Sports standstill

All of a sudden it's Holy Week once again. It's that time when we reflect on the passion of Christ. It's also the time when almost all activities are in a standstill, sports included. Actually, it's heaven for runners as the streets are almost deserted especially during Good Friday. No traffic, no smog, you can run to your heart's delight. I have also a lot of Holy Week memories. For instance every Palm Sunday, I used to organize a 10- kilometer run in Baguio City that lasted for eight years. It's also the best time for trekking in Sagada, Mt. Province. Of course the beaches are crowded especially in Boracay where almost everybody travels to. This year, I got an invitation from Nedgar Garvez of the Southern Leyte Tourism Office to organize a triathlon in Limasawa Island. I'm really excited since the island was the site of the first mass in the Philippines. But alas I need time to prepare to make the event successful. Some mountaineers from Negros also called, inviting us for a trek to the Canlaon Volcano, but again I believe it's only once a year when we devout a few days to really feel the essence of Holy Week. I've been to Cutod San Pedro in San Fernando, Pampanga where I witnessed several people being nailed to the cross while others flag themselves to a bloody pulp. Others revel like in Bantayan Island where it's fiesta time. Me? I'll be meditating here at home.

Death March Ultra - Marathon

April is also an unforgettable month. Besides being the birth month of my mom, it's also the time when the Araw Ng Kagitingan Ultra Marathon is held in Pampanga. Actually I got a call from Ed Paez, president of San Fernando Runners Club who organizes the 104 - kilometer Death March Ultra Marathon for the past 15 years. The run is being held to commemorate the Fall of Bataan. I've join the run for about 6 times where we traced the actual route of the infamous Death March of 1942. We start at the Mariveles Export Processing Zone, passing the different towns of Bataan before spending the night at Santo Tomas in Guagua, Pampanga, a total of 75 kilometers for the first day. On the second day we don our military uniforms complete with helmets made of paper mache while carrying the flags of the United States, Japan and the Philippines. We took turns carrying the torch which would eventually be turned over to the veterans who were waiting at the finish line in the San Fernando train station. But wait a minute; history says that the Death March was from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac. Actually that's supposed to be the real route, but after five days of walking without food and water, some 10,000 of the 50,000 marchers have died either from hunger, dehydration and sickness. So before all of the marchers perish, the Japanese decided to haul them like cattle to trains, thus the explanation why the markers end at San Fernando. Some of the modern-day marchers included Olympian Roy Vence, Rey Antoque, Jona Gayumba, Liza Relox Delfin, Mila Paje and yours truly.

Note: The 4th Cebu Mountain Trail Run will be staged on May 27 in Barangay Kalunasan. Registration will soon start at the PSC Office in the Cebu City Sports Center.