The 1st International skyrunning race is set on Feb. 18, 2012, Saturday, 630am, at Mt. Ugo Itogon, Benguet.

The race; spearheaded by the Philippine Skyrunning Association (PSA), in partnership with the Department of Tourism-Cordillera (DOT-CAR), the Provincial Government of Benguet and other event sponsors; will be a 32.88 km race going up the 2150 meters above sea level summit of Mt. Ugo and back to the barangay hall of Tinongdan, Itogon.

The Pilipinas Akyathlon (Philippine Skyrunning), the country’s first ever international mountain trail high altitude race, is the first of its kind here in Asia to be accredited by the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) according to PSA president Nina Dacanay. It is also part of the 2012 SKYRUNNER™ World Series Trials.

Pre-Registration
Pre-register to this race by emailing (1) name, (2) gender, (3) birthdate, (4) mobile number, (5) country represented to kath@philskyrunning.com.

Race Course Description:

This is a 33-km out-and-back race, starting from the Barangay Hall of Tinongdan (779 masl) in the Municipality of Itogon, Province of Benguet. The first 1.7km is a downhill run on paved road to the start of the trail (499 masl). From this point, the route to the summit is mostly uphill with a total elevation gain of 1858 meters, and loss of 195 meters. The scenic route will showcase magnificent views of surrounding mountains, including portions of Binga and Ambuklao dams as far away as Pangasinan. It will navigate through pine forest trails and 3 sitios: Cayuco, Cawayan and Lusod which lead to vantage points where other peaks in Benguet can be seen. The turnaround point will be at the summit of Mt Ugo (2162 masl). The 16.4-km route from the summit to the finish is a mirror image of the route to the summit, and concludes with a 1.7-km (280m vertically) ascend to the finish line at the hall of Barangay Tinongdan.

Awards and Prizes:

Trophies and valuable outdoors prizes will be awarded to the top 3 overall winners in both the male and female categories.

Medals and valuable prizes will be awarded to the top 3 runners, male & female in the 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and above age groups.

All finishers will receive a medal, finisher’s t-shirt and will be qualified for raffle prizes.

Registration Fee:
For local Philippine runners: Php1,500 until 30 November 2011.

Php1,800 until 31 December 2011

Php2,000 until 31 January 2012.

Php2,500 until 17 February 2012.

*USD50 for foreign entries payable on Feb. 17 during race kit claiming.

Payment by local residents can be made by depositing the fee to BPI current account number 3191-0473-02 of Philippine Skyrunning Association, Inc. Email scanned deposit slip (with your name) to kath@philskyrunning.com.

Dacanay said they have chosen to pilot the event here in Cordillera as it is very apt with the region’s mountainous terrain. Sky running by definition, is a mountain running at a minimum height or altitude of 2000 meters above sea level.

Mt. Ugo is known for its annual summer climb which won last year in the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines’ (ATOP) Search for Best Tourism Event in the Philippines under the Sports, Adventure and Wellness Category – Municipal Level.

For more information: www.philskyrunning.com