Two weeks after her stint in this year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007, Merlita Arias, one of Cebu’s most decorated and daring long distrance runners, finally told The FREEMAN her story.
Arias, who for the second time, missed the National Milo Marathon, to compete in an international event, crossed the finish line with a clocking of four hours, seven minutes and 14 seconds, good for 93rd among the 1,385 runners in the women’s open division.
The veteran Arias was the third best Filipino finisher in the December 2 competition.
Her time was below her personal best when she finished among the top 10 in the Mt. Kinabalu International Mountain Running event two years ago in Malaysia.
Matter of fact - her stint in the Singapore Marathon was far more different - it was terrible.
“When I arrived in Singapore, I feel like a chicken that flew in the middle of the big forest looking for a place to stay and for something to eat,” Arias told The Freeman.
That because the coordinator in Singapore abandoned her.
Before flying to Singapore, Arias tried to contact the coordinator but all her text messages or calls were not returned. She wanted to quit but she had trained for the marathon, had her tickets and already paid the registration fee.
The other thing she was thinking about was her sponsors. If she quit, what will they think of her?
Despite her unfamiliarity of the place, Arias tried to look for a place to stay but found hotels near the starting venue too expensive forcing the Cebuana runner to sleep on the sidewalk near the starting line of the venue.
She woke up on the day of the competition ready to face the challenge. Before the starting gun, Arias saw her coordinator and tried to approach him but he ran away after seeing her.
Arias started well until she reached the 25-kilometer mark. That’s when her stomach started to ache because she has not eaten dinner and had nothing for breakfast. During the race, she was helping herself with free sports drinks, water and bananas available in strategic locations along the route. That turned out to be a mistake.
The further she ran, the more painful she felt. But Arias willed her every step because she doesn’t want to disappoint her sponsors including her present employer Habagat Outdoor Equipment.
The others that helped Arias were T.W.O., Bugoy Mountain Bike Rental, The Bloodred Clothing, Bite Magazine, Kumpang Outdoorshop, The Autovanz Square, The Bodytone Life and Fitness Center and The Cebu Executive Runners Club.
At some point Arias said she was on the verge of collapsing. “In my mind if I collapse I don’t have to worry because there are many runners running with me,” recalls Arias.
Head unbowed, with sheer determination and a lot of prayers, Arias finally crossed the finish line.
But her ordeal wasn’t over yet. She tried to send a text message to the coordinator to tell her that she finished the race but he texted back and told her not to disturb him.
With her flight to Cebu still two days away, Arias have to find a place to sleep as she couldn’t sleep on the sidewalk again.
Fortunately, she was able to find some kind-hearted Pinays that offered their place and some warm food to her.
Asked why it took her some time to tell her story, Arias told The FREEMAN that at first she was embarrassed. However, she finally broke her silence so that others may learn from her experience.
“Naka imagine ka Ma’am how I survived? Mura kog buang didto. (“Could you imagine Ma’am how I survived? I was a going nuts there.”) But, for me this is an experience that I will never forget,” Arias said.
In addition, she has some word for aspiring runners.
“For those who aspires to race abroad, especially the young athletes, if you compete in international or even local races you must prepare everything. This means aside from physical conditioning, you must be prepared financially, morally, and spiritually, so that God will answer your prayers when you call on him,” Arias advised.
After her ordeal in Singapore, Arias knows what she is talking about.