A year after typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, devastated the island of Leyte, an inspirational Enduro race was held as promised in this article. More than a competition, the event was symbolic to the bounce-back of the province from the unimaginable damages brought by the killer storm.

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The 4th leg of Enduro Pilipinas Series was a celebration of hope , recovery, and unity among the Filipinos in the South. Nearly half of the 73 riders travelled all the way from Mindanao , some 1,030 kilometers, to be a part of this activity. These riders from Zamboanga and Tacurong prove us that while their nerves are made of steel (tough on the trails ,they dominated the top 10 in most categories), their hearts are soft … showing support and kindness to the community.

Everyone loves Enduro!
Everyone loves Enduro!

This celebration would not have happened without the support of TLBF Ormoc, Leyte. TLBF -Terry Larzzabal Bike Festival hosted our race and included Enduro Pilipinas in the Bike Fest under the leadership of Atty. Goyo Larazabal and Baba Herrera. Thank you TLBF.
Designing the race course was not easy and simple. The appointed race director is not a local of Ormoc, Adrian Walag a.k.a “Wagz” had to cross the sea for 3 hours on weekends to work on the trails, add to that is the fact that we have no local riders with Enduro orientation to guide us in the mountains. It was on August 17 when we first explored the wilderness of north-eastern part of Ormoc, we relied on our GPS Maps and asked local farmers to take us to network the of trails connecting at least 3 mountains around Lake Danao. Unfortunately, the damage of typhoon Haiyan covered the trails with fallen trees leaving almost no trace of the old tracks.

deneynilo

John Francis Martinez joined Wagz in the succeeding explorations and was able to map out an excellent 3-Stage race course. By the first week of October , Wagz and John organized the best ever team of race marshals, the young people of Buena Vista, the local heroes.

This is probably what is unique to Enduro Pilipinas. While we work on the races we connect with the communities where the races are held. We get to know the people and their culture. They help us in the logistics and the safety of our riders, as we also help their community by generating income for them . This symbiosis is what keeps us working with or without sponsorships.

Off to the staring line!
Off to the staring line!

With the venue being some 18 kilometers away from the city, the participants were transported to the starting line at 6:00 AM on October 26. It was a sunny morning and we all expected a hot Enduro day. Even the veterans who had enough water in their hydration packs would be needing some refills by the end of the second stage. Thanks to the local boys of Buena Vista for fetching ice-cold water for everybody.

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The 1st Special Stage is a 3.6-kilometer high-speed descent with rocky portions. Stage 2 is generally a single-track of 2.8 kilometers. The final stage is everybody’s favorite —7.6 kilometers with high speed sections. “The long descent to the finish was infinite” says one of the participants.

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Using our barcode (QR codes) system, the race ended early . The queuing of riders was much better and the tabulation of results was significantly faster. By 2:00 PM the finishers were already heading back to the city for the awarding ceremonies and for the party thrown by TLBF.

Top seed Nilo Estayo grabbed the 1st place in the Elite Category with more than 2 minutes ahead of Michael Cierro, and Deney Metiam, the 2nd and 3rd placers respectively. The Femenino Champ is Joyce Del Socorro who was also the winner of the Ladies Downhill Competition of TLBF. Jeffrey M. Mar is the new Fast & Curious (first-timer) icon , while Jonathan Verga made a strong statement in the Aficionado (hobbyist) Category with an impressive 30:01 finish! But the most glorious of them all is the champion of the Idol Category (40 years old above), he crashed hard at the end of Stage 1 when a carabao ( HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_buffalo” \o “Water buffalo” buffalo) on the loose came from nowhere and hit him. With a sore thigh he still managed to finish strong . The rockstar is Raffy Martinez from Biliran. For the complete list of winners and finishers please visit enduropilipinas.com.

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The FINALE of Enduro Pilipinas Season 2 will happen in Tacurong, Mindanao on December 14, 2014.

More information here: www.enduropilipinas.com

Words and Photos: Sly Lumbao


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