Dare Manila Adventure Race 2006 - mystery tour for the skilled and adventurous

Those essaying the Dare Manila Adventure Race course in December 2006 literally did not know what they were letting themselves in for. They were aware only that they would likely be engaging in running, biking, commando crawling, abseiling, belaying, rope traversing and negotiating obstacle courses, all in the urban setting of the Philippine capital.

In the Dare Manila Adventure Race, was sponsored by The North FaceŽ in Philippines, road running and biking were to be interspersed with the other disciplines mentioned, with buildings standing in for the usual natural landscape features. Expected completion time was from four to six hours, with a maximum of eight hours allowed for participants to get to the finish point. Total distance, both horizontal and vertical, was an estimated 51 kilometers.

A feature of the event was that "mystery tests" were promised along the route. Teams were required to fulfill each task before proceeding to the next phase of the race. The time taken to complete each task would be included in the total race time. A team unable to complete a test could instead choose to accept a time penalty, and wait until that time expired before continuing the race.

The race was open to everyone, provided he or she was accepted by the organizers as being psychologically and physically able to compete. Each team had two members, who could be two females, two males or one of each gender. Team-mates were required to stay within 20 meters of one another for the duration of the event, on pain of disqualification.

On December 16, at 8:00a.m., the competitors received their race briefing. Later that morning, in hot and sunny weather, the teams began their exploration of an environment with which millions are familiar; but they were to see it from some very unusual vantage points.

The 2006 winners were Thumbie Remigio and Jojo Macalintal, otherwise known as the team Overdrive, who completed the course in just 4 hours 24 minutes. Second home, just 1 minute 37 seconds later, were Popo Remigio and her team-mate Rayzon Galdonez, or Overdrive 2. The third team was Solido, made up of Ernst Louie Peralta and Maurice Winston Peralta, who made it in 4 hours 47 minutes 48 seconds. Altogether 29 pairs reached the finish line, the last after 6 hours 50 minutes.