Bontoc, Mt. province hosts first Southeast Asian Trail Running Cup

Bontoc, Mt. Province – Bontoc, the capital of Mt. Province made history as the venue for the first edition of the Southeast Asian Trail Running Cup – a biennial competition gathering the finest trail runners in the South East Asia Region.

The event was regarded a ‘resounding success’ by the Department of Tourism Cordillera with 372 trail runners from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia joining the event.

It was held from June 19 to June 23 with the scenic mountain ranges and tourism sites of Bontoc serving as the backdrop of the competition.

Winners of the trail competition

The 77-kilometer long trail run served as the main event in the competition with Thai runner Jantaraboon “Super Jake” Kiangchaipaiphana taking the top spot for the male category. Philippines’ Larry Apolinario and Arnie Macarenas were declared second and third placers, respectively.

For the female category, Elizabeth Dangadang from the Cordillera secured the championship title, followed by another Filipino runner, Angelie Cabalo.

The short trail run and the Mountain Classic Trail run (Junior), both in the male and female category, meantime, was dominated by Filipino runners.

In the Mountain Classic trail run, Philippines took the top spot for the males, followed by Vietnam while Vietnam and Philippines were hailed first and second, respectively, in the female category.

Finally, for the vertical kilometer uphill, Indonesia’s Yusri Nanda is first placer for the men category, followed by Philippines’ John Ray Onifa and Thailand’s Jantaraboon Kianchapaiphana. For the females, the top spot was secured by Thailand’s Phitchanan Mahachot, followed by Philippines’ Cara Dacnis and Singapore’s Chan Yume.

PhilTRA, DOT, Bontoc and Mt. Province LGUs congratulate all participants

This year’s edition was initiated by the Philippine Trail Running Association (PhilTRA) in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and the local government unit of Bontoc and Mt. Province.

“Congratulations to everyone who participated and conquered the climb! A special shoutout to our amazing medalists during the awarding ceremony – your hard work and dedication truly shined!” PhilTRA wrote.

The local government unit of Bontoc, meantime, expressed gratitude for the support and enthusiasm shown by both the trail runners and the community, resulting in the success of the activity.

As underscored by Mayor Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., the event is of importance in promoting tourism in Bontoc. He has also earlier mentioned that he is hopeful that Bontoc would be declared the “Trail Running Capital of Northern Luzon”.

This is not the first time that Bontoc hosted such event as it was a venue of  various trail running events in the past.