Author Archives: Max Limpag

About Max Limpag

Max Limpag is an editor of Sun.Star Cebu, a blogger and a runner. His technology blog Leon Kilat: The Cybercafe Experiments was awarded the best technology blog in the first Philippine Blog Awards. He has completed two ultra-marathons and is the co-founder of the Ungo Runners, a group that runs every Friday night in the streets of Cebu City.

Unilab to hold Run United in Cebu on Dec. 18

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Organizers are currently holding a press conference on the Cebu edition of Run United by Unilab and RunRio.

* Organizer says Cebu leg is final leg of nationwide Run United series.
* Lester Castillo, Sports Director of Unilab, says their company wants to promote active lifestyle among Filipino families.
* Castillo says they are targetting 5,000 runners for the Cebu leg.
* All 21Kfinishers will get finishers’ shirts and medals.
* RunRio says they are the first to use an iPad automated registration system for race registration.
*Local organizer Kenneth Casquejo of RunCheck says RunRio will not impose a cutoff on 21K runners.

Remembering Melinda Ponce

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SHE died with her running clothes on.

That phrase got stuck in my mind after I called up Sun.Star reporter Davinci Maru Sunday to tell him that one of the victims of the massacre he was covering was an ultra-runner held in high regard by the local running community.

News had spread of Melinda Ponce’s gruesome killing through a shocked running community early Sunday morning. I woke up to find 18 text messages and seven missed calls – a portent of urgent, breaking news.

Run For Melinda

Runners have scheduled a run in Cebu and Manila to honor ultra-runner Melinda Ponce, who was killed last Sunday.

The text messages bore the same horrible news: ultra-runner Melinda Ponce was killed with her child.

The reality, however, was even more terrible. Melinda was killed with three of her children and her helper by her husband, who then shot himself. Melinda and the kids were shot in the head, Maru told me.

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Ultra-runner Melinda Ponce killed in gruesome massacre

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MELINDA Ponce died with her running clothes on.

Hours before she was killed in a gruesome massacre, Melinda was where she was almost every Sunday — in a run.

At 5:30 a.m. yesterday, the Banco de Oro (BDO) employee fired the starting gun during the fun run that opened her bank’s sports fest. She was happy and enjoyed being with co-workers during the run, said BDO E-mall branch accountant and fellow ultra-runner Virgilio Remo Jr.

MELINDA PONCE started running only at 48. Five years and one mild stroke later, she would win successive ultra-marathons. (PHOTO BY JAMES GO)

MELINDA PONCE started running only at 48. Five years and one mild stroke later, she would win successive ultra-marathons. (PHOTO BY JAMES GO)

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3 stories, 1 ‘fun run’

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AT KM 50 in last Sunday’s Warrior 53K Ultramarathon, Jojo Militante told his wife to give up and get in the car, thinking she was nearing exhaustion and about to collapse.

SUSAN Militante's friends carried this poster to motivate the first-time ultramarathoner to finish last Sunday's 53K run.

SUSAN Militante's friends carried this poster to motivate the first-time ultramarathoner to finish last Sunday's 53K run.

“Is he nuts?” Susan Militante said in a Facebook interview. I could almost hear Susan saying “Wa siya mabuang (has he gone mad)?” Susan quickly told Jojo to go ahead and prepare her slippers at the finish line. The 42-year-old mother of two boys was running her first ultramarathon two years after getting hooked on running.

Her close friend Abby Ponce, an ultra-runner, led her support crew, Team Abbylicious, and saw her through to the end. The team was named thus because it was the same group, Susan among them, that supported Abby during her first ultra last May 1. The team carried a poster of Susan running with a statement that’s truly her: “50K? Ayaw ko hadloka!”

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Doc Willie Estepa: From heavy smoker, drinker to ultra-runner

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In late October of 2009, Toledo Assistant City Veterinarian Wilfredo “Willie” Estepa applied for the renewal of his driver’s license at the Land Transportation Office. He sat on a bench at the LTO lounge along with several people waiting for their names to be called.

All of a sudden, he felt dizzy, weak and nauseous. He also started feeling tingling pains on his neck. A friend saw him nearly fall from the bench and quickly brought him to the hospital, which was located just a few blocks away. Estepa said he was too weak to respond and thank the friend.

Estepa had suffered a mild stroke, his years of excesses finally catching up with him.
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