Saturday, March 01, 2008 'Manunggal Trip' raises rewards for adventure games
WHOPPING cash prizes are at stake in the 51st Paghandum ni Magsaysay Adventure Trip, which falls during the annual trek to the historical Mt. Manunggal in the municipality of Balamban.
This year, organizers are raising the bar a notch higher as it will be more difficult and rewards will be greater. The one-day competition is divided into the fun and elite categories. The elite race stakes P10,000 for the winning team with the runners up getting P6,000 and P4,000. An extra P6,000 will be given out to the top three teams in the fun event.
Balamban annually commemorates the death anniversary of the late president Ramon Magsaysay, who died in a plane crash in the now famed Manunggal. This has also become an annual pilgrimage for mountaineers, who trek up the crash site and camp overnight.
This year, Balamban will spice up the annual trek with the staging of three sporting events such as the 17-kilometer mountainbike uphill race, military simulation airsoft event the cash-rich adventure race.
Ten control points will be scattered all over, covering the barangay Magsaysay towards Gaas. Race director Ramon Vidal said that although the race is short, adventure racers will have demanding challenges.
“The fun race is a shorter course with easier tasks, but the elite race will really test the racers’ abilities in adventure racing disciplines,” Vidal said.
Racers’ navigational skills will be tested as the race is mostly about their maps and compasses as they find their way around the mountain towards the finish line.
Apart from this, they will have to try and get past hurdles that include biking and technical rope techniques like rappelling and Tyrolean traverse. Because of the cash prize, Vidal said that he is expecting teams from out of town to join.
“There will be adventure racing teams from Manila and neighboring provinces and even some triathletes,” Vidal said.
On the other hand, Vidal said that the fun race will be more family-oriented. “We want to encourage people to try this sport. The fun race is mostly just trekking and the tasks are more on community or local activities. We want to point out that families can join this race,” Vidal added.
Interested teams may contact Vidal at 0918-900-8741 for additional information. MCB
