BDM 102 2014: Reporting for (Support) Duty!

It's always flattering to be invited to be part of an ultrarunner's support crew. It only means you're someone trust-worthy enough to take care of the runner's needs during the entire long distance event.

Supporting in Bataan Death March (BDM) 102km is not new to me as I've already supported last 2012 when my Team Alpha1 teammate Eugene embarked on his longest distance run yet. (He placed 2nd runner up by the way and you could read about that in my BDM 102 2012 blog post.)

Now being part of a new running team of ultramarathon addicts (Team Banana), I was already expecting requests for support as this year's BDM neared. Both Syril (Prof) and Wyatt (Bokidol) kept asking if I could be part of their support crew, and I kept asking them back of their concrete plans and strategies of which they did not have a ready answer. I remember when I supported Eugene two years ago, we had a number of meetings to really prepare ourselves for the big day, so I was kinda expecting the same. No planning sessions occurred, and I don't think someone even bothered attending the runners' briefing. Haha!

As race day neared it was still not clear to me whether I would support Sy or Wy, who is bringing a car, who will support who. I guess with their experience in their previous ultramarathon events it was more of "bahala na" mode. Little did they know that Bald Runner events are different, with strict guidelines and rules to follow, so a lot of preparations are vital.

March 1 came, a Saturday. Our rendezvous point was at Starbucks 6750, Makati. I did some shopping for some supplies before going there, as I had no idea what Syril or Wyatt brought with them. Compared to my experience previously where we stayed overnight at Mariveles, this time we met 4pm in the afternoon and planned to travel for about 5 hours to KM0, just in time for the 10pm race start. A little risky if you ask me, but we arrived there anyway, and we were greeted with a long queue at the runner's check-in counter.

Syril was not even wearing his shoes yet, we still did not have any ice, and time was ticking. Good thing support car #2 (Wyatt's) already had some tube ice available, so we split whatever they had into two, hoping that somewhere along the way we will be able to buy more ice.

So the support split was set:
- WYATT'S SUPPORT TEAM - Beck-beck, Raphie and Ikasam + 1 driver
- SYRIL'S SUPPORT TEAM - Me and Mervin + 2 drivers

Support Vehicles all geared up!

We went ahead to KM7, the first legal stop of runners after traversing the crazy, zigzag inclined road. As usual the festive mood was very prominent at this location as this is the area where almost all support cars converged and you get to see the early frontrunners of the race.

Our support cars, while leapfrogging, often meet whenever we park for our next stop, as Syril and Wyatt almost have the same pace, and they were just a few hundred meters apart. Wait times would usually be a time for chat, eating and of course cheering other runners on as they pass by. Oh and I forgot, taking pictures too!

Our runners posing for the camera = Wasted time LOL!

Eventually Syril caught up with Wyatt (with a corresponding epic set of tantrums which unfortunately Mervin and I failed to witness) so they instantly became pace buddies. Good timing as well as another Team SCR runner, Jaylord, needs replacement support (as his support car had some issues).

Mervin and I then became the support crew of two runners. As the sun started to rise, our 4km leapfrog strategy started to decrease to 3 to 2.5 to 2. Syril would alternate water and Gatorade as hydration on every stop, while Wyatt will clap his hands in anticipation whenever we approach him with an ice-cold Coke. Sy's source of energy would be Flat Tops or M&Ms, though I don't remember Wyatt consuming any solid food except for one stop wherein they both had a bite of California Maki.

Kilometer after kilometer our runners endured, even with the sweltering heat of the sun finally taking its toll on their bodies. The cold water spray and sponges really came in handy as every stop we needed to lower their temperature. At this point, I can't help but pity them as we could really see how they struggled to run in the heat of the sun. Stops and rests became longer. Mervs and I still managed to push them though to keep going, even though Wy and Sy already lost hope to bag the GOLD medal (finishers under 13 hours).

My favorite water spray! Wyatt and Syril still managed to strike a pose while suffering haha!

As we approached the final couple kilometers, I can't help but feel nostalgic - the feeling of meeting the runner you supported as he crosses the finish line, successful in his 102 kilometer journey. Supporting Eugene before and knowing he was 2nd runner-up, and now meeting both Wy and Sy as they finished strong, is a comparable, triumphant moment.

Wy and Sy placed 33rd and 34th respectively, among 300 runners and 253 official finishers, with a time of 13 hours and 38 minutes. I was there to capture their finish line moment, proud to be part of their support team.

Red Top, Yellow Legs and Yellow Top, Red Legs! Haha! Wy and Sy on their finish line moment

KM102 is a place for meet and greet, congratulating other BDM 102 warriors and finishers. And as you may already know, I have the photos to prove it.

Wattaface Prof! Also met JP who finished in 13:22! Almost hit the gold!

I had to have my photo taken with two of my running idols. Congratulations Syril and Wyatt! Thank you for trusting us to be part of your support team!

Post-race meal at Razon's

After having breakfast, we went back to the finish line area to meet more race finishers as the race cut-off approached.

Top-left: Prof and the ever-covered Archie
Top-right: Birthday Girl Jie and Ate She
Bottom-left: Confused and disoriented Loyce haha!
Bottom-right: BDM Grand Slam Queen Sheryll and Tong

Side-story: We were all wondering where our Team Banana teammate Mark Mark was. While we were anticipating his arrival at the finish line, the other support car (with Beck-beck, Ikasam, and Wyatt) was at KM95 also waiting for him to pass by. Mervin and I were discussing he might not make it to cut-off time, and were already feeling disappointed on the thought of Mark Mark not finishing the race. Funny thing is, those were worthless worries, as Mark Mark was just inside the KM102 hall resting! He also finished within the SILVER medal group. So all's well that ends well.

Mark Mark: Lost and Found

Team Banana has a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. Before heading home, we stopped by Jollibee NLEX for some BDM chit-chat (and reminiscing Prof's tantrums, LOL!).

A week later, the team had a "formal" celebration at Gerry's Grill. A few bottles of beer became legal. Thanks for Wy and Sy's treat!

Next year, I'm sure they will be eyeing that grand slam prize (BDM160 and BDM102). Haven't experienced supporting in 160 yet so I'm sure it'll be fun. I'm also contemplating on running 102, but we'll see.

Again, congratulations to Wyatt and Syril - BDM102 warriors! Let me end this blog post with their Facebook thank you messages, which made supporting them even more worth it.

BDM 102: A Support's Perspective

Three weeks have passed as I write this blog post, but the excitement and the adrenaline rush of the BDM102 event still lingers on. A running teammate and a good friend had the guts to participate in one of the toughest ultra-marathon races in the country, and I have been one of the lucky few who was able to witness his BDM102 journey from his humble beginnings to his elated race finish.

Eugene, with his running monicker "Eugenator", is Team Alpha1's fastest, yet humblest of the bunch. I remember his sworn statement never to run longer than a full marathon, but look at where he is now - a certified ultra-marathoner, and a 2nd runner-up overall finish to top it off - 102 freaking kilometers!

This is a recollection of the events that transpired on the 3rd and 4th of March - in a support's perspective.

THE SUPPORT TEAMThe Team Alpha1 Support Crew - Jesy, Daves, Rolly, Marvin, Noel, Bry

Meet the Team Alpha1 support team - all first-timers on doing ultra-marathon support.
Jesy - car provider, the driver, post-race host
Daves - back-up driver, race planner, the "motivator"
Marvin - the team nurse
Rolly - the navigator, overall race prep guy, peacemaker (lol!)
Noel - photographer, link to the outside world (through Facebook page updates)
Bry - nutrition and hydration provider/runner

MARCH 3

We had an early meet-up time, 8:00am at Rolly's residence at QC. I drove to Manila 7am to pick-up Marvin and Bry, and then another stop to pick-up Daves. Then we're off to QC. Rolly welcomed us with a hearty breakfast of suman and kapeng barako, which was so strong I swear it could keep me awake for the next 24 hours. An hour later, Eugene arrived.

My car was jam-packed! All the support stuff were in the trunk, and I had 5 passengers with me. We traveled North via the NLEX, with our next stopover at Sta. Rita exit. This is where our vehicle exchange would happen, Jesy meeting us on his Ford Expedition and his driver bringing my car to his Bulacan residence.

And so the Alphamobile was born! Our excitement went higher when we saw the team logo on the vehicle's hood and doors. After loading all the race paraphernalia in the Alphamobile, along with a few camera snaps, we were again off to a long ride.

Team Alpha1 and the Alphamobile

Everyone's up and high as we sped along SCTEX, talking about what's to happen on the race that night. And as we had our first glimpse at the BDM kilometer markers, we were even more stoked as we are now getting a preview of the actual race route. At around noon, we arrived at Bay Spring Resort (located near the BDM km 19 marker), where we'll be staying to relax and to do some more race preparations.

shot of the Alphamobile upon arrival at Bay Spring Resort

shot just before entering the villa gate

Our villa room was spacious! There were two beds on the first floor and 5 beds on the 2nd. Too bad we we'll only spend a few hours here, as the race starts 10pm that night. Marvin and Rolly had a swim in the resort pool, while others spent their time to snooze a bit.

Room #1

The long travel left us all famished, and it took a while for us to spot a good place to have our late lunch. After driving a few kilometers from our hotel, we found Romalaine, a restaurant serving Filipino cuisine. We ate there like we're all doing an ultra. I have to mention they got the best sisig (according to Marvin - a 10/10 rating).

pigging-out in Romalaine

Upon twilight, we started preparing. Marvin, Rolly and I got busy putting in the BDM102 "Race in Progress" tarp in the Alphamobile, while the others were putting on rock tape on Eug's shoulders. When we got inside the room, Bry was already putting Phiten Titanium disc stickers on Eug's back and legs.

Rock Tape and Phiten Titanium Disc stickers applied

It was then time to say goodbye to Bay Spring Resort.

group shot before leaving

We decided to have dinner again at Romalaine, instead of trying somewhere else new. It was yummier the second time around. We were still on track to meet our 9pm target arrival time at the KM0 race start area. Before leaving Romalaine, Eug and I said a little prayer with the team. In a couple of hours, Eug will embark on the longest run of his life, and it was just apt to ask His blessing of strength and endurance, and for keeping the support crew safe as well.

Arriving at KM0, everyone can't just help but smile at the sight of the numerous support cars and crew. It was electrifying! Jesy was so inspired at that moment he already stated his interest of joining next year's BDM!

Team shot at the BDM KM0 marker

shot with the man who started the ultramarathon craze - Sir Jovie Narcise aka "Bald Runner"

The race briefing then commenced, with all the BDM102 warriors assembled at KM0. Sir BR had a few words to say to everyone, and there were three national anthems sang - Star Spangled Banner of the USA, Kimigayo of Japan, and Lupang Hinirang of the Philippines.

Sir BR during the race briefing

Before the rush of other support crew starts, we already went ahead to the first pit-stop at the BDM KM06 marker. The path leading here is a dark, zigzagging hard incline. Runners have been warned to take it easy on this part.

And so we wait.

As the first runner passed - a British guy, the crowd cheered. 6 more runners arrived and then we saw Eug with a couple of runners running alongside him. He's strong at 8th place! Bry was waiting for him at the other side of the road and gave him his hydration. Everything happened so fast, and then we had to go and leapfrog to the next pit stop location.

KM06 highlights

Of course, supporting wouldn't be half as fun if we didn't have some booboos along the way:
- HYDRATION WITH NO HYDRATION. We handed out a water bottle to Eug without water in it. Anyone who might have witnessed how we reacted after this incident would laugh. Everyone's kind of on a blaming game. Voices are raised yet some are still cool and trying to pacify the situation. I guess things like these are really bound to happen. It's just a matter of how we handle it.
- POCOBRA. Pocari with a touch of Cobra drink. There's this one pitstop wherein Eug complained about the weird taste of his Pocari drink. Pocari in a Cobra bottle. Go figure.
- 7 KILOMETERS PIT STOP. Initial parts of the race, our agreement is to meet Eugene every 5 kilometers. There's this one stop that we made after just 3 kilometers and when we met Eug, he told us he's still ok so he ran ahead. We should have met Eug after two kilometers but due to parking constraints (the road was so narrow) we continued driving for another couple of kilometers until a safer stop. A pissed-off Eug met with us, and we all felt guilty when we found out another support team provided his hydration earlier, Eug already feeling dehydrated in his false anticipation of meeting us after 5 kilometers.
- WRONG TURNS. There were a couple of road forks wherein we had to turn right, but we turned left so we had to make a U-turn. Funny thing about this is we kept reminding Eug beforehand of these right turns but we were the ones who made the erroneous turn.

We only got better with each mistake - everything is a learning experience for all of us.

MARCH 4

BDM KM19 marker, we were back at Bay Spring Resort. By this time, Eugene is already in 5th place. I updated the Team Alpha1 Facebook page.

Bay Spring Resort again

BDM km 33 marker with Rolly and Daves

The race is pretty much the same throughout the route. Seeing Team USB support - they overtaking our support car and then us overtaking them (a lot of waves and cheers were made between us and Doc Minnie along the way). The top 3 runners basically maintaining their lead, with the top 2 and top 3 runner even running close to each other on most parts. Eugene was in 4th place and 5 to 10 minutes away from the top 3 but still doing great and running strong. The support team is running their own competition by playing Temple Run while killing time.

We then arrived the km50 mandatory pit stop. Here, Eug had to check-in and his bib number noted by the race marshals. This was also the time he changed his shirt and have some chit-chat with the team. We're now at halfway point and it was time for another FB update.

mandatory KM50 pit stop. notice someone taking a video of Eug and the support crew.

And the race continues...

By the second half, tiredness and lack of sleep are now coming to bite us back. Our energy levels are going down. Jesy has to have a replacement driver so that he could have some shut-eye - good thing Daves stepped-up since I was hesitant driving his Ford. Bry, by this time, is down and asleep. Marvin replaces Bry on his duties.

BDM KM61 highlight - Daves falling asleep on a marker. Haha!

BDM KM65 - 2 man down! Bry and Jesy sound asleep

Around km 70, we had our first glimpse of dawn. Eugene is still at an approximate 5 minutes away from the 3rd place runner. 1st place was way too far and we hadn't even have an encounter with his support team. British Patrick Kennedy is at 2nd place and now running ahead of Team USB's 3rd placer. By this time, we were beginning to accept the fact that the standings will remain, as the top 3 have not yet shown signs of slowing down, and even enjoying the benefits of second wind. Regardless, Eug has given it his best and 4th place is still something to be proud of. Marvin and I are now resting inside the support vehicle. I even managed to steal a quick power nap.

At km82, another mandatory pit stop, Eug had to change his socks (and because he can no longer bend to reach his feet, Rolly had to change them for him). Eug was already feeling beat-up and tired and he kept on mentioning how strong the top 3 runners were, that whatever effort and push as he tries to catch-up doesn't work. We just had to give him positive words to continue on. He is now requesting to see us every 3 kilometers.

Daves was now taking over and brought out his famous "latigo" to keep Eug pushing.

km82 pit stop and post km82 shots

16 kilometers to the finish line, a miracle happened.

We overtook the 3rd placer's support vehicle and parked about a kilometer farther to wait for Eug. Upon Eug's arrival, he told us that it seems like he is now ahead and now in 3rd place! Whatever tiredness and sleepiness left my body at that moment. We were ecstatic! I ran to the nearest race marshal, looked at his notes, and confirmed 3rd place for Eugene! I delivered the good news to our HP officemates who were now on their way to the finish line area.

Now the question on everyone's mind is that can Eug overtake Patrick for 2nd place? We kept catching up with Patrick whenever we leapfrog. Patrick kept on glancing back and upon seeing our support vehicle, he speeds up. His pace is still strong and he's not showing any signs of slowing down. This time, we were meeting up with Eug every 1 kilometer just to give him the moral support he needed.

Salute to 2nd placer Patrick Kennedy!

last pit stop and meet-up with Eug

THE FINISH

We waved and told Eug we'll meet him at the finish line with 2.5 kilometers to go. While on the way to the city capitol, we were discussing last minute needs of Eug upon crossing the finish - hydration, chair, spare top and of course the team tarp. We parked in front of the city capitol, grabbed what we should bring, and walked proudly to the finish line area.

The sight of Eug sprinting, crossing the finish line as the 2nd runner up and receiving the congratulatory hug from sir Jovie just made us all proud. 10 hours, 50 minutes and 9 seconds of pure hard work came to fruition as Eug wore that medal and received his finisher's trophy. Officemates from HP were there to celebrate the end of his successful BDM102 journey.

Congratulations Eugene! Well-deserved 3rd place finish!

Team Alpha1 with Sir Jovie

more post-race shots - find the guy who's scared of the sun

As a celebration, Eugene treated everyone to a hearty lunch at Meat Plus Cafe Subic. Yes, we traveled all the way from Pampanga to Subic just to have lunch.

thanks Eug for treat!

It was an experience of a lifetime, supporting a teammate on achieving one of his running goals. I'd say 99.9% of the effort came from Eug and 0.1% from us, his support team. Congratulations Eugene! You know how proud we are of you.

Next year, we already have Team Alpha1 members showing intent to join BDM 2013. I'll definitely support whoever's running.