WAMOC emerges victor over the other all-female teams during TNF Race

(Of Self-fulfilment, Adjustment, Love and Commitment)

Err… actually, make that other “team” as there were actually just two all-female team during the race hehehe I could no longer remember who got heard of the race first or who urges whom. All I remember is that one day Renee, Bambie and I all agreed to convene at the football field over at Agro for a night run. We wanted to prepare for the TNF race.

It was exactly a week and a day before the actual race. It could hardly amount to some form of “preparation.” Midway before the race, I was already having some doubts. I mean, who am I kidding? We actually had just.. three days?.. of actual running. And in those three instances, the whole team jogged together just once. It was always just Renee and I since Bambie is either on duty or is resting before her next shift is due. And of course I had to consider the fact that my baby is still way before being a year old. And I had been pregnant only recently, I don’t know the extent with which my body can take any form of physical stress at this stage. Strictly speaking, I still am at the recovery stage. My body is just about getting back to its normal state – after going through the “onslaught” of pregnancy and giving birth. Hehehe how I so love to dramatize things :) By the looks of it, I am recovering along fine. But come to think of it, a race is still a race. As a friend pointed out – I could suffer from a relapse. Bolo’s been discouraging me too especially when he found out the race would fall on a Saturday. He still had work then. It meant he won’t be able to watch over us for the entire duration of the race just like what he and Stephen did during a previous race.

Anyway, it took Renee’s (whom AMOC guys fondly calls “bossing” by the way)…ehem… “stern” inquiry for me to decide that I’m pushing through with the race. What the heck, the guys don’t call Renee “bossing” for no reason at all :) So on August 19, 2006 we raced along with the other 18 teams who participated in the activity.

A few days before the actual race, a briefing was held. That’s when Renee and I found out that there were only two (2) all-women teams. Majority of the teams were all-male. And they were not just male-male. They were really MALE with all the brawn and the browns. They had “real” muscles to speak of and their skin speaks of the number of hours they must have spent under the sun doing their preparation for the race or joining some other races. Some of the faces there were not exactly strangers. They were co-competitors in previous races, 5k runs, kayak race. Some were good friends from mountaineering.

The night before the actual race, the WAMOC team were still trying to complete our uniform for the race. I had to borrow Joan’s AMOC shirt since I no longer could find mine. Bolo had to secure my helmet and bag. Renee and Bambie also had to look for their own helmets. We didn’t even have a chance to meet at all. Each was busy with our respective personal concerns. We were like, just texting each other and agreeing to meet and see each other a few moments before the race officially starts. Huh!

It was good that Sharon – who by the way is about 6 months pregnant – and Jay was able to lend us support. Sharon joked about her “baby” having to wake up real early too so she could drive our official “photographer” (Jay) around. But of course she was more there to lend us support than anything. For the early part of the race, Bolo was able to join us too since the race started early. It bought him some time before he was due for work. He was able to lend us moral support up until the fourth control point (CP). Well, he even scolded me at the first CP when he found me there sans Renee and Bambie who had yet to join me. Renee had trouble going over a fence just before reaching the CP.


CP 1: Stumbling on fetters
Welcome to Checkpoint 1. Your next checkpoint will be at the entrance gate of Palma Gil Elementary School along Quirino Ave. You have to go there ON FOOT with the Prisoners cuffs chained on all three members. You can only detach these cuffs once you have reached the next checkpoint. Good luck and have a nice walk.





CP 2: Welcome to Checkpoint 2. Your next destination is to go near the gate of Thomson Christian School of Davao along Lopez Jaena St., and find your next checkpoint there. However, in proceeding so, you have to push the cart all the way to the next checkpoint with at least one team member riding the cart. You have to follow traffic rules in navigating the streets. Good Luck and have a nice pushing.










CP 3: Welcome to Checkpoint 3. Your team must continue this task of cart pushing all the way to the next checkpoint which is located near the gate of the University of Immaculate Concepcion at Bankerohan Public Market. Good luck!

This part sure did sucks! Hehe Cart pushing with one of us onboard it is no joke, believe me. When we reached Thompson I eyed its surroundings suspiciously. I could not see any carts around. It’s either we’re the first team there (we were so wise we took a short cut) or that we are to continue with the cart pushing. I almost groaned out load when I read the task indicated in the paper strip given to us. It was bad enough that we will have to continue pushing the cart, it was more difficult so if we have to do it at an uphill. UIC is quite a distance from Thompson and most of the way there is on an uphill. Imagine that with a load on. The word, “RELAPSE” sure did crop in my mind not just a few times at this point. Renee and I had been doing the pushing while Bambie sat on the cart. When it was suggested that it was my turn to ride – Renee simply would not do – I thanked my Angels for it. But was soon less thankful afterwards. It was so stressful having to sit there while you think about your poor teammates having to carry your weight. I tried meditating at one point, hoping by some miracle I could levitate to lessen the load. Yeah right! =)

CP 4: Welcome to Checkpoint 4. Leave your cart here and then proceed to the Ferry Boat Terminal near Grand Men Seng Hotel where you will find your next checkpoint. You can proceed by running. Good luck.

We have to run huh? On my way to CP 5 I sort of drifted off and noted how my body is taking it all in. I reflected on how great indeed it is to be a woman. Imagine, our body is engineered such that we are able to “bear” life – nurture it within us from being a simple zygote into a complex, tiny human being who is so full of promise and possibilities. Come to think of it, when a woman is pregnant, she is not just nurturing a human being but a future – the potentialities of which are infinite. Imagine such “power.” Men indeed are instrumental to our being able to conceive and yet, we are the one “bearing” it, nurturing it in order for it to completely develop. And on top of that, being able to participate in other physical pursuits… I’d say, females are in no way the lesser sex.

CP 5: Welcome to Checkpoint 5. You have to cross the river in a ferry boat and proceed to Agro football field along Quimpo Boulevard where you will find your next check point. You can either run or ride after crossing the river.










CP 6: Welcome to Checkpoint 6.

It was a pleasant surprise to see a familiar face manning the sixth CP. It was no other than Joan – fellow WAMOC – whom we found at the post. She pointed out that her shirt fitted me just fine since I had previously voiced out a concern that it might not fit given the extra “baby” fats I’ve gained.

The task in this CP required us to come up with a slingshot which we will have to use in hitting bottles lined up along the river dike. Bambie and I both took a shot at it. I took aim, stretched the rubber and whispered a prayer. I invoked God to be my wings, which more appropriately should have been the pebble’s wing as it would do the flying and not me. Nonetheless, God must have listened more to my intention than to what I had uttered since I downed the target at one try. Jay, and all of us all yelped triumphantly and proceeded with the race. The next control point was somewhere at the back of SM which is quite at a distance from where we are. But having hit the target at first try sure did lift our spirits.

CP 7: Welcome to Checkpoint 7. Your cp task is to be able to fly a paper plane from a certain distance that will pass through a region specified by the CP marshal. After completing the task, you can proceed to the fruit stand outside Magsaysay Park either by riding or running. You are going to find a vendor named, Neneng who will give you the next due of the race.

This may sound easy but believe me, it took us quite a while to let the plane drift to where it’s supposed to go. At one point I asked the marshal if it’s okay if I insert a pebble inside the plane to which he smilingly told me I had to find other ways :) Well, it’s ingenuity isn’t it? What I thought of? Hehehe And I did ask permission as I had no intention of cheating.

Since SM is quite a long, long way from Magsaysay, we decided to surrender our second pass and chose to ride our way there after we completed the task. We used our first pass over at the fourth CP.

CP 8: Welcome to Checkpoint 8. You must eat the durian fruit given to you by the vendor before you can proceed to the next checkpoint station. The next checkpoint is located near the gate of San Pedro College along De Guzman St. You can proceed either by running or riding.

Ah, durian eating was no task hehe It was actually a reward :) Sharon who looked out from the window of her car shouted at the marshal if she could eat in lieu of Bambie who does not quite get “nose-to-nose” with durian. The durian given us sure did taste heavenly. It was a pity we had to gobble it up instead of just simply savoring it. It was really delicious. If I remember it right, it was of the native variety. One that was heavenly sweet, tasty and fleshy.


CP 9: Welcome to Checkpoint 9. Before you can leave this checkpoint, you are to assemble your team flag and carry it with you all the way to the finish line. Your next checkpoint is at the entrance gate of the Davao Medical School Foundation. You can proceed there either by running or riding.
We thought there would still be more difficult tasks up ahead and so we held on to our third and last pass and decided to run all the way to the next CP. If a rappelling figures in one of the tasks ahead, a pass could be useful then. Especially when several teams could be queuing for it. It could buy us time, not to mention buy us salvation in reference to my fear of heights hehe But surprisingly, I had come prepared for the race. I knew rappelling would not faze me then should the race require me to do so.

CP 10: Welcome to Checkpoint 10.

Ah, this point proved quite a drag. Who would have thought it is difficult to shoot a bottle crown inside a trash bin located a few paces from where we’re standing. It sure did take me a while before I managed to shoot one. When we did, off we went to the next CP which was at San Pedro Memorial Park. Again, we opted to save our pass here and decided to run all the way there.

We were rounding our first corner when Manong Rudy and Dax, who organized the whole thing overtook us and took pictures of us. It was fun knowing a newspaper guy was taking our pictures :) For a moment, we subjected ourselves to Mang Rudy’s “posing instructions.”

CP 11: Welcome to Checkpoint 11. You can proceed immediately near the gate of Davao Doctors College along Gen. Malvar St. either by running or riding.

Again, we held on to our pass. Only to arrive at CP 11 and find out we were down to our last CP. And we are prohibited to use our pass as we are instructed to run all the way there. There was no rappelling or any other more challenging task. It was a beginner’s race alright but still, not for the weak-kneed as the distances between CP’s is still quite something to contend with.


CP 12: Welcome to Checkpoint 12. Run and hail your team flag towards the finish line located at Holiday Spa along F. Torres St. You are no longer allowed to ride.

When we reached the last CP, we were still required to compose the jigsaw puzzle that was made up of all the “keys” we gathered from each CP as we completed each task. Our clock did not stop running until we completed the puzzle.

All in all we clocked in a little more than 3 hours which was not exactly bad. Still we ranked 11th from all the 18 teams. When the later teams composed of all male or two-male-one-female member arrived one by one at the finish line to complete their puzzle, Patrick who was already able to join us then consoled us by saying in mock awe how we proved to be stronger than they are hehehe The second all-female team arrived last and won the “turtle of race” award.

But we did not need any consoling. It was a fun race. And we sure did have lots of fun. We knew there was no way we could rank among the top three by just looking at the rest of the teams. The top rank, by the way, was bagged by an all-male-team (all top 10 were all-male teams?) composed of runners and tri-athletes. They clocked in 1 hour and 30 minutes. How they did that, we can’t quite figure it out :) They sure was fast! Majority of the CPs were situated at some distance from each other. All those running about sure must have helped them a great deal.

Ah, as for me and my “competing” attitude, it was a first for me to have joined a race just for the heck of it and it proved to be totally enjoyable. First, gone was the pressure that the thought of winning could weigh down on you. It made me “savored” the race more, really experiencing each and every point of it in its totality as there was no pressure to distract me. It sure was fun and I’m truly grateful that I came out of it physically well and spiritually lifted. My sense of accomplishment then was definitely at a high. To have done all that in such a short time from the time I was pregnant and have given birth and all that. It amused me to think that only a few months back I had mused about my being “inactive” and totally grounded. At that time, being tied down with the responsibilities of motherhood and wifehood, I was not able to partake of my usual physical pursuits. Apparently, I’m now back in action hehehe And am truly enjoying it and am truly grateful for it.

Bolo's joining us during the lunch treat and awarding ceremony completed the experience for me. He texted Renee whether his “bb” is still with them. I was munching on my third slice of watermelon when she got his text. I was feasting on fruits then as the only viand I could eat was the onion rings – the sole “vegetarian” dish in an array of all-meat dishes. Ah well, the fruit salad – the homemade kind made up of cubed mango, watermelon, banana, papaya, etc swimming in milk concoction – sure made it up for me. And I was really more thirsty than hungry at that time.

When our team got to receive our finishers’ certificates and other tokens, Bolo was already sitting with the rest of the Fil-Chi group waiting for me to finish so he could drive me home. Our little one, after all, is waiting. He laughed along with the crowd when Dax jokingly slid next to me during the photo op and loudly asked the group if Bolo would mind.

On our way home, he engaged me in a hug while he was driving, taking his eyes momentarily off the road. I knew that without his having to express it, he knew how the experience had made me happy and self-fulfilled and that he was happy for me too. The spell was broken only when he remarked I smelt of sun and sweat! Huh! But I knew that he loved me still anyway, sweat and all. In the best way he knew how.

Ah B, just the fact that you’re happy in knowing that I’m happy is enough to make me feel really fulfilled – in more ways than participating in a race or finishing a winning proposal at work could make me feel. It hits a cord somewhere in my heartstrings every time I acknowledge that you genuinely wish for my happiness and that you are willing to support me in whatever I get myself into, just so I could achieve that. We might be having some issues lately, given the ghosts from your past and my inability to address it unselfishly – but there are moments like this that proved to be like a rainbow after a heavy storm. I know deep down, we love each other genuinely. There’s no doubt about that. We just have certain issues – from your childhood past and maybe from mine too – that we need to work out together so we could both emerge from them grown and better persons. Let’s pray for clarity of thought and the cleanest of intentions. May we both clearly remember and uphold what must be our “sacred contract” for each other. May – as it had always proved to be – our love for each other prevail time and again. I love you.