Photos from 2008…
MIllette (in purple) with family and friends
Millette (left) after the Run for your Heart race
Frederic with his niece, Kim Tan
Running In The Family: Frederic and Millette with their children (from left) Yuan, Justin and Savvi (and niece Kim at the back)
Sen. Pia with Annie Neric and Kenneth Casquejo
With Noy and Amale Jopson
Read today’s Sun.Star article by Max Limpag
Bro. Carlo with Haide Acuña
If you think running 42,195 meters to complete a marathon is ridiculous, meet Bro. Carlo Bacalla. He’s no ordinary marathoner. He’s an ultra-marathoner. And, last March 7, he joined a race that’s the farthest in distance: the Bataan Death March (BDM). How far? One hundred two kilometers.
Crazy? Yes. Because Bro. Carlo is crazy for sports. In our recent back-and-forth email interview, he admitted, “Someone said ‘It takes an idiot to run a marathon but it takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultra-marathon!’”
Training director of the Don Bosco Training Center for out-of-school-youth in Pasil (among his myriad of jobs)–that’s Bro. Carlo’s profession. His passion: running.
At the BDM 102K race that spanned from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga, a total of 142 registered (including Haide Acuña). In the end, only 104 finished. Bro. Carlo? Did he make it? No. I mean, No, he didn’t just make the cut… he finished 17th place! An outstanding achievement (clocking 14 hours and 38 minutes) for one who’s 47 years old. He has completed nine marathons–plus the Ironman race last August in Camarines Sur. Why run 102 kms.? Only the most hard-core of men who can absorb pain, even relish it, attempt the distance. And that’s Brother.
Here’s my full-length interview with Bro. Carlo…
1. When did you start running?
When we were kids I remember joining “poste-poste” races in our neighborhood. We would bet on empty cigarette cases that we would fold like peso bills. It was our past time then. My first official run was in 1986 in the 10 k freedom run at EDSA. I run my first full marathon when I was a student of theology in Paranaque in 1988. I recall that when I took permission from my rector, his answer was: “Ok you run as long as you don’t sleep in class”.
2. How many marathons have you done? What’s your best time?
I did my first full marathon in 1988 in the “Pilipinas Marathon” the second was the “PAL Marathon”. I did 3 runs in the former and 4 in the latter. I had to stop running when I volunteered to work as a missionary in Africa and worked for 13 years there. The QCIM was my 8th marathon after 17 years of absence. The Condura Run last Feb. 7 was my 9th. My best time was 3:45 in the Pilipinas Marathon.
3. Why run 102 kms?
I had no idea about the BDM 102 until January 15 of this year when I was browsing for ultramarathons in the internet. I was interested in the “Famous Comrades” of South Africa but was informed that registration was long closed. Then I came across TNF and BDM. I didn’t like the former because it was a trail run but the latter was closed too since Jan. 6. I wrote a comment to the organizers of BDM and begged that I be allowed to join. On Jan. 18 I got the approval from bald runner and so the serious training of less than 2 months began. The race covers a distance of 102 km from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga.
Reason for running? 1. I like challenges and BDM provided one. 2. To pay tribute to the heroes of Bataan, 3. To test my mental and physical limits. 4. To have more photos for Faacebook, hahaha.
Someone said that “It takes an idiot to run a marathon but it takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultramarathon.”
4. Describe your entire BDM experience.
After reading so much about ultra running, I drafted my own 7-week training program. With barely two months to prepare, I did what I had to do: run, run, run, climb, climb, climb, drink, drink, drink, pee, pee, pee. The Condura Run was my test to determine my fitness for the BDM. I set a goal of 12 hours. I climbed to tops trice, run from Pasil to Cordova and back twice, and did night and mid-day runs 5 times. I did my longest run of 80 km 2 Sundays before the race. After doing my last 2 short runs during the race week, I felt confident I can hit my target.
The route was completely unknown to me. Fortunately, a priest-colleague from Don Bosco Pampanga volunteered to drive me and we did an ocular check before race day. It helped me gain more confidence. I had everything ready by noon of March 6. After briefing my support crew, I took dinner and droved to Mariveles, Bataan and met Haide for our planned photo session at km 00.
The atmosphere was festive despite the poorly lighted starting area. After taking photos, I had a chat with Haide while waiting for the race briefing. We encouraged each other and agreed to meet at the finish line. The starting gun was fired at 11:30 pm. I made the sign of the cross and took the road.
My plan was to divide the distance to 3 the first 42 km in 5 hours, same with the second 42 km, and the final 18 km in 2 hours. But I had to make adjustments in the first part due to the many climbs. Part of the strategy was to run-walk in some stiff climbs. Practically, the second half of the route was flat but due to the heat which reached 41 deg Celsius at noon time, I had to slow down. I instructed my support crew to leap frog every 2 km in the first 6 hours and at every 1.5 km thereafter. I took my drinks and replenishments in those stops.
At 10 am due to extreme heat, we had to change strategy and had my support vehicle stop at every 1 km until km 102. There were times when I was tempted to race with the other runners, to go fast at the early part of the race, or to run the uphills. Those were moments of tests and learnings.
Right from the start I was confident I will finish the run but I didn’t expect to be in the 17th place. At the end I would attribute ninety percent of the success to my support crew. It would have been impossible to do it without a good support team to provide water and replenishments. We had our support vehicle stuffed with 12 bottles of Gatorade and mineral water, biscuits, power gels, bananas, pandesal, sliced bread, first aid and 2 extra gallons of water.
If I counted right, I think I urinated 15 times throughout the entire distance, an indication that I hydrated myself well. I did something unusual at every kilometer post: I prayed to the holy souls of those who died during the death march to help me reach km 102. I crossed the finish line pouring the last drop of water on my head and flashing the v-sign. It was fun with countless lessons.
5. Will you do it again?
Definitely, I will join the BDM next year. According to the organizers the distance will be extended till Capas, Tarlac where the soldiers ended the death march. That’s a 140 km distance.
6. What are your future goals?
If my schedule permits me, I will try to join in all the local runs in Cebu. But there are invitations for me to play in the 40 and above soccer tournament in Bacolod in May. I will try going back to soccer this summer. This is just for a change. By June I will start preparing for my 2nd half-ironman in Camsur this August 22. Swimming will be my focus this time. I hope to improve my personal time and finish it in 6 hours. In November I will start training for the BDM 2011. Don’t get me wrong ha. Sports is just a past time, it’s not a career. My duties as a religious brother always take priority.
7. What’s your work with Don Bosco?
Quite a lot. I am the training director of Don Bosco Training Center for out-of-school-youth in Pasil. At the same time I am in-charge of the alumni of the same center. At the provincial level (salesians of don Bosco in Visayas and Mindanao) I head the commission on missions and work as the coordinator of the salesian lay volunteer organization.
I am the chairman of the Visayas Association of Religious Brothers (VARB) and the national president of the National Federation of Religious Brothers of the Philippines (NFRBP). With such amount of work, I really have to juggle with my running and my duties. I would even run at very ungodly hours so that I can be back for my community prayers and other duties.
8. Did you run in Africa when you were assigned there?
I was 13 years in Africa but I didn’t run much because the place where I worked was not running-friendly. I had an overdose of soccer in Nigeria. However, I did organize fun runs in the two centers where I was assigned. In 2005, I run a half-marathon in Lagos.
9. If you don’t mind, how old are you?
Age is a state of the mind! My chronological age is 47 (28 years as a religious brother) but I put 25 as my age in my Facebook, hahaha.
With Gen. Jovie Narcise (Bald Runner), organizer of the BDM 102
Soon after Simon Losiaboi arrived from Kenya last October, he was unbeatable. Race after Sunday morning after footrace, he won. Our local runners, who had never before experienced running alongside a towering African, were tormented. They stood at the starting line aiming for second place. Engraved on the gold medal were the words “Simon Losiaboi.”
That all changed last weekend. Mendel Lopez, who was previously the Simon Losiaboi of Cebu before Simon Losiaboi arrived, joined the Ramon Magsaysay trek called “Paghandum Ni Magsaysay.” Beside Mendel, who had just arrived from Hong Kong and won third place in the 21K race, was his forever-nemesis, Simon. The gun blasted in Balamban. The runners sprinted not on flat asphalted road but on steep uphill terrain often littered with pebbles and dirt.
Guess what? Lopez beat Losiaboi. Taghap. Well, guess what: the following morning, last Sunday, the two stood beside each other again. They sprinted off; each with a different stride, both with the same goal: to finish No.1 in a lung-busting 8-km. climb to the foot of Tops in Busay in a race called “Run To The Clouds.”
Lopez beat Losiaboi. Again. Dili taghap. This is amazing. And thrilling. It’s like a movie we enjoyed so much that we can’t wait for Part 2. Which brings me to ask: Who’ll win in Part 2? Will Mendel, looking extremely lean when I saw him two weeks ago as our awardee during the 28th Cebu Sports Awards, with his renewed confidence, strive harder, run even faster, and continue to beat Simon?
Or was that a partial taghap. Since Mendel trained, in the weeks before last weekend, up hills and mountains to prepare for Hong Kong, was he better conditioned for the vertical climb? And when they return to flat ground, will he succumb to the silver medal?
Maybe not. Maybe. Or will Losiaboi, having tasted the sour taste of defeat, fight harder, train not twice but thrice daily, eat even less and become thinner than a bamboo pole, reclaim his gold? Abangan.
Photo by Marlen Limpag
At the 2008 Singapore Marathon
Some prefer a candlelight dinner in Shangri-La. Some “say it with flowers.” Others lavish their spouse with a tiny box, inside of which is a stone that glitters. Some opt for a kiss and an “I love you” whisper. Others, a picnic in Tops or, as our governor herself joked, a stroll inside Plaza Independencia.
Roy and Rosan Trani, two of my closest friends the past three years, prefer a different version of February 14. This Valentine’s Day, they’ll awake at 3:30 a.m. to spend the next waking hours together. Two feet apart. Two feet bouncing. Running.
“Our married life is a ‘wonderful gift’ from HIM, with all the good things we received and material blessings we built through the years,” said Roy. “And now, HE has given us the opportunity to be running together at least once a week (every Sunday), joining full marathons (here and abroad) at least once a year, and more importantly, being a role model to our kids, on how couples (parents) should live and love each other!”
Roy, 48, and Dr. Rosan, 46, have been married for 22 happy years now. One “success formula” they’ve employed in their love-life is a simple yet proven technique that all of us should emulate: The weekly date.
Its formula is as follows = Roy + Rosan + Running. The 3Rs. “We started running together in 2003,” said Roy. “I started this sport as a hobby during the late 1990’s. But when I opted for early retirement in 2003 from a multinational company, I decided to take running as a ‘lifestyle.’ I started to run my first 10K in early 2004, while at the same time Rosan did her first 5K. We later joined the Queen City/Tri-City Runs and had our first experience of the 13K run.”
Was it difficult convincing Rosan? No, said Roy. “Her practice (as a cardiologist) made it logical… for her patients to see a “walk the talk” doctor. Telling her patients to exercise and change their lifestyles and follow her example, were some of the reasons I told her to start to run.”
Since the Trani couple activated the 3R Formula, they’ve been unstoppable. “We’ve joined fun run events in Cebu since 2005 (PHA run, Milo, Timex, DYAB, Seminary Fun Run and many more),” said Roy. “But we only do the 10K runs. I usually run faster than her and would wait for her at the finish line (that was before).”
The 42.195 km. race? “Our first was the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in 2008. Our second was in Manila, the Milo Marathon, last July, and the 3rd was in Subic.” The next major one R & R will be running: two Sundays from today… the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Feb. 28. “We plan to join two to three marathons every year before we reach 60 years old,” said Roy. “Our dream marathons would be the Safari in Africa and Chicago in the U.S.”
2009 Subic International Marathon
Roy spoke of their schedule. “Since we started running together and with our friends in CERC (Cebu Executive Runners Club), we always start our Sundays with early morning runs at 4:30 a.m… doing 10k to 21K, from 1.5 to 2.5 hours. We run just about anywhere in Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu,” he said.
“We don’t usually talk while running. Last year in the Subic marathon, we prayed the rosary together, especially when we passed the ‘dark roads’ in SCLEX. We just feel comfortable, ‘peaceful’ running together. It’s good to know that even during this kind of activity, your spouse is with you. Running at the same pace, in the same direction, helping each other cross the finish line.
“One time, she massaged my legs when I suffered pain due to cramps. There was also an incident that I have to wait for her make a pee stop in the middle of a highway along the route… Simple acts of caring but great memories together!”
Finally, this tip from Roy: “Would I recommend this ‘running together’ to other couples? Definitely yes! It’s more than just exercise. It has become part of our ‘love life’ because our Sundays wouldn’t be complete… it’s like going on a date, a running weekly date!”
Finishing the 21K in the 2007 Singapore Marathon
If you’re a runner, I suggest you visit one store this weekend: RUNNR. Yes. A runner inside Runnr. No, I did not misspell the word. RUNNR, the newest addition to Ayala Center Cebu’s mix of sporting goods outlets, is spelled uniquely as… Runnr.
Located across TimeZone and Sbarro, inside you will find Hammer energy gels, Newton shoes, FuelBelts, New Balance insoles, Polar watches—in short, all things running. By Runnr. Best of all, they have an equipment that’s computerized and is the only one of its kind in the Visayas and Mindanao: the Professional Gait Analysis System. Called “Footworx: The Science of Running,” you are asked to run barefoot on a treadmill (yes, running inside the store!) while high-speed video cameras capture your stride. The purpose? Your foot type is scientifically determined. The end result? You’ll be able to purchase the shoe type that’s perfect for your unique feet.
The best news about this Gait Analysis? RUNNR offers this for free! No gimmicks where you need to purchase P500 worth of items before you step on the treadmill. No. You enter RUNNR and can try it for free.
Toby Claudio, the owner of the sporting goods conglomerate whose store name is derived from his first name—“Toby’s”—was the man who, recognizing the popularity of running, conceptualized the new store and opened it in Boni High Street in Fort Bonifacio last June. And, just last Saturday, Toby opened his second branch in, where else, our own Cebu City.
Congratulations to my good friend and fellow writer/runner, MAX LIMPAG, for his new website that caters to this growing and popular sport in our beloved island….
