FRONTRUNNER Philippines

after that botak42k fiasco held earlier this year, not a few doubted botak’s ability to mount a decent road race.

not being able to run the botak100 didn’t help me either in finding out whether botak has changed for the better.

well,the botak 10-miler at u.p yesterday was a refreshing change.

it was not really your big-time,crowded,box-office hit-kind-of-a race.it was more of a manageable crowd of running aficionados so to speak.i am saying this because there was not much human traffic clogging the running lanes and not many walkers.if there were,those must have been the regular sunday u.p. habitues.and i like it this way.just runners.slow or fast doesn’t make a difference.just runners yesterday.

the race started pretty much on time.i saw takbo top honcho george giving last-minute instructions to the support crew as well as ed mangaser and ian alacar doing their designated chores.in fact, ed rode his scooter around the route while monitoring the race in progress.ian,inspite of sweating like hell,stood his ground at the finish line welcoming each finisher.i enjoyed the not-too crowded starting line,the less-crowded aid stations,the mobile hand-held directional signs and the marshals using megaphones to make sure every runner was informed where to turn.additionally,the aid stations were well-stocked that not even non-runners were helping themselves to gatorade and water.there goes the filipino.

having done u.p. quite a few times,i knew where the route would take us.the 3-loop run was kinda boring really but nonetheless challenging.i,personally,wanted to get a negative split of a run this time.somehow,the sight of the timer everytime i would cross the starting line would put pressure on me to push it a little for me to be able to get to my goal.which was a modest 1:20 fact for 10 miles.5 minutes per kilometer.

so pacing myself to a relaxed pace of what i felt was 5:20-5:30 for the 1st 3 kilometers or so, i had enough energy left to do battle for the rest of the way.i did it in 1:18:03 by my casio which i clicked at gunstart.

not bad ,not bad at all i thought especially after outsprinting 2 dudes whose asses were stuck infront of me for almost all of the 10 miles.how’s that for a view?not that i relish the idea.i was stuck,that’s why.

something else was running aside from my legs yesterday.my nose which caught colds 2 days before was running like the dickens and i was short of breath often as well.i went on an ascorbic-acid drinking spree.i did not want to miss a botak race for the 2nd straight time.

what can i say? for now,botak has eased my botak42 nightmares.

botak,i will be back for your next offerings.

thanks for the bags of hersheys too.i am a chocolate addict.rivaled only by my addiction to running.

lest i be misconstrued as a botak mouthpiece,i am not.they could do a better job at providing more/longer aid tables(there goes the table thing again)making it easier for runners to just grab and go without stopping and waiting in line to get aid stuff.this was just about the crowded “area” yesterday.

otherwise, botak made my sunday yesterday.

thanks vener.on the way to the 2nd loop.infront of the oblation.

it was surprisingly humid last saturday night.i set off for the fort well before 7pm only to find the usual parking spaces teeming with cars.and boy was bhs a running community that night.anyone not in running gear would have certainly felt out of place.it was a box-office hit,this kenny rogers urbanite run.

kudos goes to the finishline peeps and as i understand takbo.ph headed by jinoe for this novelty run.

did you notice the long,long water tables?that’s what i am talking about.water and powerade were nicely lined up and laid on the tables for about 10 feet or more, making it easy for runners to just grab a cup.forget that the water was not ice-cold,i am sure nobody went bothering to find out the humidity for the night.did i sweat real hard.

it was a last-minute search for a race kit for sale.i was lucky to stumble upon one in takbo.ph sans the meal ticket.so,at least for an hour or so,i was in the 30-39 age bracket for men’s where i finished 10th and 26th overall while donning bib 2162.not bad.i volunteered to pace for 5 minutes but at the last minute,no pacers were to be in this race.

i wanted to make good this time unlike in the globe where i volunteered to pace 5 minutes and ended up doing 1:47 for 21k.this time, under the cover of darkness,i was able to hit my target with a time of 1:14:58.whew, by the skin of my teeth really.i was happy to make it inspite of the monstrous human traffic jam in mckinley and essensa on the way back.

i started out like a rabbit doing a 4:12 pace.jerry karundeng(high altitude)was gracious enough to announce our pace every so often.i caught up with the other half of the amazing race duo,rovilson, in the vicinity of the church in bayani road.he kept up with us up until the heritage gate only to find him nowhere after.i did not know if i was afraid of ghosts but somehow i made sure i had company while inside heritage.it was not really spooky though.i was too tired to think about it.

so while we 15k runners had the roads all by ourselves up to a certain point in bayani road, we soon found ourselves with the company of 10k runners in their 10k turnaround.well,things got slow and worse once we reached mckinley.both lanes of the road were filled to the brim that i had to zigzag my way in and out of the walkers way.on to the edge of c5,we were alone again only to mingle with the walkers from mcdo mckinley,essensa all the way to the finish line.

hey,no complaints here but don’t you think it would be a good idea to have an entirely separate route for the 3k and 5krunners or even 10k runners?that way,human traffic jams could be avoided.i know it would entail additional costs for organizers but it would be better for the runners in general.accidents can be avoided.well,anyway just an unsolicited advice.

overall, it think finishline did good.but from what i heard regarding the race kit distribution though,there was chaos.jerry,in fact,came all the way form silang ,cavite to bhs to claim his kit thursday only to be told that his was not yet ready.by then he felt it was a lost cause and just decided to run with his receipt.i hope finishline simplify the distribution system in their future races.

i had a grand time registering for 3 races after the race.i registered for botak 16k,rotarun 21k and masters 15k.

now the last one tells you how old i am.not that it is a state secret.only 40 year old and above runners are allowed.

and before i forget to tell you,i had a hard time navigating in the dark.my 45-year old eyes are starting to fail me.mercifully,my legs are getting me through all these tiresome but nonetheless enjoyable kilometers.

the original plan was for only me and jerry karundeng (high altitude) to run the milo elims in baguio last 09aug.but after sending some text messages to my fellow hardcore teammates, i was able to gather a total of sixteen runners.jerry wanted this run as this was his very 1st local race back in 2007.

the inclement weather for about a week that preceeded the race was not exactly a concern for us.besides,i knew that rudy b would push through with the race no matter what the weather was.

so we decided that rain or rain,we were going to conquer baguio.

this was to be my first official race in baguio after 27 years.incidentally,i dnf-ed my 1st baguio road race then back in 1982 when i was a plebe (freshman) at the academy.until i got the running bug in my system last year,i was itching to race the roads of baguio.well, last november,december and january, i ran the roads of baguio to my heart’s content even running a solo 42k along the benguet-vizcaya road,ran up mt.sto. tomas with doc joe and ilo on new year’s day,did downtown baguio on christmas day and “reckon-ran” the milo route alone again as well.still and inspite of the many kilometers done in baguio,a feeling of emptiness lingered inside me.i was left wondering how it was to do baguio in race-pace.

for this race and knowing how difficult this route was going to be, i was prepared to go 2 hours max on the 21k route.i knew every corner the route was going to take.i was ready for the worst.

come race day,the rains stopped by 5am only to start pouring by gunstart.i was happy to see rudy b with his milo team prepped up themselves.

so amidst pouring rain,i started the race at the back of the pack.the race started along harrison road.i found myself at the back of the pack and i had a hard time making myself sweat that i took me at least 3 kilometers to break a sweat and start to make my lungs adjust to the altitude.since i was familiar with the route, i took my time knowing that the route was harder on the way back with almost 8 kilometers of steady inclines.the approach heading towards the fort del pilar gate was a hard climb and so was the philex road in kias.i was surprised to find my time at 51 minutes at the turnaround however.

but as i said earlier,the inclines going back slowed me down that it took me 1 hour to get back to the finish line.it was not until the military cut-off road which is about 2 kilometers to the finish that i sort of got a breather and made a dash for the finish line at burnham park.anyway,it was from the area near the export zone on the way back that i was able to overtake a few runners to my satisfaction.

the loakan section of the race was the most satisfying for me.on the way to the turn around point,there was not much traffic and the drizzle and the pinetrees proved to be a killer combination that i wanted to stop and just “feel” the atmosphere.it was just so silent and serene which would have made for a perfect lazy sunday stroll if you know what i mean.funny but,i did not find too much need for water.we had much along the way over our heads.

in the end,i timed 1:51:51 and finished 39th.not bad f0r my 1st baguio finish.

the baguio elims is the hardest milo race as stated in a major newspaper.it was difficult alright only 1 runner out of the 100 21k starters,3- time winner jerry lindawan, qualified.i think rudy b might want to put a “time handicap” for the baguio race next year.

my fellow hardcores were shivering soon as we stopped running.i immediately donned my jackets and changed my wet clothes.

on my way to the car, a fellow runner from baguio invited me to the 1st baguio 21k centennial run on aug 30.this time it will be harder as the start will be at the lion’s head in kennon road and end in burnham again.the 1st 5 kilometers here are steep inclines and the starting line itself is a killer section even for vehicles.it is so steep that many cars and lives were lost rolling down the deep ravines.now if you want challenge,you got it here.besides,it will take another 100 years before this run materializes again.

well,for the love of running, i will do this run.and it goes without saying that i love baguio for sentimental reasons.

as for finishing this race, i finally buried the ghost of my failed 1982 run after 27 long years of waiting. for good.

jerry, do you know what "basang sisiw" means? i know you are no chicken but...

until the next team hardcore run.lester and nico walking away with their loot.

cory run, 05aug2009

not much really this run,but like what  my many fellow countrymen did the past few days, this little act was my last hurrah and my show of respect and admiration to my former president and commander in chief.

president cory,my snappiest salute to you.thank you and may you rest in peace.