Josphat Kiptanul of Kenya  won the men’s division of the 42km adventure marathon while another Kenyan, Ben Kipaski, won the men’s division of the 21k half marathon.

Kiptanul, 25, clocked 2:43:21 for the adventure marathon. “It was a really good adventure run,” Kiptanul, who had also joined several full marathons and half marathons before the DAM.

“The hardest part is the way going to an uphill and when you pass through stones and bushes. I just walked a little bit,” he said.

Unknown to most runners, Kiptanul and most of the Kenyans had been training for a month in Dumaguete before the contest. “My competitors were also strong but I had an advantage so I used it to win,” he said.

Following Kiptanul was Engr. Wendell Lopez of Sta. Catalina, who clocked 2:51:07.

The 42k women’s division was won by Jennylyn Nobleza of the ANZ runners of Silay City, Negros Occidental, with a time of 3:52:02.

She beat Kenyan Susan Jumutal who came in at 4:04:54.

“The route was very nice but very tough.” Jumutal, 29, said, as she also heaped praises on the organizers. “Organization was very nice. We get bananas, water, Gatorade less than 2km apart.” This was Jumutal’s first 42k but she’s  planning to join next year’s race.

Two time-DAM champion Jeson Agravante, of Silay City managed only a fourth-place win in the 42k category, after getting lost in the trail.  But he, too, looks forward to joining the DAM next year to reclaim his crown.

Some runners, like triathlete Hiroshi Takei, signed up for the 42k and got a big surprise. “I was expecting it to be a road race but it went up into the mountain and it was one of the toughest races I’ve ever joined,” he said.

Takei noted that there were marshals everywhere. In every corner, there were friendly students helping and giving directions. Water was OK.

He surmised that his performance was simply because he was not fit this year. “I want to come back strong and maybe I can race again.”

Asked to sum up his DAM experience, Takei replied, “Excellent!”

Ultra-marathoner Simon Sandoval, one of only two Filipinos who finished the 166 km Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc in France last August, found the trail just as he had expected. “The scenery is very beautiful, there was water along the way and no one got lost. It was a very good run,” he said.

Another runner, who goes by the name of The Scientist Runner, ran the DAM as his 23rd 42k run and raved about it in his blog as “A DAM good run, indeed!”

In an email to this writer, The Scientist Runner said “I enjoyed the race and will somehow advertise the DAM through my blog The Scientist Runner  and among fellow Marathon Maniacs in Asia and elsewhere… I guess you can expect more foreign and out-of-town DAM participants next year .

Organized by Foundation University, the DAM is “FU’s gift to the city of gentle people of Negros Oriental” and is held every third Sunday of November. It is a run that has an advocacy of rice conservation, in partnership with the Philippine Rice Research Institute and the Asia Rice Foundation.

Preparations are now being made for the DAM 2012 which will be held on November 18 next year.

The Robinson’s Place Dumaguete, the center of activity of the DAM and other Rice-is-Life activities, continued to be abuzz with activity after the run, with the holding of the Rice-is-Life cookfest. This was a contest that featured several ways of cooking rice dishes–from the ordinary boiled rice to native delicacies Suman, Biko, Bibingka and others. The aim of the cookfest, which was participated by representatives from various local government units in Negros Oriental, was to show the various ways of preparing rice and to stress the need to conserve it.

The final event for the day was the launching of the Gabo Ghas children’s e-book. This e-book, which was made by EntheosIT, a BPO firm, was based on the winning Visayan translations of the book Gabby-Ghas written by a student from Calamba Institute, which was won by the students of the Siaton Science High School in the town of Siaton, the rice granary of Negros Oriental and the Felipe Tayko Memorial School, also of Siaton.

The translation of the book was done with the support of PhilRice and the Asia Rice Foundation, who sent representatives to Dumaguete led by Dr. Benito Vergara. (Alex Pal)

As of Thursday, the total number of participants reached 3,349 and more are expected to register. First timers need to prepare a few essentials–proper running shoes, suitable attire, race bibs (with the timing chip attached), and most importantly, the willingness to run in this event. There will be water stations at almost every kilometer to take care of your hydration needs.

Now on its third year and organized by Foundation University as “a gift to the Gentle People of Negros Oriental, the DAM traces its roots to the Leandro Sinco Challenge Races which started in 2006. It is a race for a cause–it is a race advocating the conservation of Rice. Officials of the Philippine Rice Institute, which had been partnering with FU for its rice conservation campaign, will not only watch the DAM but join the other activities that will be held after the DAM, such as the Rice is Life cookfest and the launching of the Gabo Ghas e-book, a book translated from Tagalog into Visayan by students from Siaton, Negros Oriental, who won a contest for that purpose.

True to its rice conservation advocacy, the prizes will be in the form of sacks of rice (convertible to cash for out-of-town winners).

Assembly time for the 42k course is at 3:30 am and the gun start an hour later. For the 21k course the assembly time is at 4 am and the gun start at 5 am. For the 10.5k, 5k, and 3k the assembly time is at 4:30 and the gun start at 6 am. For further information, follow this link on the schedule http://www.dumaguetemarathon.com/

There are many running events sprouting all over the country and each marathon is unique in its own way with regards to its inception and reason.

DAM puts special emphasis on the “Adventure” part, making this unique from other marathons in the country. The 42k course will go through different barangays in Dumaguete before exposing the runners to some elevated scenic trails as they head out of Dumaguete into the mountains of Sibulan and Valencia towns.

Dr. Aparicio “Docmequi” Mequi, former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission and current Director of the FU Institute of Youth Sports for Peace is at the helm of the DAM and has been looking into every aspect from planning to its implementation.

It promises to be an exciting event for all. Let’s get moving! (Joel Llanos)

It is almost ready.

Preparations for the 4th DAM are almost complete and well ahead of schedule.  This is attributed to the industry of the organizers.  In terms of logistics, it is truly a testament of the dedication of the organizers.  Aside from the all new 42 km trail which is a first in the country, the other courses of lesser distance will be new and challenging.  The canon will still be used to kick start the event.

It is for your health.

This is FU’s contribution to the fiesta. DAM promotes wellness. It does not mean that the regular joe would not be able to finish the race. There are varying degrees of difficulty in the courses namely the length and the trail. In order to finish the harder courses one would have to be fit. It will be an epic marathon due to the length and the unbeaten track of the course. Students are still required to attend the marathon and take at least the 10.5 km route. A typical FU student is fit not just in mind but also in
body.

It is for everyone.

Marketing for DAM is in full effect. The primary tool being used is the website www.dumaguetemarathon.com in order to reach out to people anywhere in the world. An online registration service is available and pricing accommodations from different hotels can be viewed in the website. There is also a picture gallery to view the previous 3 DAM events. A booth is set up in Robinsons mall to inform and registers interested parties. Fliers are being distributed Rizal blvd., Perdices street, and the stadium.

Anyone interested can join the marathon. There are varying lengths and difficulty, depending on the interest of the participants. The 42k course is a whole new adventure compared to the 10.5 course, so it also caters to the hardcore runners.

It is for nature.

It promises to immerse the participants In NegOr’s rural scenery. Aside from the scenery, some parts of the course are unbeaten paths and will have to be traversed single file.

It is for tourism.

The event also aims to promote the local barangays as a tourism spot and there will be live coverage of the marathon. Participating barangays are as follows: Calindagan – Canday-Ong, Taclobo, Batinguel, Candau-Ay, Palinpinon, Balili, Pulangbato, Sagbang, Balugo – Valencia, Apolong, and Calayugan. In close coordination with these barangays, the event organizers were able to plot the entire course.

It is safe

Along with the flora is also the fauna. The organizers also talked to the town representatives to leash their canines for the whole duration of the event. A loose canine would certainly motivate the participants to run faster but their safety is foremost in the long list of priorities of the organizers.

Each barangay have agreed to lend their support by having representatives that will act as marshals. Obviously they have good knowledge of the terrain of their own respective locale. This is to make sure none of the participants do not stray from the course and if they do then the marshals can easily find them and assist them back to the right path. The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) of each barangay will also participate by cheering on the participants to finish the marathon.

As participants traverse the course, thirst will certainly be an issue and refreshments are strategically placed along the length of the course. There will be water stations every 2 km segment of the entire course except on rough terrain which will be for every 1 km.

With rough terrain and uneven elevation comes the danger of accidents. Medics will be stationed all over the course and some will be running along the participants to render medical assistance if need be. Handholds are installed at some key point areas with high incline and along steep paths. These areas have been thoroughly inspected by organizers and marshals.

For a medical emergency, there will be ambulances on standby and a medical team on a state of readiness.

It is for you.

So whether too finally use years of unspent energy stored in the body, or to see the local scenery, to jog with classmates and/or friends, to spend a weekend in a unique way, to get away from the city, or just simply to sweat. These and much more, the DAM promises to deliver to the participants.

There are no losers only winners, simply for having the willingness to participate and finish the marathon. Finishing it is already an achievement by itself. The experience would be well worth it.

by Pish Dadivas

The Dumaguete Adventure Marathon (DAM) 2011 is fast approaching.  With only a couple of months left till the event, the organizers at Foundation University are on their toes in a bustle to prepare for the run.  It is the first only full 42 km adventure marathon existing in the Philippines, thus participants–running connoisseurs–from all over the country are expected to take part in the event.

Indeed, streets all over the Philippines are teeming with masses of runners these days.  Races, fun runs, trail runs, and marathons are springing up all over the nation, with a present-day average of 13 events per week, as The Scientist Runner reports.  A resurgence of the running mania that first boomed in the eighties in Manila, running is apparently the “in” sport for Filipinos again today.

As always, Dumaguete has never been too far from the scene.  In fact, Dr. Aparicio Mequi, former chairman of  the Philippine Sports Commission and current chairman of the Foundation University Institute of Youth Sports for Peace (IYSPeace), recounts that even before the running boom was revived in Manila in 2009, Dumaguete already had a headstart in the new running craze.  The DAM takes its roots from the Rice is Life Leandro Sinco Challenge Races, which was first held in 2006.  As Doc Mequi reckons, the run started out from a campaign to promote the importance and conservation of rice.  Instead of medals or trophies, the event awards its finishers with cavans of rice.  Since then, succeeding races followed suit.  ”Other marathons now also have an advocacy, which started with our marathon having an advocacy,” he maintains.

True enough, advocacy is at the heart of the DAM.  Apparently it has never been enough to hold a marathon just for the sake of giving people an avenue to run.  In the case of the DAM, there is more to it than the outer causes, ie. the Rice is Life or Shoes for Children campaigns.  According to Dean Sinco, VP for Finance of Foundation University, the primary purpose of the DAM is to be an example of excellence in event management, specifically sports events.  He observes that the logistics of a lot of local sporting events he’s seen are compromised most of the time.  Thus, the DAM serves as a commentary and an initiative as to how event management should be done. Indeed, such efforts do not go unnoticed.  During last year’s run, City Mayor Manuel “Chiquiting” Sagarbarria said it would definitely put Dumaguete in the tourist map.  Also, Manokanrunner, a blogger from takbo.ph who came all the way from Manila to join the race, acknowledged how the run was very well organized.

Another fundamental cause is to bring people intentionally to the wild, into nature.  Sir Dean reckons that people nowadays are generally unaware of their environment.  ”They don’t know and haven’t seen where their water comes from or what the wilderness looks like–they just know it’s there,” he remarked.  This cause is vital for the Dumaguete community, since majority of the participants of the DAM are students in Foundation University, who are required by the school to enter the race.  The DAM gives the students an opportunity to experience nature themselves in order to understand and appreciate their surroundings.

Last year, out of the 3,869 participants, 3,511 are registered FU students, required to join either the 3k or 5k race categories.  This year, however, all the students are required to join in the quarter marathon (10.5km).  Doc Mequi takes pride in the fact that Foundation University is the only university in the world that requires its students to walk (in preparation for the race, primarily).  He mentioned that it is part of their initiative to make Dumaguete a healthy, walking community.  ”Ten and a half kilometers takes a lot of courage to walk!” he said, pointing out that values are not taught inside the classroom, but outside.  That’s why sports programs are important in any community; it is where camaraderie, loyalty, teamwork, and, most importantly, courage is learned.  For without courage, as a quotation by Edward Abbey goes, all other virtues are useless.

The DAM continues to strive to uphold its ideals, and as it does it targets to build a culture of integrity, excellence, and insight in the city.  If physical fitness and the thrill of the runner’s high isn’t enough to involve any person to take part in the run, then perhaps this invitation to be part of a greater cause for this city–and even the whole nation–would be enough of a motivating force.