ELITE runners including health buffs are set to relieve history during the world war as the two race category dubbed “The Last Stand of Yamashita 2017,” kicks off September 3 in Ifugao.
Kicking off runners in Hugnduan, the foot race will feature a 21 and 50 kilometer foot race organized by Team Malaya in partnership with the Hungduan local government unit which traces the old trails used by General Tomoyuki Yamashita and his men before the end of World War 2.
The event starts at the Heritage Village in Hungduan passing thru trails and different routes leading to the Yamashita Shrine or the Kiangan War Memorial Shrine in nearby Kiangan as the finish line.
Registration is open until August 31 with P1,500 fee for the 21K inclusive of personalized bib, certificate, post run meal and finisher’s medal and shirt while the fee for the 50K event is pegged at P2,500 inclusive of personalized bib, certificate, post run meal, finisher’s medal and t-shirt.
Participants will pass rice paddies, hanging bridges, mossy forests and will be able to view two falls along the trails. The runners for the 50K will reach the Mt. Napulawan summit at 2,665 meters ASL.
Mt. Napulawan became the last stand of Yamashita, known as the “Tiger of Malaya,” who tried to rebuild his army in the mountains of Ifugao but failed, thus finally surrendering in Kiangan on September 2, 1945.
The Last Stand of Yamashita Trail run is part of the Mountain Man series of Team Malaya. (Roderick Osis)