Omerta

CEBU, Philippines - If you’re a member of La Cosa Nostra then you surely know the meaning of “OMERTA”. It refers to the code of silence and practiced by the Italian Mafia during its rise to power in the early 1930s. After stories of cheating in the recently-concluded Cebu 50K Ultra Marathon circulated, we, the organizing committee gathered all evidences before announcing our findings. A lot of finishers wanted to know the names of the runners who I was told, took a ride during the ultra. After assuring them (the guilty ones) that we will not divulge their names, two runners admitted that they indeed rode in several stretches of the race. Organizer Jonel Mendoza and I also demanded that they return their finisher’s plate and shirt. As I write this column, two runners already admitted and I already have their plates and shirts. We are still verifying other reports, but as we promised, we will keep their names secret. At least they were honest that they were dishonest. “Ehe, meyron bang ganon?” Still several people wanted to squeeze us for their identities. I told them I almost joined the priesthood before and that we were told the priest is bound by the seal of confession. Thus, they never reveal a sinner’s name. “Anong say mo Padre Jonel este…..Jonel?”

HARD TASK

To officiate an ultramarathon is a tough job. Unlike the marathon that is governed by IAAF rules, there’s no clear regulation for the ultra. In the 102km Bataan Death March Ultramarathon for instance, ask Haide Acuña, runners negotiate the route at any time of the day. Just imagine running at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. and in the dark at that. So how could a marshal keep watch on all the runners? That’s why the name of the game is honesty. In the Cebu Ultra, we could watch over the participants no doubt, but if you really want to monitor them, you should do it one on one. If you have 200 runners then you must have 200 officials. If this is the case, Jonel could end up swimming back home to Manila, sans his pants. However we will be going back to the drawing board and plan the next ultra on May 1. We are thinking of doing away with personal support groups and just deputize the Ungo runners to provide the water and aid stations. Didn’t they do a good job the last time around? We will also reject entries of would-be participants who we suspect took advantage of our leniency.

PLDT-SMART 10 MILER

Coming from the heels of the much-awaited Cebu City Marathon will be another race to watch. The PLDT – Smart 10 Miler that fires off on January 30 at the Cebu City Sports Center. The race will be a recovery run for most runners that will be joining the CCM. Smart’s Grace Ruperto said Smart bigwig Pato Gregorio has approved the staging of the race that will also have 10K, 5K, and 3K distances. Attractive prizes will be up for grabs with the champions in 16K main event getting P 10,000.00. Registration starts next week at the Runnr Ayala, Cebu City Sports Center and at Casa Ilongga Robinsons Place.

Allow me to greet each and everyone a Happy New Year! (FREEMAN)