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.

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.

She wore running clothes, Maru answered when I asked him to check with police what Melinda was wearing. It was, after all, a Sunday – a day that is sure to find Melinda on the road.

Melinda’s running story is a big inspiration for weekend athletes like me. Unlike full-time athletes who do nothing but train and prepare for races, Melinda was a regular working person holding a full-time job and raising a family.

The stories of domestic violence and abuse that have come out in news stories recently provide, in hindsight, context to what turned out to be an even more difficult life. Running, I’m sure, provided her the needed refuge apart from physical well-being.

It’s never too late to start running, Melinda told members of the Ungo Runners, a group that runs on the streets of Cebu City every Friday night, during her talk last Sept. 30. Melinda started running only at 48, a year after undergoing total hysterectomy.

She went through worse things than what regular runners experienced as she pushed herself to her physical limits. “Niagi na ko ana, ni-graduate na ko ana. Collapse, pag abot sa finish line nag-barag barag na. Di na ko (I’ve experienced those things. I once collapsed at the finish line. I don’t want to experience it again),” she said with a chuckle. Runners should learn to take care of their health, she quickly added.

Five years and one mild stroke after she started running, Ponce would emerge the fastest woman ultra-runner in Cebu, winning successive 53K and 60K events.

Ponce had qualified for the national finals of the Milo Marathon and she had intended to run it later this year. She qualified last year but did not run in order to join the first ultra-marathon in Cebu, a 50K run from Mt. Manunggal to Capitol in Cebu City.

Ponce inspired many local runners and the community has come together to run in her honor. On Sunday, the Cebu running community will hold a run in The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu to honor Melinda and raise funds for her sole surviving child. In Manila, runners will also run in her honor at the Bonifacio Global City. On Friday, Ungo Runners will dedicate their regular Friday Night Run to Melinda and will run from Ayala Center Cebu to St. Peter Chapel on New Imus Road.

Ponce told Ungo Runnners during her talk that her lifetime dream was to run until she is “already a senior citizen.”

Alas, that was not to be.

Last Sunday, Melinda Ponce died with her running clothes on.

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!”

“I feel like I achieved a very enormous feat when I stepped on the finish line. I’m an average runner so having done an ultra seems unbelievable,” she said. She finished 76th with a time of 7:15:03.

“My husband told me that would be my last ultra. I answered, ‘yes that will be my last ultra….. in Cebu.’ I really like to go to different places just to run. I haven’t decided yet if I will run the 100K this November. I hope Dr. Stephanie Sy will allow me because I’m hypertensive and I maintain two medicines to control my blood pressure. I know that if it were not for running, I would be dead.”

Something magical

When she completed her first full marathon last January, bank employee Linaflor Chan cried long before she reached the finish line and vowed never to run 42 kilometers again. Last Sunday, she ran 53 kilometers in 8:26:42.

She completed the distance with her husband, ultrarunner Victor Chan, who convinced her to level up.

“Last Sunday’s run was so magical that I too cannot imagine until I crossed the finish line. But one thing is for sure, I couldn’t have done it without my loving and supportive husband who was with me all the way from start to finish. His cheerful disposition, optimistic outlook, encouraging words and our bonding together truly kept me going,” she said.

Linaflor said the intense heat of the sun made her weak and exhausted but she pushed herself to finish. She crossed the finish line with her husband and to the cheers of her friends and fellow Ungo Runners and members of Team Pinay (Jinky Yray, a frequent ultrarunner, and Michelle So, an upcoming ultrarunner).

150 singlets

After eight hours on the road, Lowaii Cebu Marine Beach Resort operations manager Lucrecia “Lulu” Valiente felt dehydrated and bloated. She felt dry and her hands were swollen and she thought she could no longer finish the distance.

But after being attended to by volunteer support crew members, she regained her strength and finished the distance, although beyond the official cutoff time.

Valiente is from Bilar, Bohol but she has been in Cebu for 30 years, actively involved in the tourism industry. She got into running in 2005, joining fun runs every Sunday when registration was only at P150. “In fact, I have a collection of over 150 singlets.”

To train for Sunday’s race, Lulu joined LSD (long, slow distance) runs and cross-trained on a bike. She ran like an ultra hamster at night in Mactan Memorial Garden. She also cut her intake of rice and meat.

When she received her medal, Lulu said she felt like she was in heaven. “It was one great accomplishment for me in my running career. I was so proud of myself that even in my late 40s, I could still compete with the younger ones.”

Virgins no more, and it’s Jonel’s fault

Last Sunday’s race by Jonel Mendoza, who is responsible for the rise of ultrarunning in Cebu, was well-attended by ultranewbies because of its relatively flat route. Other first timers who finished last Sunday are (this list was compiled through the help of FB contacts) Juliet Amazona, Francis Rosos, Martin Daiz Jr. , Mikur Ombos, Francis Cabanban, Gerald Anthony Laput, Lloyd Benjie Lumapat, Neil Nacario, Aquiles Ymbong, Mazil Rubic, Jing Sente, Aeda Mae Siao, Pam Ampuhin, Rowena Duarte, Brandon Bon, Toto Ric Lacro, James Jason Rodriguez, Jofre Nastor, Dindo Santos, Brian Gonzales, Loven Macario, Anastacio Cavan, John Paul Ong Villanueva, Bonnie Pusta, Jr., Edgar Sanchez, Earl Anthony Alas, Randy Laroa, Jojo Santiago, Arnold Lorenzo, and Jigs Bulawan.

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.

Peer pressure

Decades ago, Estepa lit his first cigarette as an 18-year-old sophomore vet student. All his college friends were smokers and pretty soon, he was smoking regularly. His smoking worsened because he lived in a convent where the priest was a heavy smoker. He was a working scholar and served as parish secretary and sacristan mayor for six years.

From that first stick, Estepa was addicted to nicotine and soon, he was smoking two to four packs a day.

Estepa said he tried quitting a hundred times, to no avail. It was his son’s intermittent asthma due to secondary smoke that made him decide to quit smoking permanently in October 2005.

Quitting smoking

“It took me a full week to quit from two to four packs a day to zero stick. It was a slow, painful and difficult process. I tried several alternatives like gums, coffee, candies just to keep my mouth and lips busy. I got sick for almost a month probably due to my body adjusting to the slow removal of nicotine from my system,” he said.

Dr. Wilfredo Estepa at the finish line of the May 1 65K Coast-to-Coast ultramarathon. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

He quit smoking in 2005 but not drinking. He was, he confessed, an alcoholic with an active nightlife, drinking with his friends in videoke joints almost every day.

His mild stroke was a wake-up call.

The emergency room nurse took his blood pressure and the reading was grave, 180/145. His blood sugar level was a stratospheric 392 mg/dl. He was given medications and IV fluids and told to rest. Estepa said he only stayed overnight because he felt strong enough to go home.

But finding out he was hypertensive and a diabetic caused him to plunge into depression.

A week after that mild stroke, he decided to quit drinking alcohol and stayed away from his drinking buddies. In November 2009, he started walking for 30 minutes in the morning before going to work and then 30 minutes after leaving his office.

When he found that his close friend and drinking buddy, fiscal Raul Bajarias, ran on the oval in Ilihan Vocational School thrice a week, Estepa decided to join him.

“I decided to join him on Feb. 20, 2010 and that was my first ever run. I remember running four loops non-stop on that day and bragged that I already ran four kilometers straight only to find out that four loops in an oval was only 1.6 km. And that was the beginning of my passion called running. Today, I can say that I’m no longer hypertensive and diabetic. My BP and blood sugar levels are now normal. It is thanks to the medicine called running.”

From walking and jogging, Estepa is now ultra-running. He finished the first Cebu ultramarathon 50K in November 2010 and the 65K May 1 Coast-to-Coast Ultramarathon.

On his third full try, Estepa recorded a sub-4 finish (with a time of 3:54) during the Aboitiz Race To Reduce Challenge 42K category last Aug. 14. He missed the sub4 finish by a hairline during the Kawasan Falls Marathon, which he ran in 4:02.

Estepa said his goal is to run while his age and legs allow it. His running bucket list includes Milo National Finals, Bataan Death March (BDM) 102, BDM160 (or any 160k race), TNF100 and the Boston Marathon.

Estepa is also a hardcore member of the Ungo Runners, a group that runs every Friday Night. Estepa, Bajarias and a few running groups organized the TAD (Toledo Adik og Dagan) and held Wednesday night runs patterned after the Ungo Friday night runs. Estepa said the group is growing exponentially.

Dr. Cecillie “Tata” Milan, resident obstetrician/gynecologist of Cebu Puericulture Center And Maternity House, Inc., prayed for drizzle during the Milo Marathon but said she “didn’t expect it to rain from start to finish.”

Two years after getting encouraged by a friend and colleague, Dr. Benjamin Balaoro, to register for a 5K race in the Milo Marathon Cebu Leg, Milan was running her first full marathon.

Balaoro had encouraged her by saying “that a certain doctor has been running for awhile now and that if she can do it, we can also do it. I rose up to the challenge, even if I could barely finish one round at the oval.”

“I’d like to say I run to lose weight but that’s just one of the many perks of running. I initially ran to deal with work stress…running keeps me sane. My alone time on the road helps me calm down when I want so much to scream at someone, it makes me think about a lot of things, gives me peace,” she said.

When Milan started running, she only joined fun runs and there were not a lot of them then.

“It was only when I started in my residency training that i got “serious” with the sport, mostly because my work is really demanding and stressful. It was a nice break for me. So when I’m not on duty, I make it a point to run even for short distances,” she said.

“When I do early morning runs, I go to work happier and more awake,” Milan said

Milan said that as soon as she learned about the schedule for the Milo Marathon, she went to the Runners’ World websites and used the Smartcoach tool to plot a 16-week training program. Milan said she “tried to diligently follow it,” only swapping days to fit her work schedule, which sometimes require her to go on 24-hour duty.

Milan said she was only able to sleep for five hours before the run, even posting on Facebook her marathon eve jitters and saying a prayer for help to sleep.

It rained non-stop during the race. “I love running in the rain but running for five hours, soaked, on heavy wet socks with major blisters, and chafing all over your aching body was not easy.” She said, however, that there was never a point that she thought she couldn’t finish the run. She was paced by her boyfriend, ultrarunner Joseph Prince Baltazar, and they stuck to her strategy of “taking walk breaks every two kilometers with water breaks.” To lighten the mood, Milan said they’d walk hand in hand and sing the cheesiest OPM song they could think of.

She said they were cheered on by spectators and race officials as her GPS watch registered 42KM on their way to the finish line. Joseph congratulated her and Milan got teary-eyed, hugged and kissed her pacer after realizing she had achieved of her life’s goals. Hand in hand and cheered on by their running friends from Manila and Cebu, Milan and Joseph crossed the finish line together with a time of 5:34:32.

It is almost cliche to say that crossing the finish line of your first marathon changes you but Milan said this is true. “I felt stronger knowing I can do anything so long as I put my heart and my mind into it. Nothing is impossible.”

Milan said her next goal is to run an international marathon. Her boyfriend suggested she try an ultra but the doctor said she still can’t imagine running that distance saying people “are crazy to try it.” But she’s open to changing her mind, after all, at one time she never thought she could run 42 kilometers.

CEBU DELEGATION. Sportswriters’ Association of Cebu awardee Mary Grace delos Santos placed 2nd in the female category of the 42K race last Sunday with a blistering 2:55:09. Other Cebuano runners who joined (compiled with the help of CebuRunning FB page members) are close friends Marben Golez (4:32:55), Jorge “Dindz” Bartolabac (4:53:01) and Dan Morales (4:53). Kirk Milan, the doctor’s ultra-marathoner brother, finished in 4:37:38. Other finishers include Mai-Mai Hermosilla and Jeffrey Codino (4:19:21), Ivan Camsura (4:58:56), Prudencio Bulawan III (5:05:02), Marco Antonio Aranas (5:12:07), Bea Eleora Villo (5:15:08) and Jupiter Hermosilla (5:28:44).

But go there today and you’ll find a changed place.

When I was still new to Cebu 15 years ago, I used to dread being downtown. Friends who had been here for years would tell me never to bring anything valuable there. In my mind’s eye, a robber lurked at every street corner.

Plaza Independencia was in that list of you-know-where—places you don’t ever want to find yourself in. “ Tulison ka diha, du (you’ll get robbed there)” was the serious warning of a hometown acquaintance who gesticulated, twisting an imaginary knife.

Mayor Michael Rama hosts the Ungo Runners at the newly-renovated Plaza Independencia. (PHOTO BY RAMIE IGAÑA)

But I’ve been there three times in recent weeks and found the area quite beautiful. More important, the Plaza Independencia is now a good and scenic place to run.

The area now has a walking path that’s about 700 meters, excluding the portion still being worked on near the ALU-TUCP office. The path, however, is made of concrete slabs so running can be painful after a few kilometers.

The place has its unique charm—a religious debate happens there daily. I passed by a group of men 300 meters into my run and caught a gap-toothed man wearing shorts mocking his debate opponent in Bisaya, “What kind of God can be vindictive?”

By the snippets of conversation I was able to catch, the group was apparently debating divine punishment. But these religious debaters never go beyond raised voices and mocking, I was told.

Epiphany, however, isn’t with the religious debates. It’s something you experience after completing round after round after round in an area of such historical significance.

On one side, you can find Fort San Pedro, which Leon Kilat and his army of Cebuano revolutionaries attacked. On the other side you can see Malacañang sa Sugbo, the old Bureau of Customs building converted into then president Gloria Arroyo’s office in southern Philippines.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, the architect of the renovation, spoke proudly of the historic area when he hosted Ungo Runners there last Friday. Rama said he wanted people who would love the plaza to gather there with their families to walk, run and enjoy the place.

Rama said he has good memories of his father taking him to the plaza.

When asked whether the Plaza Independencia today is closer to the plaza of his childhood, Rama and former college classmate Sheila Colmenares blurted out at the same time, “This is better.”

The author with Singapore Sundown Ultramarathon 100K finishers Joel Garganera (center) and Napoleon de la Torre. (PHOTO BY MITCH SO)

In Cebu’s running community, Joel Garganera and Napoleon de la Torre Jr. are iconic. Joel has completed 14 marathons, and three ultra marathons, which entail distances of at least 50 kilometers; Nap is into trail ultra marathons.

Both finished the 100K Sundown Ultramarathon in Singapore last June 25-26, five hours ahead of the cut-off time of 18 hours.

Nap ran the course with an injured heel in 12:34 hours and ranked 35th among 321 finishers in the Men’s Open category, placing him in the top 11 percent. This was his third 100K ultra marathon and the “easiest.”

Joel completed it in 13:01 hours, ranked 43rd, and belonged to the top 13 percent. This was his first 100K, an ultra marathon that he enjoyed for the splendid reasons of not suffering from cramps and blisters and of feeling “good” all throughout the race.

NAPOLEON DE LA TORRE. Nap ran the Cebu City Marathon 42K category dragging two tires to prepare for his ultra-marathon. He had the wings tattooed on his shoulders and arms in 2009 just before he ran the Great Wall Marathon in China that year. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE IMAGE. (SUN.STAR FOTO/ALEX BADAYOS)

Nap ran his first 100K last January 15 in Hong Kong, where he found himself defying and conquering steep hills, cold weather and inadequate clothing. He wrapped himself in a disposable thermal blanket that he taped on his body and legs, making him look like a running embotido. After murmuring all sorts of prayers, he finished the course in 22:36 hours.

“Ultimate run”

Three months later, on April 30, he ran his second 100K in The North Face Philippine 100K Ultramarathon in Camarines Sur. The course covered rivers, hills, insects and unlit dirt roads, all of which he overcame in 19:25 hours. He ranked 20th among the 76 finishers.

His first ever ultra marathon, in Singapore last year, covered 84K. To run the 222K La Ultra in the Himalayas or the 192K Polar Arctic Ultramarathon would be the “ultimate run” for Nap.

Nap is an accountant, a real estate broker and a teacher. He runs in tights and often shirtless. He has wings tattoed on his back, and he skydives.

He had the wings tattooed on his shoulders and arms in 2009 just before he ran the Great Wall Marathon in China that year.

“These wings have earned me friends among runners. In international races, the runners remember me because of my wings,” he says over luncheon buffet in a Chinese restaurant. Nap is quite an eater.

Except for the wings and an earring, Nap runs in little else if he’s not running in cold weather. No cap for his shaved head, no shades, no GPS watch, no Phiten bands, no hydration belt or camel bag unless required by the race organizers. He has trained his body to endure the whipping of the elements.

Dragging tires

At the Cebu City Marathon in January this year, he dragged two tires that he lassoed to his bare torso while running 42K. He beheld everyone. He finished in 6:30 hours, a time he did not mind at all. This was his resistance training for the Vibram Hong Kong 100K.

It is the HK 100K that he is egging Joel on to run with him next year. If you’ve finished this killer course, you can throw away all the medals of your marathons because this is the only one that will matter, Nap jokes to Joel.

JOEL GARGANERA. The barangay councilor of Tinago, Cebu City thrives on challenges and always finds a motivation to run. He runs back-to-back marathons, a 42K this weekend abroad then another 42K a weekend or two later in the country. His best time yet was 4:26 at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in February this year. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE. (SUN.STAR PHOTO/ALEX BADAYOS)

“Ayaw sab (Let’s not),” Joel replies in a voice full of fondness for his 14 marathon medals he had earned in 28 months. He has sworn off running another 100K after the Sundown Ultramarathon and says he will focus on running 42Ks faster. Then Nap tells him about the HK 100K.

As he listens to Nap tell animatedly about the challenges in the HK 100K, Joel feels excitement tingling in his whole being, similar to what he felt when he registered for the Sundown Ultramarathon.

Joel thrives on challenges and always finds a motivation to run. It’s to his benefit that his wife and three children run too. They are his personal compass and he feels lost when he is away from them.

But he knows where he is going upon crossing the starting line of a race route: to the finish line.

The barangay councilor of Tinago, Cebu City runs in cushioned shoes, compression socks, shorts, singlet, visor, shades, a GPS watch and Phiten bands.

Joel’s humor

He has no wings and he doesn’t skydive. What he has is a pocketful of laughs and he stirs people with his humor.

After running around Plaza Independencia during the pictorial, Joel and Nap take off their shirts. The attention is on the winged Nap. Joel airs a grievance: “You should have told me ahead about the pictorial. I would have gotten myself a tattoo on my back this morning. Would a Mickey Mouse sticker do?”

Joel runs back-to-back marathons, a 42K this weekend abroad then another 42K a weekend or two later in the country. His best time yet was 4:26 at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in February this year.

Nap and Joel are a contrast in their training methods. Neither employs a coach. They rely on their previous races to guide them on what to do in their next. Both have been running for three years.

To prepare for a 100K, Nap runs 5K a day in 25 minutes for 12 days. He doesn’t stress his legs. The longest distance he ran for last month’s Sundown Ultramarathon was 16K in the Kapamilya Run.

To prepare for the 100K, Joel ran between 20K and 30K a day at least twice a week for four weeks. He swam, managed his food, and abstained from drinking except after the Phuket marathon held two weeks before the Sundown Ultramarathon. He and his running buddies observe a post-marathon bacchanalian ritual.

Nap is aware of Joel’s running credentials. Seeing Joel at the starting line of the Sundown Ultramarathon shook his equilibrium. Nap didn’t expect to see another Cebuano runner in the race.

What he had planned as “an easy run” of 14 to 15 hours turned into a competitive, painful run of 12:34 hours. He didn’t want Joel to finish ahead of him or overtake him at any point of the course.

Nap admires Joel for what he has accomplished. He says: For a recreational runner and a 100K newbie, Joel’s time was impressive. When he crossed the finish line, he didn’t look at all like he just ran 100K.

The Joel Garganera beams at the compliment.

AT THE PLAZA. Joel and Nap run around Plaza Independencia. Both finished the 100K Sundown Ultramarathon in Singapore last June 25-26, five hours ahead of the cut-off time of 18 hours. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE. (SUN.STAR FOTO/ALEX BADAYOS)

“No more peanuts/nuts until June 25,” starts the pledge written by Michelle So starting on page 5 of her notebook. The pledge was Garganera’s idea; So, a close friend he occasionally paces during runs, wanted it in writing.

“No buffet on my own until June 25. Red meat twice a week. Starting May 11, will run 100K/week. No alcohol except on Pablo John’s birthday and on June 12 after the Phuket marathon. Reduce weight to at least 147 lbs. on race day.”

“Must run 65K in 9 hours in a training run. No soda and iced tea until race day. No ice cream, halo-halo, chocolate except Gelatissimo sherbet. Bike 2x a week for at least 25K/ride. Reach the half mark of 50K like you just started the race.”

The first page of Joel's training pledge for the Singapore Sundown Ultramarathon. Click on image to enlarge.

Joel signed his training pledge a week after registering for the Singapore Sundown Ultramarathon. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

Garganera signed the pledge on May 10 at 10:17 a.m. His son, Federico, signed as witness without bothering to read it. It was a week after he signed up for the Singapore Sundown Ultramarathon upon the dare of his friend Brandy Llenos.

Garganera said Llenos called him up to ask how he did during the 65K ultramarathon last May 1 two days after the event. When the former Tinago barangay captain said he wasn’t satisfied with his time, Llenos asked him, “unya mudagan ka 100K?”

“Sige! (Sure),” Garganera said. The next day, registration closed. Garganera said he thought it was a message. Later in the afternoon, registration opened. He said that was another message.

And with that, Garganera, who has now run 17 combined official marathons and ultra-marathons, got serious in his training.

Secret

He told no one of the plan. For a long time, only So and Llenos knew of it. Garganera said that had he failed to finish the run, at least only a few would know. No pressure, he said.

On May 6, So and Garganera talked to hardcore ultra-runner Bro. Carlo Bacalla, a fellow member of the Ungo Runners, about preparing for a 100-kilometer run. Bacalla thought Garganera was preparing for the Cebu Century Run in November from Bogo to Capitol.

“Bro. Carlo thought it was the Bogo 102k Joel was preparing for and found it queer that Joel and I should be asking him for tips that early. Bro. Carlo would say 102k, Joel would say 100k. Bro. Carlo would say the cutoff time was 18 hours, Joel would say, ‘what if 16h ang cutoff (the cutoff time for Singapore)?’ Bro. Carlo would say there’s more than enough time to train, Joel would say, ‘what about kung a month lang or one and a half?” So said.

Bro. Carlo would only know he was running the Singapore ultra-marathon on Facebook, when a concerned Aliko, one of Joel’s daughters, announced on Facebook Garganera’s run on the day of the ultra-marathon.

Strong finish

Garganera said he met most of his pledges and weighed 146 lbs days before the run. So logged his runs on a spreadsheet and would show the pledge to Garganera every time he would stray from his training. “Gi-sion ko na lang ni? (should I tear this up)” So would ask.

Garganera credited his training for his great run, finishing 100 kilometers in 13 hours and one minute and placing 43rd of 321 in the men’s open. The disciplined he learned in following his training schedule helped him in the run despite suffering a bad fall when he slipped a week before the event while going down the steps of his house after a heavy rain.

Garganera said he stuck to his race day plan of doing two kilometers in 15 minutes and then walking. He admitted to starting to follow this plan only after six kilometers because he was too embarrassed to be walking earlier.

Garganera said his experiences preparing for and running Singapore taught him to respect the race distance and prepare well for it. It was “a humbling experience,” he said.

CEBUANO ULTRA-MARATHONERS Napoleon dela Torre (left) and Joel Garganera completed the 100-kilomter Singapore Sundown Ultramarathon. Dela Torre finished the run in 12:34:24 while Garganera crossed the finish line in 13:01:45.

According to a report by The Freeman, Uy was running downhill when he was hit by a car driven by Korean An Kikyung. I do not know Uy’s current medical condition but a runner who got in touch with his brother said the injuries are very serious.

ENVIRONMENTAL lawyer Antonio Oposa (3rd from right) talks about his Road Revolution plan during a consultation in Cebu City. (CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE)

The accident, which happened in the relatively safe roads of the residential enclave, highlights one grim reality in Cebu: most of our roads are unsafe for pedestrians and runners.

I used to regularly run home to Lapu-Lapu City from the Sun.Star Cebu office on P. del Rosario St. and found the risk of running in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City too high a price for fitness. While the eastern side of Mactan Island is a good place to run, especially if you head toward Cordova town, the interior portion of Lapu-Lapu City, especially in Barangay Basak, is among the worse places to run in Cebu.

Many Lapu-Lapu tricycle drivers have no regard for runners and pedestrians. For several times, I’ve been driven off the road by tricycle drivers in Barangay Basak.

A portion of the main highway in Basak is also becoming seedy, with gang members, drunks and prostitutes gathering on roadsides. Parts of the highway are also very dark at night.

The situation is the same in other parts of the metro.

Near JY Square in Barangay Lahug, habal-habal drivers rule the road and would, at times, threaten to mow down runners. That’s also the case with jeepney drivers.

What’s worst is probably on the national highway to southern Cebu. During Leon Kilat’s Retreat, an exclusive run from Capitol to Carcar City that the Ungo Runners organized last April 2, my wife and I were nearly sideswiped by a speeding mini-bus even if we were running at the opposite lane.

It’s the case all over the metro—our roads are not friendly to bikers, runners and even pedestrians.

A group wants to change that.

Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Antonio Oposa wants to start a “road revolution” in Cebu. He wants the local governments to set aside 30 percent of our roads for runners, joggers and pedestrians and another 30 percent for bicycles. The remaining 30 percent will then be set aside for a mass transit system.

Oposa and various other groups have organized a Road Revolution group to push this advocacy. The group has a Facebook page that provides updates on the campaign. If you want to get involved in the campaign to make Cebu’s streets friendlier to pedestrians, runners and bikers, connect with the advocacy team via Facebook.

The group’s plans are exciting, among them the holding of a fun run on May 29. The culmination of the campaign will be a Road Revolution Day on June 12, when Osmeña Blvd. will be closed (help us convince City Hall to make this happen) for pedestrians, runners and bikers.

On that day, I plan to organize an ultra-marathon on Osmeña Blvd, a day-long run in loops, if City Hall permits, to highlight the campaign for healthy living and safe streets.

Unlike other revolutions, this Road Revolution will be fun. Join us.

I was confined in Chong Hua hospital for hyperglycemia—my blood sugar shot up so high my doctor feared I would lapse into a coma—and a lung infection. The doctors were aggressive in getting my stratospheric blood sugar under control and the rapid changes temporarily affected my eyes’ lenses.

I woke up unable to see anything clearly—it was like seeing the world through a one-peso clear plastic bag folded over five times.

I woke up alone and blind. My wife, Marlen, had to go home to look after our kids.

I have forgotten a lot of things that have happened in that annus horribilis but never the sense of utter helplessness when I lost my sight inside that hospital room.

I couldn’t read the books that I stocked up on to make my hospital stay bearable. I couldn’t see the medicines that I was supposed to take. I couldn’t read the text messages that my family sent me, telling me to hang tough despite my depression at my illness. I was reduced to tears and utter helplessness.

But at no time was everything made clearer than when I lost my sight in 2008. I had to fight my illness. I had to do something.

It was at that low point that I recalled the story of Steve Ferraren, as written by John Pages. Steve, who might as well be renamed Steve Ferrari, started running after the death of his father on complications of diabetes. He was told he risked developing the disease, because diabetes was prevalent on both sides of his family, unless he lost weight and started exercising.

When you see Steve run today, you’d never get a hint that like many of us, he struggled when he was just starting out. He was unable to complete a round at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) oval when he first ran.

That day, I resolved to run.

If you’re a runner, you’re familiar with what I went through. My first run inside the CCSC was torture on rubber tracks—I couldn’t complete a single round. I felt I was dying. But I persisted and gradually built mileage, running 5K, 10K, 21K and even an unscheduled full marathon, running 42 kilometers on a whim and just for the heck of it.

On my birthday last year, I ran 34.34 kilometers alone to celebrate turning 34. But I completed the distance in two runs—on my way to work and back home—because I wasn’t ready to complete 34K in one run.

Today, I will attempt to run 35K to continue what I hope will become a birthday tradition for me. This time, I plan to invite running friends and complete the distance at one go.

I’ve made hundreds of friends and acquaintances online and on the road through running. I’ve listened to so many inspiring stories of regular people going beyond their perceived physical and mental limits.

That is the reason behind my unwavering passion to push running as a sport for everyone.

Lifestyle diseases like Type II Diabetes can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle. My mistake was to think that I had time. I frequently put off exercising and quitting smoking. But then the weeks quickly turned into months and then into years.

I hope you don’t commit the same mistakes that I did. Time is an illusion. You have less than you think. Stop smoking now; start exercising now.

There is no panacea. But if there’s something that comes close to being one, it’s running. Running will help you lose weight and prevent a host of diseases from diabetes to cancer to hypertension.

Running has helped me control my blood sugar levels and made me healthier. Losing weight, however, continues to be a struggle. But beyond that, running has given me so much more.

For so long, I lived with a self-imposed tunnel vision that had my home at one end and the office at the other. I loved my work at the Sun.Star Cebu central newsroom so much I forfeited leaves, to my wife’s frequent consternation, and even spent time at the office even when on leave.

The visual stimuli of running outdoors, instead of being confined in a cubicle facing just a computer screen, seemed to have served to open my mind. When before I loathed to be away from my home-work routine, now I want to live life to the fullest with Marlen and the kids. When before I was reluctant to take risks, now Marlen and I are confident that together, we can always work things out. Heck if we could run 42K together, if she could carry me through a tough race, there isn’t much that both of us can’t do working together.

It’s sappy but true, in running, I learned a great lesson on life. Oprah Winfrey said it best, “you get out of it what you put into it.”

That is why I run:

I want to live.

Nineteen days after the new year, do you still keep your New Year’s resolution?

Behavioral scientists say it takes 21 days to start or break a habit. By that rule of thumb, this week will be your make-or-break week in making exercise part of your routine or stopping smoking.

If you are struggling to stop smoking, this should be hell week. Three weeks after your last stick on New Year’s Eve and the craving to light a cigarette will likely be at its strongest this week. I know. I’ve been there, twice. Do not give in. That’s how I failed in my first attempt to stop smoking.

Walk. Run. Bike. Play ball. Swim. Eat. Do what you must to take your mind away from smoking but never light a cigarette again. It will set you back years. For me, it was running and squash seeds. When the craving got so strong I either ran until I was out of breathe or ate a ton of squash seeds—I was Tiwi’s biggest customer.

Challenge

Next week, the craving to light a cigarette will subside a bit and by the end of the month, you can say you have likely kicked the habit.

The weather, meanwhile, makes developing a running or exercising habit a challenge. Forcing yourself to run is hard enough, forcing yourself to lace up or exercise in such cool weather is a madman’s idea of torture.

With the frequent heavy rain and cool weather, it’s so much easier to turn off the alarm clock and stay in bed. A treadmill will solve all that. But for those who do not have access to one, you can go to the Cebu City Sports Center and pray the rains stop. If it rains, you can just walk up and down the stairs at the grand stand.

If you’re interested, you can join us in our Ungo Run this Friday night at the Sun.Star Cebu office on P. del Rosario St. Speaking in this week’s run is Judge Ester Veloso, a half-marathoner.

But to really force yourself to develop a running habit, sign up for fun runs. By signing up for an event several weeks ahead, you force yourself to commit to train for the distance. The atmosphere in a fun run will also get you addicted to running.

Fun runs

PLDT and Smart are holding a running event on Jan. 30. The PLDT-Smart 10-Miler offers the following distances: 3K, 5K, 10K and 16K or 10 miles. If this would be your first run, sign up for either the 3K or 5K distances. You can register for the run in Runnr in Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu City Sports Center, Casa Ilongga and at the Smart Experience Center in SM City Cebu.

And even as early as now, sign up for yet another run on Feb. 13. You have two choices: the SM 2 SM Run by the Run for Sight Foundation or the 2nd Run With A Smile at The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu.

I attended the press conference yesterday of the SM 2 SM Run and it looks to be an event to look forward to. For 21K runners, organizers will be awarding beautiful finishers’ medals crafted by Suarez and Sons. The 21K and 12K routes will also pass by the SRP, near the site of the property where a new SM mall will rise.

Both runs will offer a couples’ category. The SM 2 SM Run has couples’ categories in 6K and 12K, with winners getting either a lunch for two, dinner for two or an overnight stay for two at the Radisson Blu Hotel plus thousands worth of SM gift certificates.

Keep running and see you on the road!