Milo Marathon

I’ve lost count on how many Milo marathons I’ve joined since it started. But I know that my wards have been dominating the race even until last Sunday when Rene Desuyo from Himamaylan Negros Occidental upset my other former ward Allan Ballester, Allan, together with six-time Milo Marathon champion Roy Vence, three-time Milo champion Jimmy de la Torre and national marathon record holder Herman Suizo, were members of the legendary Nike Running Club. The club won 12 consecutive PAL Manila Marathon team championship. Desuyo almost won last year’s Sinulog Marathon but lost steam in the last two kilometers. Another Ilonggo and former SEA Games gold medalist John Lozada, ruled the 21K category of the marathon last Sunday. Now back in Cebu, Mendel Lopez who came in third in the 21K division of this year’s Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, was just too classy as he clocked 1: hour and 11 minutes and 11 seconds to win the race, Mendel together with Eugene Delposo who timed 1:13:07 for second place will represent Cebu in the Milo finals in Manila in October. If you don’t know, Milo has now set a qualifying time of 1:15 for men and 1:35 for women.

Bridesmaid No More

I’ve been telling Madelyn Carter not to lose hope in becoming a champion. Well, Madelyn has always been in the shadow of Cebu’s queen of the road Leszl Gitaruelas for a long time. Madelyn always finishes second to Leszl, always the bridesmaid, never the bride. When Madelyn told me what’s wrong with her, I told her she better get a track coach that will work on her speed that is very important during the last kilometers. It was also the same advise I gave to Haide Acuña who improved her time by 16 minutes when she clocked 2:24. I also instilled some sort of a “killer instinct” in Madelyn as I brained-wash her that if she had the chance “go all our, bahala na makuyapan ka”. I also gave her and Haide some power gels. So last Sunday, Madelyn was crying, not because she finished second but because this time, she’s the bride, Madelyn timed 1:31:18 to emerged as the only female qualifier after Leszl suffered cramps and quit. One lady who also amazed me last Sunday was Donna Cruz Larrazabal who came in 10th in 2:05:52. This was Donna’s first half-marathon after running 18k in the Big Sur Marathon in California last April. Of course, Doc Yong Larrazabal is always around to monitor Donna’s workouts. Donna is now really getting serious about her running and will attempt to finish a marathon this December when she runs in the Macau International Marathon. Good luck Donna!

Entertainment or Running

Speaking of Donna, it seems I’m doing the opposite, while Donna shifted from entertainment to sports, I’ve devoted more time to entertainment. Would you believe I haven’t run more than 10 kilometers since I ran in Hong Kong. So last Sunday, it was more of “mind over matter” that prompted me to join the race. I know it’s no joke to run a half marathon without the mileage. I was in a lot of stress coming from my sister-in-law’s death to the rehearsals for the Elvis show in Marco Polo. But my fighting heart is still there. As last year, I was in the company of Atan Guardo, Jeson Guardo, Jerry Guardo and the ageless Rening Ylaya. The long layoff really took its toll as I walked several stretches, but nevertheless finished in 2:30. At least I’ll have a 20K workout before I run the 21k leg of the Cobra Ironman Triathlon in August in Camarines Sur. Two amputees Rudy Fernandez and Arnold Balais will do the 2km swim and 90k bike respectively. For your recovery run, join the STAA Move with Air on July 19. Registration is ongoing at the PSC office, STAA Office, Yayoy’s Grill, Athlete’s Foot Ayala and Casa Ilongga at Robinsons Place.