Mactan’s running lolo

In athletics, twenty five years is old.  Track and field athletes switch to long distance running when they start to lose their speed.  That’s why if you noticed, runners over 30 are the usual participants of ultramarathons.  The recent Masters Athletics Championship held here in Cebu, showed that there are runners over 70 who could still shame their competitors young enough to be their grandsons. Of course, one glaring example are 78-year-old Rening Ylaya and 83-year-old Raul Cepeda. But do you know there’s another runner who is in the league of both, Rening and Raul? Yes folks,  Aurelio (Relly) Mercado just turned 73 last November 12.  I’ve known Relly for over 20 years now since we were neighbors in Mambaling. While I’ve been running for 35 years, Relly has ran daily for 28 years and counting.  When Relly was just starting, I noticed that he had an awkward arm swing which I corrected. To date, Relly has considered me as his mentor and inspiration.  Relly and I had many runs together from the Halad Kang Mano Amon Run in Danao City to the Davao marathon and the Tri City Marathon. In 1997, when I founded the Cebu Executive Runners Club together with Dr. Abe Manlawe,  Dr. Vic Verallo and the late Joe Abellanosa, Relly became a member.  One of his most unforgetable experience was in 1994 when together with Wyeth Philippines President Tom Leber and two others, ran the Baguio-Manila stretch in four days. In 1999, Relly placed 6th in his divison (55-59) of the Disney 10k Classic  held in Orlando, Florida by clocking 57 minutes and 22 seconds. It has been the tradition of Relly to run the distance that corresponds to his birthday.  So going back to that Tuesday (Nov12), Relly started his 73 laps at the Cebu City Sports Center oval at 5:10am. Despite the heavy downpour, Relly did not stop and finished his run at 9:50am.  He was cheered by old buddy Dr. Jovito Lee who also continues to run at 83, coach Berto Banzon and Cebu’s marathon queen, Joy Tabal.  By the way, now that Relly resides in Lapu-Lapu City, he is now known as the Running Lolo of Mactan.  Congratulations! Pare.

Be like  NYC  Marathon

After super typhoon Yolanda ravaged the Visayas, several running events were either moved or cancelled.  I think this is a good decision as we have to prioritize our obligation to our fellow Visayans.  My good friend Allan Delantar said the Mayor Mike Rama Midnight Marathon has been moved to March next year while the Ayala and Run UP were also postponed.  When I visited the New York Road Runners Club  in Manhattan, New York last month, Aileen Parkinson said runners were still talking about last year’s postponement due to Hurricane Sandy.  While some were mad, over 1,000 runners spent marathon Sunday volunteering on Staten Island. Some of the 50,000  finishers shirts and blankets were given to victims who lost their homes.

Elvis at Bistro RJ

I recently got an invitation from the Elvis Presley International Club to join the 79th death anniversary gig of Elvis on Jan 16 at the Bistro RJ in the Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati.  There will be eight Elvis impersonators performing.