The CR, however, of Naomi Fujimaki (Imazumi) 10:46:58 from Japan set in 2013 remains safe for now (it seems for years to come). For winning and setting a new CR, Manolito will be entitled to free entries to Hardcore 100, Four Lakes 100 and TNF100, all in the Philippines.
On the other hand, defending champion Jon Las Bruce managed to retain his title on the 60K for 2 straight years and set a new CR of 8:53:37 in the process. He also managed to break the fastest time – 9:14:00 of Julie Green (Australia) set in 2011. Julie Green however still holds the female CR for 60K for 4 years now.
