Trail run in Bulusan

Thumbie Remigio is a professional run event organizer. He has been working for the Pasig River Run for four years now. Sometime last year I went to Bulusan Lake in Sorsogon and found out they were planning a trail run but they did not have the experience to do it internationally. I asked Thumbie to help.

Thumbie said the Bulusan Trail Run is the best he has ever been in, possibly the best trail run in Asia, and definitely the best in the country. Why? Because Bulusan Lake is so beautiful! The forested mountain volcano surrounding the lake is equally beautiful.

So on Independence Day, I went on the trail run. I brought with me three Miss Earth Beauty Queens to add luster to the event: Miss Earth-Air 2012 Stephany Stefanowitz, Miss Philippines Fire 2012 Thoreen Halvorsen and Miss Philippines Earth 2013 Angelee Claudett delos Reyes.

For the uninformed, what is a trail run? As far as I understand, it is a run along a trail as opposed to one on pavement. Why is it so special? Because running on cement roads can be hard on the knees. The Bulusan Trail Run, for example, was a run along a beach fringed by crystal clear seawater, down rice fields, passing through waterfalls, streams, and physically crossing rivers. My 10-kilometer experience was highlighted by a dip in a crystal-clear refreshingly cool waterfall; then I went up 332 steps to a barangay road. I stopped midway but Stephany decided to go back and finish the run, and she said she literally had to swim down a river — it was exhilarating! It even rained and I quite enjoyed the rain, because it was clean. I am sure I would not enjoy the rain in Manila because the atmosphere is so dirty. Here the rain is energizing because the air is so clean. Sigh… Breathing deeply along a trail run imbibes the oxygen of the forest — the energy of nature — right into your system.

What also made the run very special was that the whole town cheered us on. School children lined the streets waving flags. People came out of their houses and lined the streets. I have heard that this is how it is in the New York Marathon: the whole city comes to life. I have not been able to replicate that yet for Pasig River Run. It’s not easy to get everyone up in the wee hours of the morning. Maybe it’s also because the run started a little later, around 7 a.m.  Well, the problem of not obstructing traffic clearly does not exist in the provincial town of Bulusan.

So yes, the town literally came alive. Thoreen said she even stumbled because the kids were so excited to see her!

There was a 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K and an elite 32K run which only allowed 50 runners because of the carrying capacity of the volcano. This was a run to the summit, begun at 6 a.m. A Kenyan runner won that leg.

Because the run was so beautiful and because there were only 130 runners (that lapse is definitely on the marketing side), we want to do this again by Earth Day of next year. The carrying capacity of the mountain is 1,000 participants. In the near future I will be giving more details on the run. The funds of the run will go to supporting the 10 barangays around the lake.

You don’t have to wait till 2014 to enjoy running in Bulusan lake; you can go next weekend if you want. They offer the Bulusan Volcaneering Package for two days and one night; it’s P3,500 per person inclusive of full board, meals, camping equipment, tents, sleeping bags, a cook, a guide and a porter for trekking. If you want to climb solo, just pay P5,000 and you get one guide and one porter plus all the services mentioned above. These packages also include free massage. If you want to go economy, just pay P350 for registration, a P1,000 guide fee for two days and one night and P700 for a porter. 

They also offer kayaking at P100 per person for 30 minutes; boating is P600 per person; canoe rental is P500 per person and aqua cycling is P250. Just add P150 if you want to trek around the magnificent Bulusan Lake. The main thing is that all the money goes to the community. We want to eradicate poverty in the 10 barangays around the lake. Taking care of the environment can improve lives.

So please come. Help the community and have the time of your lives. Just call Angel Bartilet at 0919-2231536 or e-mail her at wildboarsphil@yahoo.com. It’s one way of giving livelihood to the place. Bring extra money to buy honey, pili delicacies, and pili nut oil is the best thing ever! (This weekend my cook made it into a salad dressing with honey, calamansi, pepper and salt and my son gave it a rating of 9 out of 10.)

I have not the slightest doubt in my mind that we can eradicate poverty in Bulusan. I met with the heads of the barangays and there is a very sweet, heartful energy to the people there. I can see the sun just on the horizon.

A friend sent me something on the net on pili nut oil. It is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial. While there, my executive assistant Joy Gonzales developed a rash. I told her to try using some pili nut oil. In less than one minute, the rash was gone! Amazing. I also tried it on my face that evening and as moisturizer for the body. The possibilities are tremendous. It just has to be worked out that they don’t get exploited, and the community earns the bulk of the money.

There are very good hotels in Sorsogon. I stayed at Sta. Clara Inn and the rates range from P1,500 to P2,500. And the place is quite nice. There is an upcoming hotel being built by Milo Naval of Movement 8 Fame. This one is gorgeous. So yes, things are coming up for Sorsogon.

Let me end by saying something about Raul Lee, the elected governor of Sorsogon. He hosted a dinner at Milo’s hotel and I was taken aback by the musicality of the man. He had his employees of the provincial capitol sing. Wow! They are good! But what was amazing for me was how he chose their songs, guided their musicality — and upon talking to the people, they said he even trains them. I teased him, saying maybe you should just quit politics and enter showbiz. It clearly made him happy, and the talent has rubbed off on his son, who serenaded each of the Miss Earth candidates.

The three Miss Earth beauties that I brought — Thoreen, Stephanie and Angelee — were tops in terms of genuineness of spirit, beauty, grace. And on top of that, they sing really well!

So it was a beautiful two days. If you are into health and nature, go to Bulusan. You can take a trail walk in Bulusan and then kayak in the Bulusan lake. I assure you, it will be an experience you will probably want to repeat over and over again.

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Visit this link to watch the video of our enjoyable stay in Bulusan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOSLGDdWTUQ&feature=youtu.be.

Visit this link to watch Miss Earth beauty Stephany swimming: http://youtube/MMms3ECWaVg.

I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.