2025 Performance Recap

We recently released our race results for the year 2025. Check them out here if you haven’t yet. 2025 was about ticking off several goals across road, trail, and adventure racing. Here’s how the season went down.

Q1: The Baseline

Training started early in January 2025—a much earlier jump than our usual March start. We did this to prep for Apex’s Ormoc Trifecta in February, where we fielded racers in the 8km, 16km, and 32km categories. Newer racers took the short course, while Nick did the 16km, and Gil and I handled the 32km.

Despite only a few weeks of base building, we had a great outcome. We used this race as our performance baseline for the year, and it left us feeling highly optimistic.

Next was Barayong Trailfest—a race in our own backyard. With 12km and 21km options, the senior members all took on the 21km. We had been route-testing that terrain for weeks, so we knew exactly what to expect: a very technical course that demands precision footwork for one half and pure endurance for the rest.

• Erika: 1st Place (Female 21K)
• Gil: 3rd Place (Male 21K)
• Nick: 11th Place (Male 21K)

While the performance was solid, we noticed Nick’s pace declined during the second half. It was a clear sign we needed to work on his aerobic base and pacing strategy.

Q2: Hosting & The Malaysia Slump

March and April were “crunch time” as we shifted from racing to hosting. We organized our first half-mary in Tacloban—the 124East Half Marathon. It had been in the works since the holidays, and we were proud to bring a bit of “spice” and our own racing knowledge to the local long-distance scene.

By May, the core team headed to Malaysia for the Hulu Selangor Adventure Challenge (HSAC), an ARWS sprint race.

Despite our training, our performance tanked in the heat and high elevation. We also tried to cut costs by renting bikes instead of bringing our own well-fitted rigs—a mistake that led to major cramping and bonking. We finished 4th and 6th. It wasn’t the result we expected, but we took the lessons to heart.

Q3: The June Double-Header

June was a “double-header”; heavy with two adventure races back-to-back.

First was Ormoc City’s Eco Adventure in Cabintan. Nick and Coach Theody were the route setters, so we knew they wouldn’t take it easy on us and the whole field. Our fitness was at an all-time high from Malaysia training, so we just focused on team dynamics.

The course was brutal, featuring a fast orienteering stage followed by summiting multiple mountains including Alto. We managed to clinch the top spot in the Elite Category, leading by almost 90 minutes.

This race proved we needed to work on our individual navigation, since Nick, our primary navigator, was busy working “against” us as the course setter!

Two weeks later was the Sangyaw AR. This was a 36-hour race through northern Tacloban. It was mostly urban but tested our decision-making. We chose a mountain shortcut that ended up costing us time, and we hit “sleep monsters” toward the end—a sign of extreme fatigue.

Though we took the Championship for Sangyaw, we wanted a stronger finish, not to be “limping” across the line. We realized we need to experiment more with our ratios of gels to whole foods.

Q4: Cebu and La Routa

After a short break in July and August to fix our gear (the bikes needed a lot of love), we headed to Cebu for the Samboan Waterfalls Dash.

The navigation was digital, meaning we had to carry battery banks and keep electronics waterproofed. Unfortunately, our waterproofing failed during the swim, costing us a power bank and two headlamps. Nick also suffered massive cramps during the swim section. Even though we lost time waiting for him to recover, it’s where our team shines—we always look out for each other.

We missed a puzzle at CP4 which cost us points, ending the race in 2nd place. Not bad for our first Cebu race.

Finally, it was time for La Routa—our major expedition race and a ticket to the World Championships (ARWC). We took a gamble on Lilik, our newest and youngest member, but we saw his potential in the weeks leading up.

In Biliran, we lined up against Malaysians, India’s finest, top Pinoy teams, and the veterans from Team Eastwind (Japan). We dialed in three things:

• Transition times: Moving as fast as possible.
• Sleep strategy: Zero sleep for the first 24 hours to secure the lead.
• Nutrition: Using transitions as primary feed areas.

Three days in, and it all paid off—we secured the La Routa Championship.

Overall

2025 was a massive year. We started strong, hit a slump abroad, but picked ourselves back up to win our biggest race of the season.

On a personal note, this year also came with difficult decisions. There have been ongoing conversations with the team about stepping back from racing to focus more on family, they agreed without hesitation.

Just days before La Routa, my daughter, Yanna, fell ill. Being away during that time was not easy.

The team stepped in—not just as teammates, but as friends. One moment stood out:

“You may not be there physically right now, but your family knows you’re here giving your all—carrying them with you in this race. That counts.”

And then we won.

Maybe it was a reminder of why we do this—for something bigger than ourselves: for God, for country, for family, for friends, and for the racing community.

Let’s see where 2026 takes us.

WE ARE DIRT.