Bagtit Ultra in Tarlac, Philippines, lived up to its name last weekend. The heat of day particularly turned the 100km into a ‘crazy’ sufferfest on top of the 4800 metres of elevation gain. Luzon’s Maynard Encormal proved to be the most resilient on Saturday and grabbed his first ever ATM race victory after a few podiums in previous seasons. Maynard was at the top the leaderboard for basically all day and completed the course in 18h56. When all was said and done, ultra race experience and effort-management played a big role at Bagtit Ultra as Julie Ann Morales also showed in the women’s 100k race. The Davao runner started very modestly and was not even placing in the top positions on the leaderboard early in the day. But at the finish, she arrived in third overall (!) and just two minutes behind second placed male Geza Oszacki. Morales already won Mt Apo 100 in December and thus so far collected 1000 ATM Championship points, making her the female leader in this season’s ranking.

Geza Oszacki was second, also after a solid second half overtaking a.o. Bhert Orpiada and Ariehmar Bardoquillo. Bardoquillo was leading the race together with Encormal early on, but in the end he fell off the top 3 podium. Kimberly Gaela managed to hold onto second place in the women’s race after leading for 75 km and until Morales caught her. For Gaela it was her most competitive ATM result as well. Michella Aradanas, winner of the Grand Malico Ultra Candidate Race a few weeks ago, arrived in third place, but she was later relegated for missing a checkpoint during the day. Ann Jilian Pulanco therefore was announced as the third woman on the podium.

Pre-race favourite Elizabeth Dangadan was a DNS at Bagtit Ultra 100.

Marjones Abugan from Davao del Norte won the 50k men’s points race in 9h42! His first race victory in ATM after leading throughout. Henry Cotilllon was trying to keep up initially, but dropped back in the second half. Cotillon saved his great second place nevertheless, finishing just ahead of Noy Gentoleo. All three go home with remarkable results, showing competitive improvement still in the early part of this ATM season.

Pre-race favourite Cecille Wael indeed won the 50km race at Bagtit Ultra, but it was harder than it perhaps seemed. ! After arriving in Tarlac basically just in time after work commitments in Manila and with a significant lack of sleep, Cecille took a modest start but found herself in the lead nonetheless by halfway. Anne Rongavilla from Mindanao applied enough pressure to keep her concentrated in the heat of day. Her Finish time was 12h02, roughly 20 minutes ahead of Rongavilla. It's Wael's 4th career ATM race win and 2nd within six months, having won Matanao Mountain Marathon 70k last October. Rongavilla also scored a podium place (2nd) in Mt Apo Sky Race 100 in 2019. In fact, the female 50km podium was almost a mirror copy of that race’s podium as Melanie Hingpit took third in Bagtit. Five years ago, Hingpit won on Apo with Wael in third.

Julie Ann Morales bags another impressive win on the ultra distance

Marjones Abugan: debut ATM race win on the 50km

Season IX of the Asia Trail Master Championship series continues this weekend in the Philippines with the 3rd edition of Bagtit Ultra in Luzon. On the programme are both 100km and 50km races for ATM points. The event, organised by the Pace Republic, replaces last season’s Santa Ines on our calendar, and was a Candidate Race last June. That day we learnt that the race course of Bagtit is to be taken seriously.

‘Bagtit’ is the local Ilocano translation of the word ‘crazy’. The 100km course has an accumulated elevation gain of 4800 hm and has five distinct peaks. One can experience a panoramic view of the Tarlac and Pangasinan plains and Mt. Arayat from afar. Mt. Damas may arguably have the distinction of being the most scenic mountain in Tarlac. But it is the less explored trails on Mt Sem-Ilya that are considered to be the highlight of the event. The start and finish venue of the 100km is in Mayantoc Municipal Hall. Runners are required to toe the line on Saturday morning 6am. The 50km has a different start location: the Papaac Basketball Court (Camiling, Tarlac) and only starts at 1am on Sunday early morning - meaning the first four five hours will be in darkness.

The list of participants looks very solid as expected for any race that offers points for the ATM Championship ranking and the Grandmaster Quest. However, in the absence of ‘super elites’ like John Ray Onifa and Arnie Macaneras, the battle for podium on the 100k and 50k is wide open. Especially in the men’s category. Maynard Encormal is from Luzon and could be the one to watch out for most on the long distance. Already a podium placer on a few occasions in ATM races, Encormal may be keen to finally get on the top step of the podium. He was qualified for last year’s ATM Final but decided against participation. Sean Aying, Ariehmar Bardoquillo, Avelino Versola III and Florence Alave will certainly be challenging him. Also last year’s 80k race winner Julius Iglesias is back on the start list, and so is good old Angelito Vertudazo, who could produce the upset.

In the women’s 100k, the runner-to-beat is Elizabeth Dangadang. Part-time obstacle racer, part-time trail runner, Elizabeth Dangadang was a convincing race winner a year ago at Santa Ines, well ahead of Angelie Cabalo and Cecille Wael no less. While she may start as the favourite, plenty of other women will contest the podium, and -who knows- apply pressure on Dangadang. Davao’s Julie Ann Morales has been in great shape recently, also winning the Mount Apo Sky Race 100 in December in a solid time. Ann Jilian Pulanco showed in Sierra Madre Trail last season that she should never be discounted when the going gets tough and when she decides to go for it. And just a month ago, Michella Aradanas won the Grand Malico Ultra (ATM Candidate Race) in great style. Furthermore, there’s Shally Yuson, Kimberly Gaela, Cheryl Bihag, irish Glorioso, Roan Biguasen and Manilyn Mamugay.

On the 50km we have a similar set-up as on the 100 with a more pronounced female race favourite and an open field in the men’s. Looking to return to her most competitive level after a difficult 2023, Cecille Wael had a great start of the year at the Danao 50k just two weeks ago. The victory eluded her, but she showed her speed on technical trails is coming back. This weekend she will be up against a.o. Melanie Hingpit, Anne Rongavilla and Jennifer Commandante.

The men’s race looks very open with Noy Gentoleo and Aleksei Rodionov as solid podium candidates. Gentoleo is also returning to the scene after a long break during the pandemic.

ATM will be reporting live from the Bagtit Ultra event on our usual channels, and subject to connectivity along the race course.

Florence “Enciong” Alave: third on Mount Apo in December

Avelino Versola III : ATM Finalist in 2023

Sean Aying starts his 2024 campaign this weekend

Julie Ann Morales: race winner in Mindanao a number of times already. Can she also be victorious in Luzon?

Shally Yuson: 3rd on Mount Apo last December

Winner of Grand Malico Ultra just a month ago: Michella Aradanas

Two weeks after finishing 2nd in the Danao Candidate Race, Cecille Wael is aiming for the 50k win at Bagtit

The first Filipino points race event on our 2024 ATM calendar is the Bagtit Ultra event in Matantoc, Tarlac on 11/12 February. It’s the third edition organised by The Pace Republic, and “Bagtit” basically substitutes for Santa Ines Mountain Adventure, which was part of our championship calendar early this year.

The event will feature three challenging categories: the 100km, 50km and 30km races, with 100k and 50k valid for ATM championship points. Additionally, the 100km category of course presents an opportunity to earn a Grandmaster point.

As written on the official website: “Bagtit’ is the Ilocano translation of the word “crazy” and “Ultra”, short for Ultramarathon. Ultra trail runners are often called ‘crazy’ because people thought that running these distances would be impossible to accomplish. What made it crazier is the difficult and technical trails of Mt. Damas and Mt. Sem-ilya.

For more details you can check our previous news announcements or the official website linked below. Registration is open. Further down below is the official video teaser for you to get an idea of the terrain of Bagtit Ultra.

 

On 10 February 2024, Bagtit Ultra will open the points accounts for many Filipino runners in the new season of the Asia Trail Master Championship series. Organised by The Pace Republic, the former Candidate Race replaces Santa Ines on our calendar and features 100km and 50km categories valid for championship points. The 100k of course also offers a Grandmaster point.

“Bagtit’ is the Ilocano translation of the word “crazy”. Ultra trail runners are often called ‘crazy’ , but what makes this event crazier is the difficult and technical trails of Mt. Damas and Mt. Sem-ilya. Mt. Damas is situated near the border of three Tarlac municipalities: Mayantoc to the southeast, Camiling to the north and San Clemente to the west. The usual trek starts at Barangay Papaac in Camiling known as the Papaac Eco Trails. One can experience a panoramic view of the Tarlac and Pangasinan plains and Mt. Arayat from afar. Mt. Damas may arguably have the distinction of being the most scenic mountain in Tarlac. On the other side, not far from Mt. Damas summit is Mt. Sem-ilya which was less explored. There are also trails from Sitio Dueg in San Clemente that would lead to Barangay Labney in Mayantoc, the jump off of the Mt. Tapulao Traverse route. These trails will be the highlight of this event. This year, the route will be extended to Anzap Twin Falls in Mayantoc and Sitio Tala in San Jose, making the longest category to 100km, instead of the 80km half a year ago.

Flag off is in Mayantoc and the 100km has a total elevation gain of nearly 5000hm. The 50k has about half of that. Mayantoc is located just under 2 hours drive from Clark international airport, itself a few hours north of Manila. Guidelines on how to get there are mentioned in detail on the website linked below.

In the Candidate Race last June, Julius Iglesias came out on top together with Arnulfo Aquino. Shekinah Velasquez was the strongest woman.

The event will help in promoting tourism and healthy lifestyle in the community. The Pace Republic is also active in the discovery of local talents in trail running and provide them with more racing opportunities and venues. Registration is open via the website linked below.

The latest ATM Candidate Race in the Philippines was organised just outside Clark in Luzon by the Pace Republic last weekend. Bagtit Ultra includes some of the region’s most scenic trails over a total distance of 80 km for the most ambitious. Julius Iglesias and Shekinah Velasquez were the strongest in the male and female categories respectively.

The event was a last-minute announcement as Candidate Race and very much a test-event with a view to international recognition and participation in 2024. ‘Bagtit’ is the local Ilocano translation of the word ‘crazy’. The course has an accumulated elevation gain of 3890 hm and has five distinct peaks. Mount Damas and Mount Sem-ilya. One can experience a panoramic view of the Tarlac and Pangasinan plains and Mt. Arayat from afar. Mt. Damas may arguably have the distinction of being the most scenic mountain in Tarlac. But it is the less explored trails on Mt Sem-Ilya that are considered to be the highlight of the event. The start and finish venue is in Mayantoc Town Plaza. Ambition is to foster a healthy lifestyle amongst its citizens and to boost the tourism industry in the area.

Runners had to cope with some wet weather during the race last Sunday, making the trails even tougher. Julius Iglesias, quite an experienced ultra runner, came out on top together with Arnulfo Aquino. Carlito Miranda completed the podium in third place. In the women’s it was Shekinah Velasquez who took top honours ahead of Grandmaster Cheryl Bihag and Jennifer Commandante.

Grandmaster Cheryl Bihag took a nice second place in the women’s race

We are very happy to announce the latest event by The Pace Republic in Philippines as a Candidate Race for the 2024 Asia Trail Master Championship series. Bagtit Ultra is a 80km - or 50 miles - race in Mayantoc, Tarlac, which is located about 3 hours north of Manila and quite close to Clark. The team of Grandmaster Rhea Batac and the Santa Ines Mountain Adventure will be organising this event for the second time on 11 June.

‘Bagtit’ is the local Ilocano translation of the word ‘crazy’. Or Bagtit Ultra actually means ‘Crazy Ultra’ . This 80km race is indeed considered to be tough. The course has an accumulated elevation gain of 3890 hm and has five distinct peaks. Mount Damas and Mount Sem-ilya. One can experience a panoramic view of the Tarlac and Pangasinan plains and Mt. Arayat from afar. Mt. Damas may arguably have the distinction of being the most scenic mountain in Tarlac. But it is the less explored trails on Mt Sem-Ilya that are considered to be the highlight of the event. The start and finish venue is in Mayantoc Town Plaza. Ambition is to foster a healthy lifestyle amongst its citizens and to boost the tourism industry in the area.

Gun start will be at midnight, and the cut-off time at the finish is 20 hours. There are two intermediate cut-off time spots, and you need to have finished at least 1 marathon already in order to be allowed a starting bib.

Find out all details on the official website linked below.

Also Angelie Cabalo was present in the inaugural edition of Bagtit Ultra last year