32nd Milo Marathon: Always Aim for the Finish Line

My MILO bib number

10K runners reaching the finish line

Media people giving their 'friendliest' poses. :-)

Alas, the finish line!

It was raining cats and dogs that early morning. Some of us had second thoughts of coming. With such heavy downpour and cool weather, I could trade anything for at least an hour more of sleep. But alas, my phone alarmed like hell. We rushed at the Quirino Grandstand as fast as we could still with the heavy downpour. The 42K runners started onto their route already.

I’ve never seen so many “green people” in one place—runners in their famous Milo green outfit!

Alex, Eric, and I participated in the 10k event while Rueth, May and Mace joined the 5k runners. After the gun was fired, the ‘green people’ rushed their way into the course under the heavy rain. Everyone was shouting. We were all happy just the same. It's fun running under the rain.

So why is the 32nd Milo Marathon worthy of remembering?

…I’ve been joining running events for awhile but this is my first participation in the Milo marathon, the longest and most prestigious running event in the Philippines.
…It was my first time to run under the heavy rain for 1 hour and 9 minutes, afterwhich my feet were all wrinkled and tender.
…I ran following the rhythm of a squishing sound of my soaked rubber shoes, which I really find funny.
…I realized how refreshing it was to run under a heavy downpour. Speaking of romanticizing the rain.
…I’ve never felt this good staring at the Finish Line.
…I just love being with these hardcore runners who were never seem to mind a bad weather.

WOMEN's Month is all about us...

...and that every time someone tries to let me down I listen to this Billy Joel's classic.

She can lead you to live
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free
She steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me

...and that every time someone says I cannot do it, I say this to myself:

To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do!

...and whenever someone asks, "How good does a female athlete have to be before we just call her an athlete?"

I run, run, and run...until I feel like (almost) dying and coming back to life!

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Yesterday, me and some of my girlfriends participated in the "Pinay in Action" at the NBC Tent, The Fort. This is a running event specially made for women and women who love to run!

But this is not just about running. This event was made to honor the importance of women in our lives! A perfect way for everyone to celebrate the strength and spirit of womanhood.

What could be a better way of celebrating the International Women’s Month than having to see a huge group of strong, fine-looking, determined, and vibrant women gathered in one place to race and to have fun!

Ellaine and I joined the 10k run. This is Ellaine's first 10k run and my 6th event. Some of my friends from the office (Etch, Deb, Rueth, and Mace) and from school (Wennie and Haids) also did their 5k event. Some of them had their first taste of a real running event and they loved it and finished it. Two of my running mates, Alex and Eric were also present during the event to provide support.

Since I was running the race, Alex was good enough to take most of the photos. Meanwhile, Eric joined Ellaine in her 10k run as I was (so) determined to beat my previous running record, which I did. I ran the 10k for 1:00 beating my previous Rundezvous record at 1:03. Yey!

Starting the 10k run with Senator Pia Cayetano (with the pink cap) at the starting line. Photo by Alex.

Women all powered up to start the race! The woman on the left with her arms open wide and in pink suit is society figure and newspaper columnist, Tessa Prieto-Valdes. I always see her in this category. Photo by Alex.

Competitive women on the go! Love this shot. Again, photo by Alex.

Women showing off their "Pinay in Action"shirts and their...err, running legs. Just lovely. Photo by Alex. (He is loving his job!)

I took this after my race event. One of the 5k runner beating the time. I just love how she pushes herself to the limit. Go girl!

Participants of the Girlfriends' Run (1.6k event). Love the way they hold hands.

Probably a mom finishing the 1.6k race with her kiddies. Go, go, go!

Even those that cannot walk yet joined in the event. Go mommies!

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To my fellow women bloggers...cheers!

Teresa
Crim
Toe
Luthien
Lies
Kyels
Ate Gina
Cathy
Sel
Angela
Izzy
Tracy

HAPPY WOMEN's MONTH to us!!!

2008 Subic Marathon: Getting the rush

In response to Toe’s question, “What happened in the Subic Marathon?”

"Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine."

~John Trautmann~

As early as Saturday in the morning, we packed our bags and headed to Subic Bay Freeport (approximately 2-hour drive from Manila) for the 2008 Subic Marathon. The event was scheduled on Sunday but we opted to go there a day early to check out the route. Arni would be running the full marathon (42K) while Alex would be heading for the 21K track. Both of them are first timers in this event. Dan, Eric, and I opted to run the 10K. This is my third for this race category. We are hoping to run at least few more in preparation for the half marathon this June.

Checking out the route, we pitied Arni and Alex. The race route would pass by major landmarks in the former American base such as the Subic International Airport, the Subic Yacht Club, natural parks including the Ilanan Forest all the way to the Ocean Adventure, Botanical Garden and Subic’s several safari and forest farms. After driving through the route, we all agreed on one thing: “The terrain is tough for first timers!” :-/

42k runners are all set at the starting line as early as 4:30 am.

Long distance runners from Kenya and Ethiopia position themselves at the lead of the pack encouraging some bystanders and fellow runners for some photo ops. With the win of Hillary Lagat from Kenya in the recently concluded Clark Marathon, it's not bad to secure an early photo souvenir in case one them (indeed) finished first in the 42K route.

The next day, we got up early and readied for the race. Dubbed as the 2008 Subic “International” Marathon, the emcee announced some foreign runners from UK, USA, Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malaysia. We also met a group of runners from South Korea but the emcee did not acknowledge them. I had short chat with the only lady in their group and found that they are Korean students from Baguio who are in the Philippines to study English.

The 42K runners started as early as 5am and the rest (21K, 10K, 5K, and 3K) were jampacked at the starting area and started the run at the strike of 6am. After we heard the gunshot, it was like we are all heading for a stampede. There were at least 4,000 runners participating in the event that we could hardly make a move without brushing one’s elbow. After the first intersection, the spread of runners leveled out a bit. The 5K and 3K runners turned to the left while the 10K and 21K headed to the right going to the Yacht Club.

...and off they go! The 21k and 10k races will not be starting until an hour more so I had the chance to take a few more shots before giving up my camera for awhile and concentrate on the race.

Kenyan elite runner, Nelson Kirwa Rotich got to the 42k finish line first with a time record of 2:27:11. Filipino Olympian Eduardo Buenavista finished after splits of seconds with running time of a 2.27.55.

Estrella Diaz is the first female 42k runner to finish checking in at 03:22.0 I always look forward to this category...these women inspire me!

The largest delegation to join in the event comes from Philippine National Police Academy. Hee-hi-hooo!

I had fun watching these guys. They are waiting for their mates to check in, writing down their names and bib numbers on sheets of paper, bearing the heat of the sun.

I got all perked up with the runners in front of me that I immediately started doing a pace run (which is a bad start). Eventually I got a bit exhausted and settled for a steady run after the half turn. Four kilometers away from the finish line, my foot accidentally hit a metal on the road, momentarily lost my balance and got both of my knees skinned. It was a funny sight really. Some of the runners behind me offered to help but I got up fast and ran the last few kilometers. The wounds on my knees started to sting that it incited me to run faster. Eventually I got through the finish line. I finished the race for over an hour (1:12) which is much slower than my Clark record (1:04) but what can I do? I had a few laughs afterwards, I could never get over this kind of stupidity. Oh well, there goes my ugly souvenirs!

And why the heck do I like this quote so much.

"If it hurts, make it hurt more."
~Percy Cerutty~

There goes my ugly souvenir!

We’re scheduled to run again this weekend. This time, it’s the PSE Bull Run 2008 at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

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The Clark Challenge

"There ain't no shame looking at a good runner's back. Now, if the runner sucks, that's something else entirely…

~ The Rage, Training Tips "Comeback "~

The stage for the awarding ceremony.

START-FINISH line after the event. Organizers are still waiting for 42 km finishers.

Me and five more friends headed to Angeles City, Pampanga for the 2008 Clark Freeport International Marathon. We left Quezon City at around 3:25 am and arrived at the CDC Staff House, the assembly point at 5:00 am. At that time, the 42 km runners were already starting and immediately, we spotted long distance veteran and two-time Olympian Eduardo Buenavista, 29. He currently holds the Philippine record for multiple long distance events. His best marathon record holds at 2:18:44 hours.

At around 5:45 am, we checked in and got ourselves ready for the 10 km run. Four of my colleagues (Arni, May, Eric and Alex) have been participating in this event for awhile. This is my second run, while Dan’s first. Arni is way at the top of our league since she’s already a triathlete and would be joining the Ironman Triathlon in China. In a way, joining this local event serves as a good training for the coming tough challenge.

The mighty Jho-an Banayag getting near at the 42km finish line. She finished it with an official time record of 3:02:51 hours. She is the first finisher in the women's division and 15th in the overall category. A tough lady to beat!

Fellow runners congratulating the first 42K finisher from Kenya, Hillary Lagat. He takes home $7,000 with a running record of 2:26:29 hours. Huwaw!

He seems happy that a lot of Filipinos look up to him. Afterall, running the 42 km is no JOKE.

Meet my running group: (L-R) Dan, Alex, Arni, and Eric. May and I should be in this photo. :-(

At the strike of 6 am, we heard the gunshot and headed for the 10 km run. While most of the runners were aiming for the huge prize ($7,000), we're there to improve our running record. We heard another gunshot, this time for the 5km run.

After 15 minutes, the 5km runners were heading for the finish line. Leading the pack was the 22-year old, Ducusin with a record of 16:29 minutes. Thirty seconds after, the 10kmrunners were heading for the finish line. Leading the pack was the 20-year old Ronoh, a Kenyan with a race record of 31:57 minutes. For the full marathon (42km), another Kenyan won the challenge, Hillary Lagat, 30 with 2:26:29 record. The first 42km female finisher was Southeast Asian Games veteran, Jho-an Banayag with 3:02:51 running time.

Looks like the Kenyan runners kicked the asses of our Filipino best runners!

I was quite disappointed about the turnabout of Buenavista’s run. He was leading during the first 20 km only to quit due to exhaustion. :-(

I got what I came there for, to improve my running record. I was hoping to run the 10K for 1:30 hour (for security reason, hehehe!) but I finished it for 1:04. That is good for now.

We are bound for the Subic Marathon 2008 this Sunday...

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