Running – Page 8 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

First or fastest: Who’s the race winner?

Two Sundays ago in San Francisco, U.S.A., a freakish event happened. No, prisoners did not escape from Alcatraz (it’s been closed since 1963) and, no, the red-colored Golden Gate Bridge wasn’t painted gold—it was another type of oddity.

In the Nike Women’s Marathon, a total of 20,000 runners joined. Nothing wrong with that—in fact, that’s a grand celebration on the fight against breast cancer this “Pink October.”

Now, here’s the abnormality: One runner finished first while another clocked the fastest time. Yes, no misprint there: Nora Colligan crossed the finish line ahead of everybody else while another runner, Arien O’Connell, recorded the race’s fastest time. How possible? Each runner is given a ‘chip’ that’s attached to the shoe and one’s time begins (and ends) as she crosses the starting (and finish) lines. With that chip, O’Connell ran the quickest time.

Did the winner lose? Or did the loser win?

“There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday’s Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco,” wrote C.W. Nevius of the San Francisco Chronicle last Oct. 21. “And 24-year-old Arien O’Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women.

“But….. she didn’t win.”

She did not win? And she had the quickest time? How can that be?

This story is controversial, funny, thought-provoking. Here’s what happened: In the marathon, Arien O’Connell did not run with the so-called “elite” group (those considered the fastest… who are placed at the front of the starting line). And so, with over 20,000 participants, O’Connell stayed at the back of the starting pack and ran 20 minutes after the elite group left.

At the finish line three hours later, three female marathoners (not O’Connell) finished 1-2-3. So they’re the top three finishers, right?

With an eye on Chicago, Dr. Yong Larrazabal runs

Barack Obama of Chicago is running—yes, we know that—but not this Sunday’s marathon at his home city. Two Cebuano doctors, meanwhile, will run 42 kms. at The Windy City: Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III and Peter Mancao.

Chicago will be Yong’s fifth marathon (after NYC, Hong Kong, and the Pasig and Milo marathons in Manila). How many 42Ks does Yong expect to finish? “I plan to complete 33 marathons in my lifetime,” he said. “I pray to God that he gives me good health and that he protects me from injuries for me to attain this.”

Wow… 33 marathons! That’s beyond phenomenal. But if there’s one who can accomplish that feat, it’s Yong. Why? Because he’s ultra-driven; working not only long hours at the Larrazabal Eye center (at the family-owned Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital) but also finding time to train hard.

Dr. Peter Mancao

At the New York City Marathon finish at Central Park: Yong and Donna Larrazabal and Phia and Peter Mancao

Peter Mancao: The Heart Surgeon With A Heart

One act of kindness that I will never forget happened last February 17. Together with 13 others from Cebu, I joined the Hong Kong Marathon. After the starting gun fired at 6:45 in the morning, off we jogged, traversing the asphalted roads, climbing bridges, crawling under the tunnels when, suddenly at Km. 28, both my legs cramped and, worse, I had intolerable pain at the sides of my knees. I winced in distress, walked crippled, felt like my knees had been hammered by a baseball bat.

Dr. Peter Mancao passed-by. While I asked that he proceed, he stopped, asked for liniment, rubbed it on my knees, asked for cold sponges and smothered those on my injured legs. For the next several kilometers—like a good doctor would accompany an ailing patient—Dr. Mancao did the same. And, it wasn’t until the 35th km. while under the Western Harbour Tunnel when I sat tortured by the knee pain, that I forced him to run. Reluctantly, he did.

I didn’t finish the Hong Kong Marathon—but that act of kindness I will forever remember: For here was one of Cebu’s top heart surgeons (and the man who organizes the Run For Your Heart races) who runs with a kind heart.

Steve Ferraren: To win, one must lose

He weighed 228 lbs. “When I climbed stairs, I panted” he told me. “When I rode at the backseat of a car, I’d fall asleep. I was forever tired…”

Steve Ferraren was 35 years old. His waistline was older: nearly 40 inches. And the year was 2001. But back in college, when Steve used to exercise, he stood at 145 lbs. It was only after he graduated, joined the corporate world at Unilab and, next, Petron, and when he hadn’t sweated in years that his weight ballooned.

Then, tragedy struck: His father, Vicente, passed away in 2002 due to complications from diabetes. And when Steve asked the doctors, he was told a painful truth: Diabetes was prevalent in both his parents’ families and, if he didn’t lose weight and indulge in sports… the consequences might be catastrophic.

“And so that year, in 2002,” he said, “I was invited by friends to Abellana (Sports Center). I joined them. My maximum running distance? Ha-ha. It was half-a-round at the oval. I couldn’t do more.”

The Day I Tried….

February 17, 2008. That date was to have been one of my life’s biggest moments. Like that first kiss. Like my graduation. Like winning that first tennis event. Like my wedding. Like my daughter’s birth nine Novembers ago.

When I woke up at 4:45 a.m. last Sunday, I was sure that when I crossed the Finish Line to record my first-ever 42-K run—the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon—that it would mark one of my life’s most memorable days.

Well, dear readers, guess what: I didn’t make it. I failed.

When the horn roared along Nathan Road at 7:45 a.m. four days ago to signal the start, I felt confident. And running beside Jesse Taborada, the president of the Cebu Executive Runners Club, the first part was easy. We laughed, talked, overtook dozens. At the 10-K point, our time was one hour, two minutes. With barely a sweat.

Thirty minutes later, Dr. Vic Verallo joined us. Down the tunnel, up the tunnel, down the foot of Tsing Ma Bridge, up the world’s sixth largest suspension bridge, down, up the Ting Kau Bridge, down. Flyovers. Tunnels. Bridges.

…. And Why I’m Thankful For Failure

Yesterday (Feb. 21, 2008), when I wrote about my daydream-turned-nightmare called the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, I spoke about running comfortably until the 28th km. when cramps writhed my legs in pain, when I vomited and could barely stand up when I sat down, and when I trudged on with the help of Dr. Peter Mancao until unbearable leg injury forced me to stop at Km. 36.

What happened? I started too fast. At the 21-K mark, my watch read two hours, seven minutes. At Km. 28, it was 2:50. Now, that’s nowhere near the 42-K world record mark of Haile Gebrselassie (2:04) but, considering that the up-and-down, tunnel-bridge-flyover-plenty route of Hong Kong was found in the first 25-K—then it was too fast for me. Had I ran 10 minutes slower, it would have made all the difference. Said Dr. Yong Larrazabal: “The course was really difficult. I even experienced cramps which I did not in New York.”

I didn’t run hills. Here in Cebu, I almost never ran uphill/downhill. Once, when I climbed Ma. Luisa Estate Park for 20 kms., I limped for days with knee pain. And the worst part? The downhill. And in HK, we were going fast down.

I didn’t drink enough. Looking back, over the course of 25 kms. I drank less compared to what I drink here in 10 kms. (At each water station, I grabbed only a half-cup to drink.) Knowing the importance of hydration—and carrying two empty water bottles around my waist which I almost never got to use—why didn’t I drink more? It was cold and my body didn’t sweat as much. I wasn’t as thirsty. Still, internally, my body was dehydrating faster than I was replenishing it with liquids.

No walking breaks. In a marathon, unless your body is the mold of Paul Tergat, walking after every few kms. (or during water stops) is recommended. I didn’t do this. At each water station, I stepped to the side, grabbed a cup, downed it, then zoomed away. Why? I was with Dr. Vic Verallo and Jesse Taborada—two long-time runners who’ve finished, between them, five marathons prior to Hong Kong—and they were quick-paced. And, to me that morning, the last thing I wanted to do was run alone. So I stayed with two veterans—and this neophyte suffered.

Photos from Dr. Vic Verallo

From left: Dr. Peter Mancao, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, John Pages, Jesse Taborada, Dr. Vic Verallo, Meyrick Jacalan and Serge Amora

Dr. Vic Verallo crossing the finish line

Team Cebu

From left: Dr. Vic Verallo, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, Mendel Lopez, Leszl Gitaruelas, Jesse Taborada, Dr. Albert Santos, Ted Tecson, Serge Amora, Dr. Peter Mancao, Meyrick Jacalan, John Pages, and Perl Jacalan