TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 23 (PIA) -- The Alicia Ultra marathon is set on April 16 with all slots already filled since 2020, when the organizers suspended the race due to the pandemic.

To keep the training momentum going, organizers set up a virtual trail run in 2020, but this was a pale comparison to running through the epic trails of The Alicia Panoramic Park (TAPP) in its Alicia Ultra 2023.

An ultra-marathon that was supposed to be a follow-through event after the successful Alicia Trail Run series, the Alicia Ultra was initially set in February 2020.

But the pandemic, the series of unfortunate disasters, and the political uncertainty the race organizers encountered in coordinating with local officials sidelined the trail events for three years.

Already closing their online registration in 2020 considering the carrying capacity of the trails and careful about the environmental impact of putting in nearly 500 trail runners in a stretch of cogon carpeted trails along the ridges of the lofty hills, organizers think that the delay could have discouraged most trail runners whom they expect to withdraw and get refunds during the 2020 race suspension announcements.

Of the 427 trail runners who registered in 2020 in the 50-kilometer, 25-kilometer, and 12-kilometer runs, only 63 backed out, organizers bared.

“We are still considering the trails carrying capacity, that when we reopened the race after we were able to obtain the necessary coordination with local officials, that opening the registration would largely impact on our desire to keep the race with minimal impact to the environment,” Alicia Ultra 2023 Race Director Richard Anania said.

Over the non-negotiable stance in preserving TAPP, organizers had to make a decision that could make them unpopular to the trail running community.

“There will be no more new registrations. However, we will allow registered participants to transfer (one-time) their slot should they chose not to participate anymore and should they find a willing replacement,” the organizers ruled.

To make sure there the most number of runners in 2020 are still followed, registered participants are asked to inform the organizers of the intent to transfer slots and or provide the name of the replacement runner.

The form, which is available at: http://bit.ly/3ZifS30, according to the Alicia Municipal Tourism Office, will essentially allow the organizers to keep track of the changes. 

“Download the form, fill it up, and please send back to us,” the Alicia Ultra 2023 team said.

To date, Alicia Ultra 2023 has 142 registered runners for the ultra-distance of 50 kilometers: 124 of them are male runners of any age, 29 are females, including the defending queen of the TAPP trails, Jessie Ejoc. 

In the half marathon distance of 25 kilometers, organizers reported 180 trail runners composed of 115 male runners and 65 female runners.

In the 12 kilometer distance, organizers said 104 runners registered: 38 of them are male runners and 66 are female runners.

Of the new replacements, 17 of them would compete in the ultra-distance, 33 in the half marathon and 13 in the 12 kilometer distance.

Cut off time for the full marathon runners is 13 hours and the race starts off at 2:30 AM.

The half-marathon is expected to be done after seven hours with the gun start set at 3:30 AM.

For the 12 kilometer run, cut-off is four hours after the 5:00 AM gun start. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)