Category: Running

She admitted to doping and to lying and is now labeled as one of the most infamous drug cheats in the history of sports. Too bad. Pretty, charismatic, supremely talented and the winner of five Olympic medals a few years ago, now she’s broke, crying, and she has since returned her medals and is facing jail time. Sad, sad news. But while the world castigates Marion Jones, you’ve got to read this article by one of my favorite writers, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, entitled “A Compassion Play.”

Last Sunday, September 30, I joined the 2007 World Heart Day Run at the Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital along Osmena Boulevard. There were two categories, the 5-K and the 10-K. I joined the 10-K and clocked a personal best time of 52:39. Dr. Yong Larrazabal was there. Raymund Silot, one of the pillars of the Cebu Road Runners Club, helped organize the run that attracted over a hundred participants. We all enjoyed the run and it was a success! Enjoy these photos sent by Raymund…

Cebu Executive Runners Club members

I woke up at 4:20 a.m. Drank coffee, changed into a sleeveless shirt, tied my shoelaces and left at 4:45. When I arrived at Sug-angan Restaurant along J. Llorente St., I met five men. At 5 in the morning two days ago—last Sunday—while the whole Cebu snuggled in bed, these five runners dripped with sweat that flowed down their cheeks.

Dr. Vic Verallo had ran 12 kms. They started pounding the asphalt at 3 a.m. Can you believe that? Jess Taburada was with Dr. Vic, so were Serge Amora and Joven Vilasor. Meyrick Jacalan, like me, just arrived.

Tired? Were they panting? Did their knees look wobbly? No. They had just warmed-up. After 12,000 meters. At 5 a.m.

We ran. We circled Fuente Osmeña, jogged along B. Rodriguez, turned right to V. Rama, down Banawa and stopped after the Labangon intersection. We bought water then ran back. Upon reaching Arcenas Estate, we turned left then toured the compound. Next, we headed back to Osmeña Boulevard, finishing with a 300-meter sprint before we reached Medalle Building. My watch read “1:11.” We had finished at over an hour and ran over 10 kms.

Tired? Panting? Wobbly legs? Not these runners.

At exactly 6 this Sunday morning, Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr. fired the starting gun to commence the annual Cebu Doctors’ University Run. There were three categories: 3K, 6K and 13K.

There were thousands of Cebu Doc students, MEPZ runners, and ordinary folks like myself who joined. My good friend from the Rotary Club of Cebu West, Andrew Jimenez, joined the 6K. So did my wife Jasmin. So did four men who work at Jasmin’s office: JohnRy (who placed 8th in the 6K), Joani, Dennis and Jorem.

I joined the 13K, the longest distance I’ve ever ran. My time? 1:16:22. Not bad. Though it was 10 minutes off the winning time (Doctors division) of Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III, who clocked, 1:06… I’m happy. We started at the brand-new CDU campus at the Mandaue reclamation and jogged all the way to the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge. We climbed it, ran downhill, made a U-turn, climbed back again, downhill again and ran back to the CDU campus. In my Nike iPod plus, the distance meter ran 14.56 kms. It was exhilarating!

Dr. Yong Larrazabal winning the Doctors division. To his right is Dr. Peter Mancao (who placed third) with Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr. awarding the winners

LAST SUNDAY at 6 a.m., I stood alongside 3,000 college students wearing green jogging pants and white T-shirts marked “USC.” I stretched, jogged in place, chatted with Andrew Jimenez (my buddy from the Rotary Club of Cebu West), then stood in line ready to join the University of San Carlos (USC) Power Run. When Fr. Vic Uy, the school’s Vice-President for Finance, pulled the trigger to start the stampede, thousands of rubber shoes pounded the asphalt.

I ran the 10K. The route started at the Provincial Capitol, traveled straight down Osmena Blvd., weaved through Gen. Maxilom and Gorordo avenues, cut through the middle of the Cebu Business Park, traversed along Juan Luna Ave., then pedaled the same route back to the Capitol end line.

Sweat drenched my sleeveless shirt. My shorts felt as wet as swimming trunks. My heart pumped 160 beats per 60 seconds. In the end, after 56 minutes and 46 seconds of running, I crossed the mark with the big banner at the top that said: FINISH.

It’s a Sunday morning and my alarm rang at 4:45 a.m. I made coffee, checked my e-mail, showered, dressed, and headed out the door with my wife Jasmin and daughter Jana to join the Adidas 5K race named “King of the Road.” When I arrived at the front of the Cebu Normal University, a sea of red swamped the road. Adidas outfitted 3,474 runners with red sleeveless shirts and three white stripes. Wise move. When the gun fired at exactly 6 in the morning, running shoes banged against the asphalt road of Osmena Boulevard.

Last Tuesday afternoon at 5:30, I strolled inside Nike Park in Ayala. I scanned the Swoosh items, gazed into their sale items, and toured around the aisles. Right beside, checking some sleeveless, Dri-FIT shirts, stood my good friend Dr. Vic Verallo. We shook hands, smiled, exchanged “How are you’s” and talked about the one topic that we never fail to discuss when we meet: Running. I told Dr. Verallo that my wife Jasmin and I were joining this Sunday’s Adidas 5K Run. Are you joining, I asked. He smiled. No, he’s not, and here’s why: Next month, in late July, Dr. Vic Verallo and two others from Cebu won’t be running the 5K. They’ll be running 42.125 kms. The full marathon! They’re joining the Milo Marathon– and it’s Dr. Verallo’s second marathon run. To train, the past two Sundays they’ve ran 30 kms. First, all the way to Liloan; the second, to Mactan, around Mandaue, and back to Cebu City. To Dr. Vic (whom I wrote a full-length article about here), good luck and God bless!

LAST JULY 10 at the South Reclamation Project, hundreds of running shoes trampled on the cement road of the SRP. There were five distance categories: 21K, 15K, 10K, 5K and 3K, and it was named “Run for P.E.A.C.E.,” which stands for… Planting a church; Equipping Servant Leaders; Assisting the Poor; Caring for the Sick; and Educating the next Generation.

“I always loved running,” said Jesse Owens, the four-time Olympic gold medalist. “It was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.”

I know one man who’ll nod his head in agreement, make the thumbs-up sign, smile and say, “Yes! That’s why I run!” Dr. Vicente Verallo. One of Cebu’s top dermatologists, he’s a busy man. Visit his Chong Hua clinic and you’ll notice the long hours he works. At home, he is happily married to top Cebu cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Susan Verallo. They have eight children. At work, at home—life is hectic. Still, the one thing Dr. Vic never fails to schedule?