While You Were Sleeping (or Working), Chocolatier Christian Valdes Swam 20 Kilometers for Eight Hours

At 5:30 a.m. on a Sunday, October 4, while we were still trying to complete a much-needed eight-hour sleep after a week of working for eight hours a day, chocolatier Christian Valdes was spending those eight hours swimming in the turquoise-blue waters of Caramoan, Camarines Sur. He completed Swimjunkie Challenge's 20-kilometer course in 8:10:01, finishing 17th among 29 participants. It also happens to be the first organized open-water ultramarathon swim race in the Philippines, enticing nine international swimmers to fly in and enjoy the peninsula's limestone-rich islands.

"That's a whole day of swimming," I tell him in a Zoom interview. "I know, right? Some people are stuck at their 9-to-5, right? And I chose to swim," the 37-year-old (who "feels 26") responds candidly.

Valdes has been joining the Swimjunkie Challenge since 2019, which was four years after the sporting event was inaugurated in Caramoan by former Philippine national swim team member Betsy Medalla. The 2026 edition, a celebration of its 10th anniversary, marks a return to where it all began, with the biggest number of participants to date: almost 350 open water swimmers registered and spread across the 2KM, 5 KM, 10KM, 15KM, and 20KM categories.

"I think I just turned 30, so I wanted to do something that would challenge me," Valdes recalls about joining the 2.5KM at the Swimjunkie Challenge: VIP Lobo 2019. "I liked it so much, I asked myself, 'What next?' So I started training in my 20-meter pool every day for the 5KM, and sadly, the pandemic happened, so hindi nag-materialize yung swim."

Swimjunkie Challenge VIP Lobo 2020 was originally scheduled for May 2020, two months after the lockdown. It wasn't until Swimjunkie Caramoan 2023 that he was able to get back into the water, completing a 5KM course. In 2024, he did twice the distance again in Caramoan; then an 8KM at Swimjunkie Camiguin 2025. He was supposed to do another 8KM in Camiguin in May 2026, but he got seasick.

"Believe it or not, you can get seasick while swimming. And I was one kilometer short of finishing, and I just tapped out," he explains. "But I guess the failure of not finishing that race was motivation to train harder and to finish this 20. So it was kind of a sweet victory for myself. When I finished the 20KM, it was like, 'In your face, Chris. You can do it pala.'"

Stopping short on an 8KM, then doing a 20KM in less than six months—that takes guts.

"It was not an easy task because, initially, I had trained for other races: a 5 here, a few 10s, and maybe a couple of 8s. But when I committed to doing the 20, I didn't realize that it would be five days a week, swimming sometimes in the morning and in the afternoon, for hours on end," he says.

And, lest we forget, he does have a day job.

Valdes is the founder and head chocolatier of CMV Txokolat, an artisanal Philippine chocolate brand established in 2012. The brand creates luxury, craft chocolates that blend local Philippine heritage, nostalgic flavors, and regional cacao (such as beans from South Cotabato). The chocolatier also hosts chocolate-making workshops, conducts artisan masterclasses, and engages with the Philippine cacao community on a regular basis. And, like practically every modern brand builder, he also curates content for CMV Txokolat and his personal account.

"The time that I was in the pool, I had to make bawi with work. It was a lot. Trainings would sometimes run from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m., my longest, which was a 15-km straight swim in a 25-meter pool," he says. In the morning, he trains with Coach Betsy; then swims by himself in the evenings. He's been working with Coach Mark De Guzman for strength training at his home gym, where he has a simple set-up of weights and bars.

Even work travel couldn't stop him from logging his laps. Valdes tracked down swimming pools in Belgium, France, and Budapest, for example, when he was doing chocolate training. "It was fun, challenging, but it also allowed me to enjoy swimming in a pool with a different scene."

"Do you also run?" I ask. "I should, but I don't." To be fair, swimming is already a great cardio workout.

Valdes also shares his diet when he was training for the race: overnight oats or yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and banana in the morning; egg, or granola bar, or banana during the swim; chocolate milk ("My go-to was Chuckie") and some protein (like egg salad or salmon sandwich) after a swim; a light lunch (orange camote, grilled chicken breast, salad); and a light dinner as well (kiwi, grilled salmon, and some camote).

Come race day, the 20KM course required that participants do four 5KM loops with a pit stop on Hunongan Island per lap, where they can refuel and reapply sunblock or petroleum jelly. "Anything that you need to make the next loop easier," Valdes narrates. Of course, that also includes a few minutes of rest and "making chika" with volunteers and fellow swimmers. "That also made the swim a lot more enjoyable, especially the parts where it got quiet."

To manage those long swims, Valdes kept his mind occupied. He thought about his technique. He played songs in his head, which was a mix of classical music and some '90s pop. More importantly, he thought about how thankful he was for his marshal, Kuya Eddie.

Each participant was matched with a volunteer marshal on a narrow boat, who was there for safety and for hydration and nutrition, as long as they followed a no-touch rule. And Kuya Eddie, baking under the sun with his small umbrella, was Valdes' MVP.

"I think it was around the third five-kilometer loop that it was a little tiring because the current was changing. I got frustrated with the water, but I did not give up. It helped that my marshal saw the waves coming, so he started circling around me to block some of the waves from hitting me, which was super kind of him."

By the fourth loop, things had settled down, his body was in the zone, and he completed the course easily.

"When I finished, surprisingly, I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I felt quite strong. I think I was just happy to be at the finish line and have a nice cold beer."

If swimming 20 kilometers takes a village on the water, running an artisanal chocolate empire takes an equally dedicated crew back on land. Valdes is quick to credit his team.

"I'm really fortunate because I have an amazing team. My team members really help make sure that the business runs smoothly," he starts, making sure that their names are mentioned in this interview.

"My EA, Kim, he really helps. He makes sure that everything's purchased on time. He makes sure that we coordinate with suppliers and clients and everything. So that's already a big help on its own, especially when I'm in the pool; I can't really look at my phone so much, so that was a big help.

Then Allysa, she was also really instrumental because she was handling our sales team, making sure that all orders were being processed and going to the right clients, and also working with the clients. And then, of course, my chocolatiers in production. We have Sheila, Joseph, Elaine, Gerald, Angelica, and JB. They were the ones who were making sure that the chocolates were being produced properly, and that any of the collabs or tie-ups that we were doing were being properly addressed.

And then also our in-house couriers, that's James and also CJ. They made sure that the chocolates arrived in pristine condition. So with that, I was able to really focus on other tasks like operational tasks, training, and also creating content. I'm super thankful," he says.

It's about trusting the process and the team, which Valdes says is a shared concept in swimming and running the business.

"We know what our tasks are, we know what our strengths are, and that's how we build and complete the things that we need to do. I'm not micromanaging my team because I know they're more than capable. So I ease off the reins and I'm pleasantly surprised. A lot of my team, they're able to actually do a better job than I would have been able to," Valdes beams with pride about the people behind CMV Txocolat.

In swimming, he explains, "you have to really go with the flow and trust the process. Otherwise, if you go in thinking that you have the best technique or that you're the fastest or the best, and you don't really give it a chance to learn or to learn a different style or technique, then you're just going to cut yourself short and not be able to grow and improve."

What's next for Valdes in the open water?

"I was thinking about doing the eight again in Camiguin. Cause, well, I have a bone to pick with the eight," he says of the quiet score to settle.

The next Swimjunkie Challenge is in San Vicente, Palawan, on April 4, 2027. Registration is open for 2KM (P4,900), 3KM (P5,300), 5KM (P6,000), and 10KM (P6,700). Swimjunkie Challenge: Camiguin usually happens in May.

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