Not all basketball

M. Lhuillier is slowly breaking away from the tag that it is all basketball. When Michel Lhuillier, was named Cebu City Sports Commission chair, several prophets of doom said other sports will take a back seat. But look again, the M. Lhuillier Sports Development Foundation has been venturing into other fields like tennis, boxing and even chess. Take a bow Executive Director Eddie Ybañez. Well, here's another addition, road running. If plans don't miscarry the first-ever M. Lhuillier-Kwarta Padala 10K Run will be staged on October 1 at the City Sports Club Cebu in the Cebu Business Park. Actually the run was envisioned last year by Councilor Yayoy Alcoseba but wasn't realized due to limited time. The M. Lhuillier -Kwarta Padala 10K run will also fill the void vacated by two major races this year, the Tri City 25K Marathon and the Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Half Marathon being held every September 9. Also being planned for the last week of September is the Run for your Heart which will be managed by the Cebu Executive Runners Club.

Our Lady Of Lourdes Anniversary Run

I'm starting to believe that my face looks like a running shoes. The first greeting I get when meeting friends I haven't seen for awhile is "still running?". As I mentioned in a previous column I'll continue to run as long as there are roads. So on Oct. 29 I'm again tasked to organize the Lady of Lourdes Anniversary 5K Run at the Mc Donalds South Road. We are holding the race at Mc Do since we cannot do it at the Lourdes Church because of the masses that start at 5:00AM and ending at 11:00AM. Just like the M. Lhuillier-Kwarta Padala Run, the race was planned last year but we needed more time to gather sponsors. Just the other night I met with the working committee headed by Nathan Cavada and Glenda Berenio. According to parish priest Fr. Peter Porio the run is to drumbeat the start of the jubilee countdown. Lourdes Parish celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Proceeds of the race will also help the construction of a Lourdes Grotto, which is an exact replica of the one in Lourdes, France. It seems more people are into running these days. Before I forget I would like to congratulate Dr. Yong Larrazabal for the successful Run for Sight last Sunday. And lastly better start training for the Cebu Sinulog Marathon on Jan.14, 2007.

Saving Guimaras

After the MILO Marathon Cebu Elimination leg I'm accompanying one-legged triathlete Rudy Fernandez back to Iloilo City. We are again embarking on another fund-raising run for the calamity-stricken Guimaras Island. I'm sure we all know that several barangays in Guimaras are now being affected after an oil tanker sank in the strait the other week, releasing part of its 2 million liters crude oil cargo. Even some resort hotels closed shop because of the oil spill that is predicted to again relegate Guimaras as one of the top 20 poorest provinces in the country. Rudy grew up in an orphanage in Guimaras and therefore has more reasons to help. In fact the orphanage was a recipient of the cash donations from Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition where Rudy was a housemate. We are meeting with our good friend Governor Rahman Joaquin Nava to plan the charity run in Iloilo and Bacolod cities. As I was talking about the project, former The Freeman journalist Roger Paller said he intends to also ask support from Visayan workers abroad especially in Hong Kong and Singapore. A few years back a national triathlon was held in Guimaras, the mango capital of the Philippines.