Two major marathons are happening seven days apart from each other: the Quezon City International Marathon and the Subic International Marathon. The QCIM is on October 18 while Subic is on Oct. 25.
Category: Marathon
Haide Acuña
One of my favorite new blogs is Marathon Foodie. If you’re into running, this site is a must. Says the author in her “About Me” section: “I am Haide P. Acuna, a lawyer and broadcaster based in Cebu City, Philippines. I’ve been running on and off since 1996, but got seriously into running only in January 2009. The creation of this blog was inspired by The Bull Runner, Jaymie Pizzaro’s wildly popular and award-winning blog, which has become an authority on anything running. My vision is for this blog to become a place where newbie runners in Cebu can converge for helpful information about training, race schedules, race reviews, products, and practically all things relevant to running. This blog will also feature stories about runners, both veterans and novices, that will hopefully inspire runners become better at the sport.”
(Photo: Vic Kintanar)
Haide posted her first blog entry last June 28 with “Paghimugso,” and has, since then, written about every race that she’s joined (plenty). In her commentary, Haide is candid (calling the other weekend’s run, “The Great Lapu-Lapu Run Race Review Part 2: Great Expectations, Great Disappointment”). She is comprehensive and thorough. She writes on a personal, first-person level—what she sees, likes, suggests, criticizes—she pours out. I like it.
But why, you ask, the name? “I chose Marathon Foodie for a blog name because it encompasses two of the things I am truly passionate about – good food and running a marathon,” writes Haide. “I would have wanted to name this blog ‘Foodie on the Run,’ but I’ve been beaten to the punch by an American blogger based in Reading, Pennsylvania – a triathlete who loves to cook, loves to eat and competes in races in order to give her a guilt-free indulgence in all these loves. Just like Foodie on the Run, the Marathon Foodie runs because she won’t give up her ‘humba’ (Cebuano term for pork stew).”
Click on Marathon Foodie here.
CERC runs the Milo 42K Marathon
(Thanks to Meyrick Jacalan for all the photos.)
Congratulations to the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC). During the 33rd Milo Marathon in Manila last July 5, nearly a dozen runners joined the 42-km. marathon. The star of the Cebu squad was Harthy Satina, who finished his third marathon with a Personal Best (PB) time of three hours, 52 minutes. Having narrowly missed “sub-4” (under four hours) in the Singapore Marathon last December (Harthy succumbed to cramps 200 meters from the finish line and finished 4:09), this time Harthy ran pain-free and led all Cebu runners.
Dr. Vic Verallo, with minimal training because of an injury, came in next at 4:50, followed by Roger Cuenco, Jesse Taborada, Kenneth Casquejo, Roy and Dr. Rosan Trani, Joel Garganera, Jun Remo, Dr. Albert Santos and Serge Amora, among others. Meyrick and Perl Jacalan also ran with the group.
Dr. Vic Verallo, Harthy Satina and Meyrick Jacalan
Dr. Rosan and Roy Trani
Leica Carpo
The most prestigious 42K race in the world is in Boston, Massachussetts. Last April 20, the 113th Boston Marathon started with top Filipina runner, Leica Carpo, among the participants. In the Phil. Daily Inquirer article she wrote last June 10, she said…
Hans Bloom in the Stockholm Marathon
Just got this email from a friend who comes all the way from Sweden… “Hi John! Hope you remember me – Hans Bloom from Sweden – who participated in Sinulog Half marathon in Cebu in january. Last saturday I ran Stockholm Marathon in the shirt I got in Cebu – Cebu Executive Runners Club. I finished the race in 3.49,35 good enough for place 2894 among almost 15,,000 who started and about 14 000 who finished. It was very hot – 25-30 degrees! The hottest day so far in Sweden. Here are 2 pictures from before the race and after. I might join you in Cebu again next january. /Best regards from Hans Bloom”
Among Cebu runners, Steve is Mr. Ferrari
He was stout, fleshy and portly. He was obese. Standing 5-foot-7, he weighed an overblown 228 pounds. Then. Today, eight years since his waistline exceeded 40 inches, he is slim, lean and slender. Best of all, he is snappy and fast. Among the hundreds of Cebu executives whose sport is running, he is one of the swiftest.
He is Steve Ferraren. His story began in 2002 when tragedy struck: his father died. The cause was diabetes and, when Steve spoke to his doctor, he was issued a hair-raising ultimatum: At 228 lbs., if he did not lose weight, he might face the same fate as his dad. Soon.
Fearful, Steve took action. Only 35 years old then, he vowed to trim excess poundage. But it wasn’t easy. Losing weight never is. And when Steve first ran around the Cebu City Sports Center, he said, “My maximum distance was only half a round at the oval.”
Running MAD photos
Lahug brgy. captain and race organizer Mary Ann De Los Santos (center)at the starting line minutes before the start of the Running MAD event which drew over 1,600 runners
Mary Ann De Los Santos (center) with Men’s 12K champion Mendel Lopez (2nd from left), runner-up Philip Dueñas (3rd from right) and Sherwin Manangil (2nd from right) with race officials Raffy Uytiepo (left-most) and John Pages (right)
James, Yong, Peter and Families to Run…
Doctors Peter Mancao and Yong Larrazabal are leaving Cebu this Thursday. Like they’ve done in Chicago and NYC and Hong Kong, they’re flying—this time, West, to land near San Francisco and join a 42K run that’s acknowledged as “The World’s Most Scenic Marathon.” True enough, when you visit the Big Sur website (www.bsim.org), your eyes will be enamored by God’s gift to mankind called nature: Giant redwoods, breathtaking cliffs, wild flowers—all overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Cebu Marathon 2010
It’s all set and running! Scheduled during the nice-sounding date of 01-10-10—that’s Jan. 10, 2010—is a grand event that’s long-time coming: THE CEBU MARATHON. By “marathon,” I mean the full 42 kms. (For some, any run, even a 5K Fun Run, is, at times, called a marathon.) Why the early announcement? Because covering 42,195 meters by foot is laborious, effortful and takes time. Organized by the Cebu Executive Runners Club headed by president Jesse Taborada, this is a spectacle that runners ought to join.
Atan and Joel in Hong Kong Marathon
Atan Guardo and Joel Garganera (at the Causeway Bay area) just minutes away from crossing last Sunday’s Hong Kong Marathon finish line