Balesin Gladiator Run 2019 Race: We are CHAMPIONS!
"When your legs get tired, run with your heart."
And that's what I kept reminding myself when I joined the Balesin Gladiator Obstacle Run 2019. Plus, the fact that it's a team competition and my team was relying on me so I can't screw it up (though I think I did a bit LOL). The event was held on June 22, 2019, which happened to by our boyfriend/girlfriend anniversary. My husband and I joined with two friends and we treated this race as our anniversary celebration as well.
I have dedicated a blog post on how we found out about the event and how we prepared as well as a separate blog post on our adventures the day before the actual race.
Morning before the race
Breakfast at the Main Clubhouse
If I remember correctly, we woke up at around 7:30 AM in time for our breakfast at the
Main Clubhouse. We wanted to "carbo-load" and make the most out of the
buffet before our scheduled thalassotheraphy session at 10:30 AM. The buffet rates at the island was not cheap so we wanted to eat just enough so our next meal would be at dinner already (This didn't happen! LOL!). At the
same time, we wanted to have some time to look around and enjoy the scenery.
The breakfast was okay; nothing very special about it. The buffet meals in Manila
offer better selections but it's the view that made the most
out of it. According to some of the staff, the Main Clubhouse has the
best beachfront across all the villages. I'd say it was really spectacular, that we really took our time taking pictures.
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| Morning beach view at the Main Clubhouse |
It was truly extra special for us since the race event date was our
boyfriend/girlfriend anniversary and we got to spend it together at this
beautiful island.
The Main Clubhouse beachfront alone had so much to offer. I think we took
more time taking pictures than having our breakfast.
Hammock by the beach
Thalassotheraphy at Aegle
After our breakfast we headed to Aegle Wellness Center for our free thalassotheraphy session. According to
their website:
"Thalassotherapy, from the Greek word for “sea,” makes use of the components of seawater for medical treatments including weight loss, detoxification, anti-ageing, and regeneration; these components include the seawater itself, mud and silt, algae, and seaweed, as well as coralline minerals.
Aegle's Balesin facility is the only one in the Philippines and one of very few in Asia to offer thalassotherapy, benefiting from its location surrounded by the clean, vital waters of the Pacific Ocean."
Upon our arrival, we had to wait for a few minutes since there's no available
pool yet. We also ordered some of their healthy shakes that we can drink while enjoying our time in
the pool. Surprisingly, we were not too full for them even after our buffet breakfast.
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Aegle Wellness Center's reception area |
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Aegle Wellness Center's waiting area |
After a bit of wait, an attendant guided as to the second floor where their
thalassopools were located. We wandered around a bit and found that
apparently, there were several kinds of thalassotheraphy that can be
experienced. To know more about each, they can be found in their
website. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the kind of thalassopool that we had
since we were just given whatever was available at that time.
We got to enjoy the thalassotheraphy for 45 minutes. It just felt like a
jacuzzi pool but we did feel relaxed after the session. We were hoping that
it could somehow help is in our race that afternoon.
After the thalassotheraphy, we went outside the wellness center again for a bit since we were
still finishing our shakes. There were available ordinary jacuzzi pools that can be
vacated by anyone. I am still in awe at how amazing the view was while
enjoying yourself in one of those pools.
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That amazing view again |
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My hubby living the life |
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| A look at the stairs to the wellness center's beach area in the morning |
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At the bottom of the stairs, by the beach |
The Race
After all the excitement we had in the morning, we tried to take a nap before the
race to get ourselves energized. Unfortunately, for me, I had trouble sleeping.
I wasn't sure if it was the nerves. But the rest of my teammates got to get that much needed rest so good for them. I think I ended up spending my time preparing what to wear and what to bring like a typical wife/mother.
Thankfully, we didn't have to rush to the event since the starting line was just outside
our villa. A few minutes before the event, we prepared ourselves and waited
until we could see other people before joining the fun.
While waiting for the event to start, we refilled our free hydration bottle with the free Gatorade being given away. We assigned Leans to carry the drink since he has the best endurance among us and the added weight wouldn't be much of a bother to him.
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| Warming up before the race Photo c/o RunRio |
After doing the usual warm up, the gun was fired and the race officially started. Our team got separated into two groups since Leans and Rudzon were obviously faster than us. Ruel stayed with me being a loyal hubby that he's always been. I wasn't able to take pictures of the actual run since we're focused on winning.
The initial start of the race was fairly easy but running really took its toll on me. I hated running and I couldn't believe I was doing it. The obstacles were manageable but it's the running that can tire you out. I actually felt relieve whenever there was an obstacle because I'd get a rest from running. Ruel tend to ask if I needed help which, I obviously don't because I know I could do them. Whenever I finish an obstacle easily, I'd often feel a surge of triumph. I felt so strong!
The race course had 10 obstacles for those who are in the 5 KM event. For those in the 3 KM, they only had to go through the last 3 obstacles.
At the middle of the course, one of the organizers riding a bike was cheering as on and told us that we are so far the leading Mixed Group. That gave us a boost of energy but, of course, there was that added pressure.
The most difficult part for me was the run on the beach and I was very careful not to push myself too hard up to the point that I might get cramps again. There were times that I would walk to rest and Ruel would push me so we'd get back to running. If it weren't for him, I would probably walk all the way out of defeat!
The organizer on the bike who was keeping tabs on us would often go back to us and cheer us on. He'd remind us that our teammates are already way ahead, which wasn't really a surprise.
I think we got to meet our teammates before the 8th obstacle, which was the cargo net. When I got there, I actually was surprised on how crowded it was already. Apparently, this was the start of the 3KM obstacles. Since we were aiming to win, it was a challenge on how to overtake the others in order to get ahead. Sadly, that added to our time since we had to wait a bit before we could do the obstacles and this went on until the 10th obstacle.
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| At the monkey bars! Photo c/o RunRio |
Finally, after the 10th obstacle, my teammates and I held our hands as we cross the finish line with the ribbon, officially making us the TOP MIXED TEAM!
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| Team PrepEat is the Top Mixed Group! |
After the Race
WE WERE CHAMPIONS! It was an exciting time for us! Our little drama at the beginning paid off and our training paid off! We finished strong with no injuries (I didn't get the cramps I feared of) and we won! It was the very first time that I've experienced crossing the finish line with a ribbon! Even as I wrote this a year after, I still remember the exhilarating feeling back then!
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| Photo-Op with Team PrepEat Photo c/o RunRio |
The best part was winning the event teamed up with my husband. My husband and I had previously joined local competitions organized by the CrossFit community in the Philippines as a team. We've never won anything together but my husband did win once but with a different set of people because I was pregnant at that time. It was a really sweet moment for us.
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| Winning with the love of my life |
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| Group photo with all the athletes Photo c/o RunRio |
Awarding of Top Finishers
After all the runners have crossed the finish line and my team continued to bask on our win, we were eventually directed to go to the Cove Deck still at Mykonos Village for the awarding of the Top Finishers.
Thankfully, there were some pika food served for the runners. I bet everyone was famished at that time.
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| Team PrepEat at the Cove Deck |
What I really enjoyed about winning this event was that the event photographers really took pictures of us! We just continued to enjoy ourselves, discussing what happened during the run, and joking around that, what if they don't call our team when they announced the winners? LOL!
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| Team PrepEat. Photo c/o RunRio |
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| Team PrepEat Photo c/o RunRio |
Finally, it was time to award the winners and Team PrepEat were officially announced as the TOP MIXED GROUP. I couldn't remember our completion time but it didn't matter. We won!
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| Awarding of the Top Mixed Group Photo c/o RunRio |
We didn't know yet at that time what our prize would be but we were excited about it nevertheless.
The After-Party
After the awarding ceremony, we had our dinner and cleaned up for the after-party, which was held at the Clubhouse Performance Theater. There was good music and free cocktail drinks were given away. Other athletes mingle with each other.
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| Team Prep Eat at the After-Party Photo c/o RunRio |
The exciting part was when they raffled off two free lifetime memberships in Balesin worth 1 million+. They decided the winners through draw lots and elimination: a name would be drawn and everybody in the event would have to stay standing up. They would announce letters visible on the name and if it didn't apply to you, you would have to sit down. If one or two are left standing, they would just show the piece of paper to the person and ask them if that was their name. If no one claims that they were that person, the name was not announced and they draw another name. It was actually fun.
There was a time wherein the name drawn had three a's and two n's on their first name. I was thinking, "Samantha" only has one n so I already sat down but my teammates kept insisting they think it was me. It was possible that the second n was picked up on my second name "Antonette." We never found out who it was because they didn't announce it. We will never know if it could have been been me. They kept teasing me that they were sure it was me and I could have had a free lifetime Balesin membership.
After the raffle, we finally went back to our villa, still thrilled by our win but ready to take our well-deserved rest.
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Check out my other blog posts related to our Balesin Adventure:
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