King of the Road

MANILA, Philippines — They call him Tarzan, but he doesn’t swing from tree to tree. Rather, he runs from province to province – Batangas to Quezon, Tagaytay to Rizal, NCR to Camarines Norte – in gruelling marathons that even some of the most committed runners might not dare attempt.

Meet Edgar Miras, Technical Sergeant of the Philippine Army’s 202nd Infantry (UNFIER) Brigade based in Laguna.

Small of frame and with a constant smile on his face, it may be hard to imagine 43-year-old Edgar as a battle hardened soldier. It may be even harder to imagine that he has 69 running medals, trophies and other mementoes in his treasure chest, garnered from the approximately 62,521 kilometers his legs have covered, equivalent to more or less 125 million steps or once and a half around the globe.

Those are extraordinary numbers tucked under the belt of someone who, per conservative estimate, has smoked around 19,000 packs of cigarettes over a span of less than two decades.

Edgar started smoking at the young age of 15, when peer pressure and the inquisitiveness of a teenager introduced him to cigarettes. In the pursuit of being cool, he did not notice that he was getting hooked on the vice. One day he woke up and realized he was smoking three packs a day, an amount that easily doubled when he was out drinking. Add to that his daily caffeine fix of six cups of black coffee, much more when the stress meter started to rise. 

From the four walls of his secondary school to the battlefields of Mindanao to the jungles of Luzon, Edgar found 18 years of joy in these bad habits without realizing – or caring – what it was doing to his body. For him, smoking was the simplest form of stress reliever – from duty, deadlines, combat or simply being away from his family.

The 202nd Infantry UNFIER Brigade supports Technical Sergeant Edgar Miras.

In 2007, he was rushed to the AFP Medical Center in Quezon City and was confined for three weeks due to pneumonia. At 33 years old, it was a painful wake up call. Edgar finally came to admit that enough is enough. He gave up coffee and shifted to milk. He also regulated his intake of alcoholic beverages. He kept candies in his pocket to quench the longing for a quick puff.

But the road to a healthy lifestyle was not easy. He needed more motivation, and this came in his next assignment – as a dental technician in the 2nd Infantry Division’s Dental Dispensary. The dentists and his patients did not appreciate the cigarette smell that he exuded. Out of shame, his committed to his journey to clean living.

Early in his service, Edgar despised long distance running, viewing it as a form of punishment during the rigorous military training. But he was a natural when it came to running. Without really trying to excel in his physical fitness tests, his ratings in the 3.2-kilometer run were consistently high, if not perfect.

Upon his discharge from hospital in 2007, he started jogging for longer distances for two reasons – to improve his resistance and to divert his attention from his vices. That year, he started joining fun runs, realizing it was indeed fun – 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers then 21 kilometers. A year later, he completed his first full marathon – 42 kilometers – in just a little over 3 hours, almost half the time for other first timers.

As a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, Edgar’s new-found passion for running was a journey of thousands of steps. His running shoes took him to Subic for an international marathon. Longing for more challenge, he raised the bar to 50 kilometers when he ran from Pila, Laguna to Lucban, Quezon and emerged as the second finisher among hundreds of runners.

Only a few of Miras’ 69 running medals.

He then tried the 80-kilometer ultra marathon from Gumaca to Pagbilao. It was during this “G2P Race” that he first tasted how it feels to be called champion when he crossed the finish line in less than eight hours. 

The experience motivated him to ask for more so he completed an 85-kilometer race traversing three provinces – Rizal, Laguna and Quezon – in preparation for his first 100-kilometer run from Lipa, Batangas to Lumban, Laguna. His training paid off since he was the fourth to finish the gruelling course.

He was once again declared champion after a race from Silang, Cavite to Lumban, Laguna – a whopping 120 kilometers in ground distance. Further, he twice participated in the 160-kilometer Tagaytay to Pililia, Rizal race.

All that prepared him for his next run from Kilometer 0 in Rizal Park in Manila to Daet, Camarines Norte, a 369.5-kilometer journey across three regions, traversing plains and mountains. He made it in three days and three nights, stopping at several Army camps to take a quick nap and recharge before hitting the road again to go the distance.

Tarzan says his running career is far from over. As a matter of fact, this is just the beginning. There are still more races to run, more roads to conquer. His “maintenance” is a “measly” 10-kilometer run. He finds time from his busy schedule to sneak in some roadwork on a daily basis because, unlike a machine that needs rest so as not to overheat, he feels unwell when he rests for a long time.

This Tarzan is certainly the “King of the Road.”