THE Municipal Tourism Office of Sta. Cruz is currently gearing up for the Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge and the Mt. Apo Sky and Vertical Race of the Visit Davao Summer Festival 2018 as they are expecting around 200 international and local participants.
During the summer of 2017, the municipal government of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur decided to launch the Boulder Face Challenge and the Sky and Vertical Race giving the mountain about a year to regenerate after a fire consumed almost 100 hectares of grassland of Mt. Apo.
The two simultaneous events will run from April 21 to 22, 2018. Sta. Cruz Municipal Tourism Officer Julius Paner said the participants are coming from 16 different countries who had registered for the Mt. Apo Sky and Vertical Race.
He said among the two events, the race appeals the most to the international participants as it purely requires running as compared to the boulder face challenge which is intended for extreme adventurists. Aside from that a number of international running associations that accredited the Mt. Apo Sky and Vertical Race that whoever participates will be able to acquire points. The Sky and Vertical Race are set at 25 kilometers (25K), 50K, and 10K distances.
Last year, 170 runners participated at the race coming from seven different countries including the United States, Hong Kong, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Spain.
On the other hand, most of the participants of the Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge are Filipinos particularly from Mindanao.
“If you look at the extremity of the challenge, it will really favor those that are already familiar with Mt. Apo. Participants of this are very limited. First, they need to be extreme adventurists, not just running and climbing. You have to bike, you have to maneuver the tubing area on an inflated tire, then you have to run. This is only for specialized athletes who are really extreme. This will only reach about 70 persons including the foreign participants,” said Paner.
As they are expecting a festive event come summer, Paner said they are making sure the security is tight. They are coordinating with the barangay local government, the military, and the police.
The Boulder Face Challenge is among the major tourism activities slates this summer together with the Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS), which is already on its 5th year and is aimed to increase tourist arrivals in Davao Region. With their activities launched in the different areas in the region, they target to make Davao the top-of-the-mind for sports, adventure, culture, arts, party, fun, and leisure during summer. This is along with the sales and discounts still present in shopping, dining, hotel rooms, tours, wellness services, and air fares.