Running Mate

Cebu - When I was active in scuba diving some years back, I’d emphasize to my students the need for a buddy. I tell them that a buddy is like having an extra pairs of eyes, ears, arms and legs.

I had a buddy last Saturday, albeit on land, when I ran the Mizuno-Asia Miles Half-Marathon. I don’t think I could have finished the 21-kilometer race without his help specifically when my knees started to hurt in the last 5 kilometers or so.

I’ve put Dr. Renald Ramiro on the spot after mentioning in my column, a week before the race, that I have asked him to be my “running mate.” Thus, after the press conference at Mooon Café to launch the race, the good doctor had to sign-up right there.

From then on, we planned what to do…buy power gels, wake up early and meet at IT Park at 4:30 am! During the race, we both admitted that we hardly had any sleep. He told me, and I nodded, that he keeps on waking up by the hour, on the hour! Same with me. For some reasons I was so excited I couldn’t sleep!

After we met at the open field across The Walk and made a few pre-race checks, Dr. Ramiro and I went to the start/finish line to banter with friends like John Pages, Jesse Taborada, Meyrick Jacalan from CERC and many others.

We then positioned ourselves a few paces behind the “lead” runners at the starting line and took off after the starting gun. The first five kilometers was a breeze as we were running at the pace we planned. After the first 10 kilometers, our time was 1:02.

A few meters after the 10K mark we downed a glass of SporstAde and water then took our power gels. I voraciously finished one pack easily but saw Dr. Ramiro conservatively sipping from his packet. I was thinking, “didn’t we agree to drink it outright after 10K?”

My knees started to ache just before we reached White Gold. From SM, we were expecting a marker but couldn’t find any so we just continued running towards IT Park. We finally saw the 20-kilometer marker under the Archbishop Reyes overpass, our watches by then read 2:07. I remember Dr. Ramiro telling me before the race that he finished last year’s run at 2:14, so when he quickened the pace, I knew he wants to break his personal best.

After making our last U-turn before Country Mall, I signaled to Dr. Ramiro that we have to slow down because my knees were hurting so bad. I was running stride-by-stride Dr. Ramiro entering IT Park when I have to slow down further and let him go ahead because my knees were killing me. I saw my running mate cross the finish line in 2:13.34, breaking his time last year. I came in, at 2:14.58, aching knees and all.

Thank you so much Dr. Ramiro for pushing me to finish my first half-marathon! 

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CONGRATULATIONS to my friends and newest fathers Eduardo “Tonton” Reyes, Jr. and Neil Colina of iCOMM. Cherry, Tonton’s wife gave birth to Clare Anne while Neil’s better half Viclyn delivered Noah Isaiah, on the same day, January 6, 2009!

For comments, please e-mail [email protected]. -  THE FREEMAN