FRONTRUNNER Philippines

team hardcore in cooperation with runradio (nu107, fridays, 9-10pm)  and the generics pharmacy is making its enduruns 4.5.5 (4 full and 2 half marathons)and laguna lake 200k marathon relay a fund-raising event.the runs will be collectively called TKO 250.

enduruns and the laguna race will total 250 kilometers.in particular, these are the races that the team will run; october 11 milo42, october 18 qcim im42, october 24 sim42, october 25 adidas21, november 8 pim42, november 15 timex21, november 28-29 laguna lake 200 (each runner of the 5-man team will do 40k).

for every kilometer we will do, a  prospective donor will be asked to donate 1 peso thus making it 250 pesos as his donation.it is most welcome if you give more than that amount. all donors/donations will be published later.

i am thinking of marikina at the moment as the main beneficiary given the number of victims in that area.if you have other beneficiaries in mind,let me know.i intend to purchase medicines (at cost from the generics pharmacy plus more extra freebies from the franchise owner, harry ongsun) and/or mineral water and give the same to the beneficiaries as early as  monday,  october 6.

team hc shall put up a collection station at the parking lot behind rox during the octoberun on october 4 at the fort. a team hc tarpaulin will be in place for easy location.

i pray that you my fellow runners will heed this call.if we don’t mind paying for our registration fees and much more for our running stuff, there is no reason that we can’t give a little bit in aid of our fellow filipinos.

this is a non-partisan endeavor so everybody is welcome to pitch in.and if any runner or groups want/s to join us in segments or the whole 250k,you are most welcome as well.you have the run schedules above.

we will give ondoy a good run for our money.

please pass the word. thank you and god bless you.

see you at the starting line.

he who ruined 6,000 runners’ dream sunday. he who drowned metro manila. he must be burned at the stakes. he must be vanished fom the face of the earth.he must be trampled upon by 6,000 pairs of running feet.

this ondoy,big-time bum, kill joy, biggest prick.

rain,rain go away.

in the aftermath of yesterday’s rotarun particularly the 21k race, my previous post “anak ng rota…” gathered some view stats and comments from both sides of the fence so to speak.from the side of the event management and the  participants.

actually,when it was a reality that the distance was found to be less than 21k(this i found out after asking about 10 runners with garmin gps-enabled watches), i was able to talked to the race manager and race organizer and told them about the “shortage”.i was able to hear their side of the story and of course,they heard my side too.no fireworks actually.these dudes are my friends.and i accepted their explanation.

but as it is my wont to do and as i always say,as a true friend,i would rather tell a friend in his face about what is wrong(btw,that is not about race matters only) rather than me yakking behind his back.i know you know what i mean.

so as it s,i wrote my piece and the rest they say is history.

i got a rejoinder from a member of the race staff  and in the spirit of fairness,i have quoted the good doctor en toto.

read…

“Hi guys, doc lyndon aka malmonmd here from takbo.ph. We apologized for the shorter 21km distance. We already explained and apologized after the race. When we were requested to take over, we were only given 2 weeks to organized this. During numerous meetings, we always take the runners into consideration for we are runners to. If this race is not perfect we are sorry but rest assured that we took evrything into consideration from the water to security to medical and what have you for a race to be perfect. We thank you for supporting Rotary’s cause…”

personally, i am awed by the good doctor’s humility and while i did not harbor any ill feelings towards my 2 good friends, all i have written previously were with the sole purpose of providing my friends an insight from the runners’ point of view.nothing personal.and there is really nothing to apologize for  if you would ask me.i know how you have done your roles and parts to make this event as successful as can be.

as in any undertaking.there are birth pains and certainly this event was not exempted.i am sure as hell that with a very good group that is takbo.ph(of which i am a registered member-supahpapalicious) behind in support as always,things will come out better the next time.

while we are still at it,may i call your attention to the plight of my gold’s gym trainer and his 4 other 1st-time friend runners who attended yesterday’s event.unfortunately while they enjoyed the event,they were surprised at the least to find out their van ransacked of their cellphones and personal belongings.i know you made coordinations with the site security but obviously someone slept on the job somehow.and for my unsolicited advice,may i ask that when you solicit for race volunteers,there must be people assigned to watch over the car park areas whether or not you feel the site security is adequate enough.dapat ng matigil ang mga ganitong pangyayari.

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right doc?

i really appreciate your efforts to reach out and be candid and truthful about everything.

i continue to be a big fan and supporter of takbo.ph.and of course ,as a good friend to the race manager and organizer.

after all is said and done, let us continue to enjoy running.lahat ng aming puna at inyong mga gawain ay para sa ikabubuti ng mananakbong pilipino.

takbo lang ng takbo.

cheers!

sinukat ka nguni’t kulang.

the distance was measured, using garmin, at about 17.83 kilometers.way too short for a 21k race.

for whatever reasons rotary had,the original organizers were replaced and the 21k route revised.

it was another well-attended race but the narrow roads along the mckinley starting area proved to be a nuisance.nagsisiksikan parang sardinas up to almost a kilometer.you know the feeling,you were there.medyo nagkaluwagan noong ahunan na.

at any rate, i ran the course that took us inside heritage.with a twist.instead of the usual one-way loop,we took a u-turn inside.the early charge at the mckinley hill area was a killer.i mean,if one did not warm up properly,hingal-kabayo agad sa umpisa.

then all the way to essensa then u-turn before the downhill to gate 3 then bayani road until the c5 intersection.

the lack in the distance is such a big deal since any runner worth his running shoes and who trained for the distance would surely be disappointed that after running according to plan,things won’t turn out nicely at the finish line of all places.this is supposed to be paradise found,di ba,after laboring for more than an hour on the road?

imagine me.i looked up to the timers above the finish line after i was directed to the 21k chute.i looked for the the timer saying 1:40 or so.what i saw was 1:28 something.wow,i thought,either i was so fast that i had a new p.r. or the distance was nuts.

sadly,my fears were confirmed after a friend said it was short.not short,way too short.

it is my pet peeve.shorter than announced distance.i mean,you train and plan for it.the works.

i wish i had more stories to tell pero bitin nga distansiya kaya bitin din kuwento.ok lang sana kung 100 0r 200 meters short.eto eh mahigit pa sa 3 kilometers!

for whatever it’s worth,i ran home to my heart’s content.buti na lang din,tumakbo ako papuntang mckinley earlier for my warm up.good for a total of 10k extra.

this ain’t shit.this is double shit.excuse my exuberance.

hay naku,houston we have a problem!

ang bawal,ipinagbunyi noong eco dash 21k run.umulan man ay tumakbo pa rin ang karamihan.

to say that i was impressed is an understatement.

for starters,the race organizer who i am barely familiar with conducted the race pretty well.

what impresses me more was the fact that inspite of the rains that came during the race,multitudes of runners were out running on the road.i understand the enthusiasm of the 21k runners who by experience are seasoned runners so to speak.but the 3k and 5k runners,they were something.it is safe to presume that these are new runners but along the way,i could hear happy sounds and see happy faces enjoying both the run and i hope,the rain.it must have been a blast for the first-time runners.

the rain brought about joy(mostly) and a few blisters i am sure but in the end,most went home happy.this was not so much of a frills race and was in fact “austere” if you know what i mean.nothing loud.nothing fanciful.

the mix of veteran runners and the rookies  all made for one happy bunch running in the rain.

i had the luck of running side by side with junrox(tigerboy) all the way.he was gracious enough to answer my queries about our pace almost every so often.i knew it was hard for him so i made sure i was not asking during the inclines.thank you partner.we were able to run a decent 1:44:35 for the distance and basing from his garmin data, it was pretty much even-paced.

well, i don’t know but maybe the rains played a good part in helping runners make new personal bests in their distances.

bakit nga ba ang ipinagbabawal eh doon nasisiyahan at natutuwa ang mga tao?

di nga ba bawal mabasa sa ulan?

it is good to get your feet wet sometimes.and get dirty too.

di bale nang magmukhang basang-sisiw.

nakatakbo naman.

when br first told me about the masters run he was planning,i immediately asked myself how i would qualify as a master.i was a master of nothing.well, i thought that would qualify me,easy.

no sooner,he told me that all it would take is to be a 40 year old and above  male and 35 years old and above for women.it would be a 15k run around the safe confines of aguinaldo,seat of the armed forces’ general headquarters and the department of national defense.and finally,there would be a beer stand too! no second thoughts here,i was in.i have done aguinaldo a few times.and i wanted to do it again wth my fellow masters.

pouring rain notwithstanding,around a hundred runners showed up.it was 5am and things were being set up.the team hardcore had its promised beer and aid personnel led by the thc “minors” lester,mari,jerry,mark and charlie.plus husband and wife tandem,broJ and baby.to you generous people,i thank you as well for the efforts and time and money.that goes to arman,arthur and bernadette siyempre pa.needless to say,this beer stand was the 1st in local races.

nobody minded the late start at 6am.it was still dark and raining at 530am.i did my warm ups with jay at the grandstand with all the others.

after the requisite short program,we were finally off at 6am.the rains mercifully stopped by then.

we did 2 loops of 7.5 kilometers each around the perimeter of camp aguinaldo that brought us to the corinthian side, white plains area,santolan(boni serrano) and the different housing and installations of the camp.it was pleasant to see the elites of team br doing pacer chores and manning the intersections and water stations and finish line.

there was fun and pain along the way and puddles of water but i did not mind.i was enjoying the traffic and pollution-free route.for once,drivers,were courteous enough to give way to the runners without need for efforts to signal them to.not unlike the fort and ayala and your usual routes.no honking around.and the weather was perfect.

i did the race in 1:12:36 on my watch.that wasn’t my best but what can i do-ok,run faster next time.the winner was in my age bracket.the 2nd placer was a a foreigner. i have seen the guy doing the rounds in ultra with his horse-like long strides and i mean long.i understand he is 71 years old.so all you out there,that includes me,we have something to look forward to aside from senior citizen discounts and rocking chairs one day-run fast!

i was happy not for the finish line.but for mainly getting to my destination-the beer station.i got hold of my pale pilsen and had my first bottle in 6 long years.and it felt good.i did another 5k easy then went back to have some more.i got tipsy to the point of poking my eyes repeatedly with the beer bottle.

what made me wonder after was how in the world could ice-cream and beer mixed? i swear i saw people having ice cream on one hand and beer on the other.you know what they say about mixing dairy and beer.guess it takes to be a master to do that,no?

we had rhum coke for someone who asked for it.and scotch on the rocks too.my friend took a few shots only to realize it was barely 8am and his mom might find out he was drinking so early and spank the hell out of him.talk about masters.yeah,we still hear it from our mothers alright.well, it was my 1st time too to be drinking beer this early.

this race was not your usual fare.it was shorn of any commercial interests.it was a race put together by of course,br and his friends.i would say friends who truly love running as running itself.i wasn’t doing running in the 70’s yet when races they said were done for the fun and love of it.i understand amado castro as well as isko lapira,carrie and eugene, and jan imperio and other br firends chip in some goodies.truly,this was a bayanihan race so to speak.

i am sure most attendees did not mind the weather and much less the absence of loot bags after the race.after all, for a 100 smackeroos,you got the chance to run aguinaldo safely and have all the fun and drinking after.there was no noisy emcee blabbering and yakking away needlessly before and after the race.what a relief-finally,a civilized race as my party-going friend would say.this was a no frills ,all thrills race.

it was just pure, unadulterated fun of course made even livelier by downing a few cups or bottles of the pale.by the way,we had light and red horse too for the more demanding and discerning.

do not fret minors, one day you shall be masters too.in the meantime,enjoy your runs and run your days as if there was no tomorrow.and i bet my one case of pale pilsen,you will enjoy this kind of race as much as the hundred runners did yesterday.

i wish i could find fault for the race/ race organizer here,hahaha,br,friend and superior notwithstanding but honestly i could not find any.no, i am not sucking up to anyone besides, it is a sin to tell a lie.there was none.long tables,adequate station supplies and exact distance to the dot.ok,ok, no promo girls.

how about that saturday sundown race soon?let’s invite the minors.magbayanihan  tayong muli.

we certainly did it our way over beers and more and i am sure everybody went home happy.even the on-duty and off-duty soldiers of ghq had fun with us.

cheers!

br firing us off

tbr pacer with eventual winner.rudy tacadino and mr. kennedy hot on his heels during the 1st loop

jerry(aka highaltitude) manning the finish line with tbr elite

age category champ,totoy santos, dashing towards the finish.

lemuel narcise doing pacing chores

beer break for br

isko,ultramarathoner and mountain climber,can't wait to be a master.

albert henson

coach salazar and age group winner,triathlete,milo qualifier and san fo sub-4 marathoner,mesh villanueva.

major general samuel narcise

age category champ kim tiew o'connel

jay,eyes on the road, not on the rocks

someone was having fun here.

ivy macainan

beer talk

master power walker,mr. amado castro

attorney felipe dumpit

isko,abet and age group winner,victor ting

br and his angels

2nd place winner peter kennedy

masters jonel and bards and hc minor mari

masters jonel and bards and hc minor mari

masters jonel and bards and hc minor mari

masters jonel and bards and hc minor mari

masters jonel and bards and hc minor mari

masters jonel and bards and hc minor mari

red rose cheeks.i wonder how many bottles my training partner and captain bartender,lester, had before,during and after the race.

red rose cheeks.i wonder how many bottles my trauning partner and captain bartender,lester, had before,during and after the race.

red rose cheeks.i wonder how many bottles my trauning partner and captain bartender,lester, had before,during and after the race.

proud coach.winner students.

proud coach.winner students.

proud coach.winner students.

minors, don't do this at home.this is what you get after running a masters 15k race and downing one too many red horses.

minors, don't do thi at home.this is what you get after running a masters 15k race and downing one too may red horses.

it's that thing on he rocks alright.at 8am.

it's that thing on the rocks alright.at 8am.

minors,don’t tell me i did not warn you about drinking too many. too many repeated entry pictures.

what the…..beer!

roses are red, violets are blue. team hardcore is running and so can you!

let us run september away in prep for october’s pains.

CHEERS!

baguo centennial kennon run 21k. 30 august 2009.

i wasn’t supposed to join this run but i was glad i did.very glad.make that very happy to be part of history.

for one, i already did conquer baguio last august 9 during the milo elims.but somewhow,when che alberto(race coordinator.by the way,congratulations to the organizers,e-ventologists who i understand are the smart subic im organizers.they did pretty well.not much fuss and frills,just your honest-to-goodness road run)) told me about it near the milo finish line then,i gave it a thought.the idea of starting at lion’s head along kennon road was daunting yet pricked my senses(and running feet) for a good reason.

this was the 1st time a road race would start along historic kennon and my first time to try its inclines on foot.

i remember too well that stretch of kennon road where it is one of the steepest and many lives and vehicles were lost tumbling down the deep ravine.

and so last sunday with some 130 or so runners,some even coming as far as manila and together with albert henson,jeff abenina and isko lapira of camanava runners, ultra drill classmate jan imperio and wife, ica(10K) as well as baguio resident and hardcore teammate doc joe aka loonyrunner, i was at the vicinity of the start around 5am.some runners i saw were warming up running down from loakan almost 5 kilometers away.it was dark and cold but the skies were clear,this was going to be a good day for running.

soon after making my warm ups along the inclines,the other runners arrived and before i knew it,the good mayor fired us off at around 5:48 am.not bad considering 5:45am was the advertised start.

i found myself at the rear end of the pack.i know the route by heart with all its ups and downs.alright,mostly ups(you know how baguio is).with this in mind,i conserved all my energy for the long climb up.nothing but nothing anywhere in the  metro manila roads and flyovers nor even the steepest incline on the treadmill could approximate or offer the same degree of difficulty of that 1st turn from the lion’s head.i slowly made my way up.

turn after turn,all i encountered were the steepest road inclines that i have ever done.in the end,as shown on the garmin,total elevation gain was about 500 meters.we started at 1,000 meters above sea level at the lion’s head.

after 30 minutes of controlled running( and 4 kilometers of killer ups) where i could feel some stiffness in my legs,i soon found myself at the junction of loakan road leading to the airport.it was going to be another long but gentler climb for another 5 kilometers at the vicinity of nevada square and the old john hay main gate.i was controlling the urge to sprint ahead, i  knew i had to conserve energy.

having ran the loakan road segment just 3 weeks ago,i felt comfortable in the area and in fact,made new  friends along this area even carrying some runners’ (and boys’) talk with them.

soon,i was at the old john hay main gate and took a quick glance at my watch.1:07 for 9k.over by 7 minutes by my plan.time to up the pace here.

along the way,i overtook the runners,some already walking,who sprinted out at the start.i found familiar company with jan and albert.more boys’ talk with my fellow masters talk here.(read,old runners)along south drive where the old hyatt hotel used to be,i met the 10k runners gong back already.from this point on to paterno drive,baguio country club and john hay gate 2,i was able to catch my breath and started to make my move.i saw runners who were ahead of me and made my targets hereon at the john hay gate 2 turn around.

i took a right turn towards outlook drive all the way to the vicinity of villa la maja and from there made a u-turn towards mansion house and and a quick turn at the wright park lake.boy,this was turning to be a running tour of baguio’s landmarks i thought.i did not mind.the weather was just perfect.need i say,the day’s thermometer was perfectly set as well.

from here,i step up my pace real hard on the way to pacdal circle and back to ilusorio drive then south drive at the back of teacher’s camp. soon.it was the military cut-off road and i knew that since this was a good flat stretch,i made sure i wasn’t easing up on my pace.i made a right turn towards the baguio general hospital area along kennon road soon after then hit kisad run,overtook a few runners along the way.i made my way to the finish line with only one but one thing in mind-to finish in in the top 100 and get that “i survived the kennon road-baguio centennial run” t shirt.i crossed the finish line as finisher 71 with a time of 2:06:59.honestly,i targetted 2 hours flat.but shit happens,so i did not mind my slow time.anyway,i did the last 12k in 1 hour flat.good enough for a speed drill/tempo training day.

needless to say,i got that shirt-cheap thrill alright!but very satisfying.i can’t tell you how i really felt.i got a natural high running the route.it was as if everything was a blur after running for over 2 hours.for whatever reason,this run was definitely the most enjoyable i have done to date.notwithstanding the inclines,ok,the mountain climbs.as isko later said, “hindi naubusan ang tangke ko.”i felt the same way too that i made a 4-hour trip to nueva vizcaya after the race passing along ambuklao road(i started to miss my ambuklao run so much that i am planning a new year’s day run from burnham to ambuklao dam for a distance of about 50 kilometers)).in fact, i told che alberto along the way while the race was in progress that they should not wait for another 100 years to have another run like this again along kennon.i suggested that they make a 42k run.

well, if they do not move, i will on my own.

i have already gathered my support team of 2 and i will do the entire kennon road from the benguet welcome arch to burnham park come christmas day 2009.anyone?good to burn the noche buena fats.

that won’t be too long from now.you know ,the ber months have started.

anyway,basta baguio,anytime at all.let’s run.

che alberto,herself an accomplished runner,was race coordinator

jan and i along kennon road

with jan,toots and joe along kennon road

this was another difficult turn going up.primera kambiyo.

take a look at the vehicle at the background down the road.that is where we came from.lion’s head is still meters down from where the vehicle is.

kennon road checkpoint and view deck

loakan road with toots

albert henson at loakan airport

voice of america, loakan road

new friends, joey and jong

south drive with albert.nice story-swapping.

baguio country club

wright park lake

this was time to pick up the pace towards pacdal circle

baguio country club golf course.on my way back.last 5 kilometers.my camera battery died here.