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.

On the hottest day of the year, Ponce felt cold.

Ponce was already feeling weak on her way to the Cansaga Bay Bridge. On the bridge, she was puking and retching. She ran-walked until Super Metro on United Nations Ave., where she had to stop because she felt faint. She asked for help from several police personnel stationed along the route to get a ride to the finish line at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

MANDAUE CITY RUN. Lack of water, absence of marshals and a shorter-than-announced route made the Mayor Jonas Cortes Run last Sunday the worst fun run of the year. (PHOTO BY RAMIE IGANA)

They just looked at her.

Ponce trudged on until the Total gasoline station where a police officer let her ride one of the motorcycles and brought her near an ambulance at the CICC. She asked people at the finish line, who were having breakfast, to let her sniff some ammonia to revive her.

They just took turns watching over Ponce while one started fanning her with a folded bond paper. Talk about origami as emergency medical procedure.

“That was an experience I don’t want to repeat, I tell you, Max,” Ponce told me yesterday.

It is a sentiment shared by almost all the runners I talked to.

Hottest day of the year

In Mandaue City, it was hot enough to cook instant pancit canton under the sun during the 3rd Mayor Jonas Cortes Run. PAG-ASA said that with temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius, last Sunday was the hottest day of the year.

And yet water station after water station yielded the same disappointing sight—three empty water containers, no cups and attendants who just looked straight through you.

They didn’t give a damn that you were nearing dehydration.

On A.C. Cortes Ave., I punched the side mirror of a jeepney that cut me off, intentionally grazing me. The driver was apparently angered by the traffic gridlock he just passed and saw me as a target. I hope I broke that mirror.

I quickly ran after that flash of anger, conscious that I was at a sub-2 hours pace and wondering whether runners at my pace would stop to help if the driver went after me. Runner Kenneth Toledo, who has a black belt in taekwondo, was too far ahead, going after a personal record, to be of help.

Organizers of the Mandaue Mini Death March left runners last Sunday at the mercy not only of the intense heat but also of abusive drivers. Runner Karen D. Quiñanola-Gonzales said in the CebuRunning Facebook fan page that she was run into a gutter.

Despite all these, I was on pace to finish at least a minute faster than the 1 hour and 58 minutes I recorded in The Great Lapu-Lapu Run 21K and was prepared to give everything in a final burst to the finish line.

To my horror and intense disappointment, my GPS watch indicated I was still a kilometer short when the finish line came into sight. I finished in 1 hour and 54 minutes, 600 meters short of 21K.

After the torture of the heat, lack of water and abusive drivers, the 3rd Mayor Jonas Cortes Run robbed me a personal record.

Shortcut

If you’ve read about how top runners improved on their 21K times in the race, there’s your explanation. The route was short. What’s worse, the top runners did not complete the route because the lead pack marshal got lost and did not pass the actual turning point under the Mandaue Mactan Bridge. The first runner to actually complete the route, Elvin Rey Flores, ended in 10th place.

Even eventual winner Simon Losiaboi expressed astonishment at his time, 1 hour and 9 seconds, and muttered that the route wasn’t exactly 21K, one of the top 10 male finishers told me.

There were runners who did not complete the course last Sunday, either intentionally or inadvertently—because of the lack of route markers and turning point directions. One marshal was said to have encouraged runners to take a short cut because they ran out of turning point ribbons anyway.

While there were some who did take shortcuts intentionally, most didn’t. Susan Militante echoed the sentiments of most runners when she said, “Dili gyud ko. Ngano gud? Ako rang ilaron akong kaugalingon? (I would never do that. I’ll just be fooling myself)”

It was the worst race ever, runners in the CebuRunning community said.

The heat was too much for Joe France Cañizares and with no water to help him cool down, he took off his shirt on Cansaga Bay Bridge. Aeda Mae Siao suffered cramps, partly because of the lack of hydration, in what would have been a great run for her. Aeda had to buy four bottles of water in one of the gasoline stations.

After finishing my run, I went back the route to look for Marlen, who was also running 21K. At the corner near the Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School, I saw two police officers or interns just sitting in the shade, not bothering to direct cars away from the runners.

At the intersection near the University of the Visayas, I chanced upon a man in his 50s, who looked to be in charge, telling the marshal at the intersection to leave.

Struggling

The younger marshal insisted that he stayed but the old man raised his voice to tell him to leave.

I told the two that they should continue managing traffic in the intersection because many 21K runners were still on the road. That cut their conversation.

But as I started to run the route again, the old man said with contempt, “kay mudagan diay siya balik.”

Along the way, I found runners who were obviously struggling because of the heat and lack of water. I gave some of them water that I bought from one of the stores in the area.

After finding Marlen, I paced her in the last kilometer or so. She finished in 2 hours and 24 minutes, on pace to improve on her Cebu City Marathon time. Another potential personal record voided by the short distance. Not only that, I had to point out to the staff manning the finish line that she should be listed in women’s category. The staff member seemed to just stick the names on the tally sheet without bothering to check.

The organizer of the run was the Mandaue Runners Club. But I doubt whether real runners manned the streets in Mandaue City last Sunday. It seemed they wanted the race to be over with as soon as the winners were known. It seemed they wanted everyone to stop running and just get off the street as soon as the last podium finisher crossed the finish line.

The last finishers of the 21K race all looked so relieved as they headed to the finish line. One of the motorcycle marshals told one of the finishers, “congrats, you’re last.” But he wasn’t. A few minutes later, two more runners arrived. You could just imagine the hell they had to go through.

Standard

Last Sunday’s race is the best argument in favor of calls to standardize road races. Joel Garganera, serial marathoner and candidate for the Cebu City Council in the North District, said that if he wins next week, he would, among his major legislative agenda, call for the creation of a commission to look after the welfare of runners in Cebu City.

Garganera, who was among those who organized the well-run Running MAD 2 in Barangay Lahug, said there was a need to take organizers into account for the runners’ safety in road races.

But apart from improving the holding of road races, Garganera said he would work to make the city’s roads friendlier to pedestrians and runners.

It would be great if that happens—that Cebu City’s roads become friendlier to runners. But Mandaue City? I won’t run in a race there again. Not soon, anyway.

There’s another race scheduled in the city on May 16. The race, named Rundaue, has a different set of organizers and will have 10K as longest route. It will still pass through the scenic Cansaga Bay Bridge.

I hope the organizers will save Mandaue City’s name by doing it right this time.

They filed in, toting backpacks that are quickly disemboweled of running gear as they sat on the grass and put on running shoes in front of an eager crowd.

People gawked as they fitted for the marathon and did short runs to warm up. Look at those legs, several people said, talking animatedly about their runner’s physique: thin frame with long, lean legs.

FRONTRUNNERS. Kenyans led the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) from the start to take the first eight spots. Vincent Chepsiror (third from left) won the marathon with a time of 2:27:54. Click on photo to view larger image.

People were still talking about the Kenyans even after they were bused out of Remy Field to the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) 2009 starting line 42 kilometers away in Floridablanca, Pampanga toll gate of the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTex). The starting gun was fired at 4:30 p.m.

A little over two hours later, large, loud speakers conveyed the news: the Kenyans are coming.

One by one, they sprinted to finish—Vincent Chepsiror coming in first at 2:27:54; Willy Rofich, 2:28:14; Daniel Koringo, 2:29:57; Alex Melly, 2:30:23; Richard Mutisya, 2:30:30; Hilary Kimurai, 2:31:51; Vincent Kipchirchir, 2:35:58; and David Kipsang, 2:37:50.

Chepsiror, 29, was so far ahead of any local runner he would still have won had he been asked to pay toll to pass the toll gates of the flat and scenic SCTex marathon route. He won $5,000 for his feat.

Hernanie Sore was the top Filipino finisher at ninth place with a time of 2:40:20. Alquin Bolivar, a native of Cagayan de Oro City, was 10th with his time of 2:40:42.

The Kenyans, running in a tight pack, led from the start. They descend on water stations like a marauding party, deftly grabbing two cups of water, one in each hand, before drinking one and pouring the other on their heads.

Bolivar said he trailed the group in the first 15 kilometers but couldn’t keep up when they increased the pace. Sore couldn’t be interviewed, he was lying on the ground, writhing in pain and immobilized by muscle cramps 10 meters away from the finish line.

Chepsiror, speaking to reporters in a voice so soft it could barely be heard over the din in the track oval, said the darkness slowed them. A long stretch of the SCTex does not have streetlight. He said the route was hilly and narrow in some place. He also said they lacked water in the last stretch of the run.

Chepsiror said his personal record (PR) is 2:18, which was set when he won the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon in 2007.

Kenya’s Doreen Kitaka won the $5,000 top prize in the women’s event by clocking 3:01:12. The 26-year-old mother of two also won last Sunday’s Quezon City International Marathon.

Kitaka said she found the marathon difficult because it was hot at the start and, while it cooled when dusk set in, the darkness slowed her down. She said there were places where she couldn’t see anything.

Kenyan Cecilia Wangui placed second with a time of 3:22:53 while Filipina Aileen Tolentino won third place with a time of 3:29:01.

ON THEIR ROAD TO SETTING PERSONAL RECORDS. Cebu runners (from second from left) Joefranz Canizares(in blue singlet number 1026), couple Roy Trani (wearing black Adidas cap) and Dr. Rosan Trani, Dr. Alex Junia, Dr. John Clifford Aranas and Kenneth Casquejo in the early part of the Smart Subic International Marathon. The group from Cebu finished strong with several runners posting personal records in last Saturday’s full marathon.

Among those who ran Smart SIM 2009 was a group from the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) who set out to post PRs and finish the marathon in less than five hours. Most did.

Kenneth Casquejo finished in 4:55, Roy and Dr. Rosan Trani finished in PRs of 4:52, John Clifford Aranas clocked 4:48 while Dr. Alex Junia posted a PR of 5:20. Other Cebuano runners who finished included JoeFranz Canizares, 5:41; Arnold Palma, 5:18; and Abby Ponce, 5:14.

Smart Sports head Patrick Gregorio said Filipinos can become great runners if they are identified and trained early. He said the country can do well in running if sponsors continue to fund programs and races.

Gregorio said running if one of the sports Smart actively supports. He said the company spent more than P2 million to sponsor the Smart SIM. He said the company has long been supporting running events and will continue to do so.

“We should also do this in Cebu,” said Gregorio, who spent five years as general manager of Waterfront Hotel in Lahug.