FRONTRUNNER Philippines

boses ng lahat ay dapat mapakinggan.

muli kong binabati ang matagumpay na patakbo ng globe na pinangasiwaan ng finishline.ang paggamit ng timing chip sa unang pagkakataon dito sa pilipinas ay isang kalugod-lugod na pangyayari.ang maraming supply ng tubig at energy drinks at pati na rin ng water sponge at mga markers at marshals ay nagdulot din sa pangkalahatang ginhawa ng mga mananakbo.

andiyan na ako sa mga magagandang punto na ginawa subali’t ito ay nararapat lamang at inaasahan mula sa mga organizer.trabaho nila ang magbigay ng ganitong serbisyo.

subali’t hindi ko puwedeng isara ang aking mga mata at bibig sa mga ilang pagkukulang na di lamang ako ang nakaranas at nakakita.i cannot allow myself to be gagged and most certainly,will not allow myself to be rammed with just about anything down my throat.

nang ako at isang big boss ay nagkita minsan BAGO ang karera,sinasabi niya sa akin ang paggamit ng timing chip at makukuha ang resulta sa loob ng ilang oras lamang.naniwala ako ng walang duda.sa araw ng karera,nagpamigay daw ng flyer na nagsasabing aabutin pa ng 3-4 na araw bago makuha ang resulta.sa anumang dahilan,di ko alam kung bakit nagbago ang kalakaran PAGKATAPOS ng karera.maaring sa pagod ko ay di ko napansin ang mga nagpapamudmod at di naman flyer ang unang hinahanap ko pagdating ng finish line.ganoon pa man,discretion nila ang pagpapalabas.sana ay di na na lang nagpress-release ng same day results.

pangalawa, hindi man nagkulang ang supply sa mga aid tables, ang kakulangan naman ng lalagyan nito ay nagdulot ng pagkukumpol-kumpol ng mga mananakbo sa bawat istasyon kung kaya’t naging sanhi nito ang mabagal ng pagdaan at pagbubungguan ng mga mananakbo.maanong maglagay ng mas mahabang lamesahan para sa mga runner?alam namang 6 na libo ang tatakbo at karamihan ay mangangailangan ng inumin.oo nga at may hydration belt ang iba,nguni’t sa nakakarami ay di nila abot-kaya ang pambili ng isa.sila ay umaasa lamang sa mga aid station.

pagdaan ng isang araw,nabasa ko din ang naiwang basura ng mga plastic cups na malapit sa army gym at isang pulis oyster ang siyang naglinis nito.di ba responsibilidad ng organizer ang maglinis pagkatapos ng karera?isa pa ang delayed awarding of prizes.andiyan na rin ang mga maling pangalan at gender ng mga mananakbo sa paglabas ng resulta.at siyempre pa, ang usapin patungkol sa VIP parking at VIP seating.

lahat ng ito ay ipinararating sa mga kinauukulan upang sa gayon ay sa susunod na patakbo ay sakaling maiayos ito.walang ibang motibo ang aking pagtakbo lalo na ang aking paglagay ng blog.huwag nang tanungin pa ang motibo sapagka’t wala.nais ko lamang iparating ang aking saloobin.kahit pa sabihing ako ay ay nag-iisa sa aking mga puna at sa sariling mundo ko.oo nga’t hindi beauty pageant o kasal ang ating dinadaluhan subali’t hindi ibig sabihin nito ay hindi din natin paghahandaan ng mabuti ang ating mga mananakbong nagbayad ng tama para makatakbo.

kaibigan at kakilala ko ang mga nag-organize.mula sa mga top honchos at mga marshals.sa aking paniniwala ay mas mabuting sinasabi ko ng harapan sa kanila ang mga puna ko kesa kapag sila ay nakatalikod.mukha man akong hudas na may balbas ay mas nanaisin kong harapin sila ng face-to-face wika nga.

in the end,i know how difficult it is to organize a race of such magnitude kung kaya’t di ko ninanais na magpatakbo.for this alone,i am proud of and have the highest respects for finishline for having the balls to take on the job.

hindi sa lahat ng araw ay puro matamis na salita ang aking sasambitin.di naman ako isang romeo na nanliligaw kundi isang pagong na mananakbo lamang.

i cannot and will not cower in fear and won’t hold my punches when need be.shooting from my mouth never had anything to do with my running.born with a motormouth and willing to die with and for it.well, i guess i will just have to put my money where my mouth is.i do not think that i am shooting away with blanks here or shooting blindly for that matter anyway.i was there as a soldier hitting the ground running last sunday.

wika nga,with big rewards,come bigger expectations and responsibilities.besides,all these pogi and pangit points come with the business.

ayaw kong maging bulag at magbingi-bingihan sa katotohanang nakahain sa harapan ko.kung kinakailangang ako ay magbigay-puri ay di ako mag-aatubiling gawin ito subali’t sa mga pagkakataong ako naman ay dapat pumuna,akin din itong gagawin.lahat ng ito ay para sa ikauunlad ng takbuhan at walang anumang iba pang motibo.

even if it means having to stay on the other side of the fence or even if i belong to the dark side and silent , disgruntled minority (heaven forbid a dissatisfied majority), i shall continue to be vigilant as a participant.

yes, i can’t expect every race to be perfect but at least there should be some sense of order where it is needed the most.i wish that i won’t live to see  the day when we would swallow everything hook,line and sinker without so much as a by your leave and without even raising a whimper.

whining you say? since when did whining become a running sin?is it too much to ask for what is rightly due you as a participant? for heaven’s sake,we might be new to running.yes,but let’s just say we have  higher standards around here now.yes, this maybe short of being too demanding but  one being a “veteran” in the game doesn’t give one the monopoly of righteousness all the time.we can always hark back to the days when running was “virginal” and pure.well, might as well go back to the days when those in-charge would run the show for the plain love and passion of running itself.

not everything popular is always right.as such, i would rather be heard than mute myself and forever regret it and kick myself  in the butt for not having even lifted a finger knowing  i could have done otherwise-para sa ikauunlad ng takbuhan.at wala ng ibang motibo man.

tough love.

ang bib number ko noong globe run ay 5050.

nang inabot sa akin ito sa bhs noong kunin ko ang bib ko,nag-atubili pa akong kunin ito.para kasing alanganing makatapos.

subali’t sa huli ay tinanggap ko na rin.

aba,ng lumabas ang resulta kanina ay 50th overall ako.akalain ko bang nakadami ako ng tapwe pala noong linggo.

ang siste ay ito.niyaya kaming mag-pace.base sa aking condura 21k  time noong pebrero na 1:41+ ay nagprisinta ako at sina les at mitch na mag-pace sa 5:00 minutes/kilometer(12kph).sa kasamaang-palad at di na ako magpapalusot pa ay di namin natamo ito.nagtapos kami sa 1:47+ (5:04 pace/11.8 kph) na ang ibig sabihin ay lampas kami ng 2 minuto sa itinakda naming target finish na 1:45:00.mabuti na lamang nang lumingon ako ay walang sumusunod sa amin o sumabay sa amin all the way mula start to finish.kundi baka sermon ang abutin naming tatlong pagong.baka sakali sa susunod ay makaya na uli ng powers namin ang 1:45:00 or better.panis.ayun na nga.hanggang sa finish line ay nag50-50 pa kami sa target time namin.

sa grupong finishline,salamat sa pagbibigay ng bagong anyo sa larangan ng race timing dito sa pilipinas.alam kong sa kabila ng pagkabaliktad ng kasarian(gender) ng ibang runner mula male to female at vice-versa  at sa maling pangalan,alam kong sa mga susunod na karera ninyo na gagamitan niyo ng timing chip ay mas maaayos niyo ang kalakaran sa paggamit ng bagay na ito.

sa globe,salamat po sa pagkakataong makatakbo sa central business district ng walang kasabayang mga sasakyan.

puwede ng ahitan si hudas.

at sa lahat ng nagtapos,mabuhay po kayo!

malayo pa ang araw ng panata.

ang pagkakaintindi ko ay AGAD malalaman ang resulta ng oras ng takbo sa globe kahapon.iyan ang press release noong inilunsad ang patakbong ito.same day daw.

subali’t makaraan ang higit isa’t kalahating araw ay wala pa ring nalalathala sa anumang website patungkol sa issue ng resulta.may nagsabing kahapon daw ay may nagbibigay ng flyers na sa july 23 o 24 pa lalabas ang resulta.ano?

ang buong akala ko ay higit na mas magaling ang electronic chip kumpara sa mano-manong pagkuha ng race stubs sa pagtatapos ng karera.ako ay natuwa sa press release ngunit sa pagdaan ng bawat oras ay nawala ang aking bilib sa electronic chip.

di hamak na mas mabilis magpalabas ng resulta si coach rio noong manual pa ang pagkuha ng race stubs.

na-miss ko tuloy ang pagbigay sa akin ng mga straw sa mga turnaround points.pakiramdam ko kasi ay ako ay VIP pag ako ay inaabutan para ilagay sa leeg.feeling VIP lang naman at naka-park sana ako sa VIP parking.sa “dami” ng pumarada sa VIP parking, pati langaw at alikabok ay puwedeng makapwesto ng maayos habang ang mga mananakbo naman ay nagkumpulan sa mas malayong parking for the mere mortals.pasensiya na mga kabaro tutal di naman VIP parking ang ipinunta natin kundi ang takbuhan.

electronic chip ba kamo?o electronic cheap? anumang dahilan meron,sige na at maghihintay na lamang ang sambayanang mananakbo.bayad na tayo eh.at di naman tayo VIP kasi.

sa ganang akin,maaaring mali ang aking pagkakaintindi o pagkakarinig sa kainaman ng electronic chip.pasintabi na po.si hudas man ay nagkamali din at nagbigti pa.

sana ay di na humaba pa ang balbas ni hudas na nasa itaas ng pahinang ito.

di maikakaila na talagang may running boom ngayon sa metro manila.ang mahigit limang libong mananakbong sumagot sa starting gun ng globe run for home ang patunay na hindi lamang dumadaang fad ang takbuhan.

tulad ng patakbo ng milo dalawang linggong nakaraan,ang takbo ngayong araw na ito ay isang box-office hit.

subali’t di tulad ng mga water/aid tables sa milo na umaabot ng halos dalawanpung talampakan sa haba,ang mga tables ng globe run today ay di man lang lumalampas ng limang talampakan.oo nga’t madaming tubig pero ang problema ay ang igsi ng water tables.

sanhi ng kaigsihang ito, nagkukumpulan ang mga runners sa mga water station kung kaya’t imbes na makabilis sa pagkuha ng maiinom ay bumabagal ang ibang mananakbo.sa akin ay dalawang beses akong nabunggo ng kapwa mananakbo na ubos-oras at sarap na umiinom ng tubig at di tumingin man lang sa mga parating na runners.

di ko naman sila masisisi sapagka’t may pangangailangan sila.

napansin ko sa singapore marathon na ang mga aid/water tables ay pagkaha-haba.ang mga elite runners ay tuluy-tuloy lamang tumatakbo sabay sunggab ng tubig ng walang anumang delay o bungguan.

ang punto ko dito ay sana ay dagdagan ang mga tables at ilatag ang tubig/energy drinks sa mahahabang lamesahan upang maiwasan ang pagkumpol-kumpol ng runners.sa essensa water station kanina ay di ko lubos maisip ang mga kapwa kong runners na nagsisikip sa pagkuha ng tubig.parang nilalanggam sa dami ang runners na nagipon-ipon sa pagkuha ng tubig.

kung nagawa ng milo ang pagdagdag ng mahabang lamesahan para sa tubig,siguro naman ay kayang gawin din ito ng ibang organizers.

ito ay isang munting suhestiyon lamang upang maiwasan ang log-jam sa mga stations at ang bungguan ng mga runners.

wala na akong magagawa sa sikip ng flyover.nang kami ay pabalik papunta sa bhs,isang lane na lamang ang naiwan para sa amin, tapos may mga sumasalubong pa para kumuha ng tubig.dapat ay merong stations on opposite directions.

isa pa sana ay sa pagpasok sa finish chutes ay maglagay ng hiwalay na lane para sa iba’t ibang distansiya.napakahirap magpakabilis sa buong karera gayung sa huling 500 metro ay babagal ka sanhi ng human traffic.

buti na lang at kahit bumagal ako sa huli ay tinalo ko pa rin si pareng fernando.

anyway,ito ay patunay na kung mas mahaba ay di hamak na mas madaming masaya.at mas ligtas para sa lahat.

for real,this is a title of a filipino movie back in 1987.how imaginative.i will leave it to your judgement as to what kind of movie genre this was.and i swear that i did not watch it.

well, having been in sick bay since after the men’s health run,i could not but help compare myself with an uhaw na lumpia yearning for a suka dip.i don’t like the sound of tigang na lupa.makes me feel old.

even when i felt that i was not sure of today’s outcome or how my body would react without the benefit of an acceptable workout for the past 2 weeks,i made sure i was ready for the worst.

together with me hc friends,mari,lester and jay c u plus our very supportive ivy,we made it to luneta with plenty of time to spare.jay nacino soon arrived and so did doc joe and albert henson,jeff abenina and isko lapira(who,by the way,just did the botak100 last sunday and was treating the 42 as a recovery run).jay n. and i sort of  treated this as a reunion run.i met jay for the first time at the very same spot last year when i did my 1st full.after the usual chit chat and picture-taking, we finally started our quest for a finals slot.

km 1-10. as in all rudy b. races(today was a box-office hit by the way),we were off on time.lester,jay and i paced ourselves ever so conscious of sticking to our plan.mari,well,was storming away in the front.we would slow down when we felt we were going fast and speed up when we were slow.with our roving bike support and our official hc car support ably piloted by ivy, we were making headway with our plans.the 1st 10k covered the whole of roxas blvd from km 0 to the corner af airport road up to the vicinity of buendia/taft.the road was cordoned off for runners.

km 11-20.things were going well still.we were gaining precious minutes and in fact, we were ahead by 6 minutes.the mental checkpoints i had in my mind corresponded to the times i wanted and even better.but as you know some plans don’t work as wished.at the kalayaan flyover entering the fort,lester signalled that he had cramps and slowed down but caught up with me soon after at the vicinity of mckinley hill.the 2-week running respite i had was somewhat rewarding in the sense that my legs felt no pain but they were kinda heavy.surprisingly,all milo aid stations were distanced apart pretty well and fully-equipped so to speak.sponges and water trucks were present.marshals galore especially in the intersections.btw,i was at the mcdonald’s/s&r area entering the fort at 1:43 and this is where i met the leading runner.

km 21-30.after the u-turn near the marine hq,we headed for bayani road.it was in the heritage area that it started to rain.really now,a rudy b race isn’t just complete without rain,it seems.anyway,the rains helped as it was getting hot as the sun was starting to shine.the relief made me run even better after the u-turn near c5.i was able to tackle the uphills along bayani and essensa with little problems.still and all, upon reaching the 30k mark at 3 hours,i thought i had a borderline chance at the 4-hour qualifying time.so i coasted towards the kalayaan flyover where queenie and jinoe plus the takbo peeps were kind enought to offer me gatorade(thank you!).

km31-42. at the flyover just when i thought the worst would soon be over as far as inclines,disaster was knocking.my legs suddenly got heavy.the whisperings of my fellow runner that he won’t make it was of no help.i got slower by the minute.upon reaching the downward part,i tried to speed up to make up for lost time.no go.here,things started to unravel.times and my mental checkpoints were not in sync by this time and the discrepancies were getting bigger.i was losing the fight for four quickly. approaching  chino roces, a familar voice sounded off.it was coach salazar hot on my heels with mesh in tow.no amount of prodding from coach could speed me up.my legs were heavier more than ever.as soon as i lost sight of the two,i knew that the battle for me was over.in front of ccp where my time should have ideally been at most 3:30 to make it,my watch showed 3:58.way off.i slowed down farther knowing that i would have to make a supersonic dash to make it.no sooner,sir jovie overtook me and handed a gu gel and pushed me to keep in step with him.i did.for 200 meters,i did.after that,my right hams down to the calf got a jolt.cramps were creeping.i bade sir jovie to go ahead.the fight was over.close to but not exactly walking,i made it to the finish line.my watch timed me at 4:28:18 but oddly enough,the official timer had 4:27:12.my 1st 21k was 1:58.the rest was done in 2:30.

at the waiting area,i saw and chatted with kim who did 21k.vener and christie,enrico and bookie of gold’s gym.and charlie who is slowly but surely coming back to the racing scene.more picture taking here.

anyway,the ordeal over,i was relieved that i made it.this was a confidence-booster for me.at least,i can still nail long distances.of course,i would have been 42 times more delighted if i did 4 hours.but i can’t complain.i was off the road for 2 weeks except for an accumulated 20-kilometer treadmill run spread over 5 days.the rest were spent in bed.

for whatever it’s worth,the consolation was that i was able to cut some 5 minutes from my previous milo run last november.

and so,the road to the milo finals remains a dream.to bandit again ,that is the question.october is crowded by 3 marathons and the adidas 21k.then there is singapore come december.

before i end,congratulations are in order.to jay nacino,my man,bravo for nailing a finals berth.my hats off to you for sticking diligently to your training program of which i was a witness many times over.vener,as usual, is a qualifier.to the t2 girls,you rock.special mention goes to mesh(fortunes indeed change quickly.if at 4:30am i was uhaw na lumpia,before the race ended,i became a chicked boy all over again.not that i mind)for qualifying.to albert henson of camanava,ayos pare.and of course to my hc buds, mari and martin for giving the team hc something to be proud of by qualifying.mabuhay!

of course,to my bdm classmates who did the botak100 last sunday and were brave enough to do this milo as recovery and qualify for the finals,wow,you are something.raffy,albert,isko,george and ronnie plus gene.iba na ang may pinagsamahan!

and of course, i would not have made it without these people whose unsolicited help and generosity helped me  through.to ivy, our team car support driver and photog for volunteering to support the hcs.(she was supposed to do a beach shoot but at the last  minute chose to shoot us hcs-the sons of beaches).i know you didn’t miss the beach at all sister.to dess for giving me much-needed supplies on the way back.sir jovie for giving me that gu gel for that 1 last push.to atty jeff abenina ,col oscar lopez(pa) and coach salazar for their words of encouragement.to queenie and jinoe and the takbo peeps for your unselfishness.and to that anonymous lady who handed me gatorade near the roxas/buendia flyover.after handing me that,she asked if i was bugobugo.answering in the affirmative,i was informed that she is regular visitor.sa inyong lahat,maraming salamat po!

ayos na rin ito.nadiligan ako ng suka.basang lumpia na ako.

ngayon,may asim na uli ako.

november 2008 was the time the hc’s did the milo bandit run.

bandits therefore,that makes us felons.

we will have a shot at rising and being legit tomorrow for october 2009.

the magic numbers to remember are 3:59:59.9.this will be good enough.otherwise,we will call it sub-sub and not sub-4.

good luck to all,virgins or otherwise.

switch to raceday mode-HARD ON!