Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III started running four years ago to deal with work stress. The successful eye surgeon worked daily from early morning to late in the evening—a schedule he described as very stressful.
“Mamatay ta ani ug sayo,” he told runners in the Sun.Star Cebu newsroom last night.
He started playing basketball until he injured one of his fingers. That spurred him to take up another sport—running.
RUNNING COUPLE. Max Limpag (left) briefs runners on the route of the 10th Friday Night Run from the Sun.Star Cebu office to the BTC and IT Park. At right are running couple Dr. Yong Larrazabal and Donna Cruz-Larrazabal. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE. (PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARLEN D. LIMPAG)Since then, the doctor has run 11 full marathons or 42-kilometer races and countless races in shorter distances. He has run a full marathon monthly since December.
Larrazabal also helped spur the current running boom in Cebu with his annual University Run and monthly Run for Sight series, which he organized when there were still very few running events in Cebu. For that, he was awarded by the Sportswriters’ Association of Cebu.
Larrazabal was the speaker in last night’s ungo run, a weekly Friday night run from the Sun.Star Cebu office to the Banilad Town Center and the IT Park.
In his talk last night, Larrazabal advised runners to:
- Be realistic on goals
- Get proper nutrition
- Give your body time to heal and relax
- Know your limits
If you have an inactive lifestyle, don’t expect to immediately be able to run long distances. Expect to feel aches and pains. Ease yourself into the sport gradually, he said.
Larrazabal said he used to run every day, which he described as a mistake. He said runners should give their muscles time to relax, their bodies time to recover. He said last night that he had colds because he ramped up his mileage. He said he knew he was overdoing it.
Larrazabal said he won’t go beyond the marathon because he has a lifetime goal of running 33 marathons. He said that personally, he feels that going beyond 42 kilometers exposes a runner to a great risk of injuries.
OFFICIAL BOTTLED WATER. (From left) Charlie Berberio, Dr. Andrei Yu, Dr. Peter Mancao, Max Limpag, Dr. Yong Larrazabal hold bottles of St. James mineral water, which was donated by marathoner James Abilla. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE. (PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARLEN D. LIMPAG)Larrazabal also advised runners to encourage their partners to also take up the sport. He said running together has strengthened his bond with his wife, singer and runner Donna Cruz-Larrazabal.
He said that before Donna started running, she couldn’t understand why he would spend a lot of time for the sport, even traveling to other places just to run.
But ever since Donna got hooked on running, the two found something else in common to share. He said their relationship as a husband and wife has been strengthened by their common love for running.
(Blogger’s note: Photos of the run are available in the CebuRunning Facebook page.)
