On the run in the beautiful island
Posts tagged Florence Mata
Why running is viral
Apr 28th
RALPH Gonzales first hit the road in last year’s The Great Lapu-Lapu Run after being “nagged” into joining the event by his father, PR man Jonji. After the race, he hung up his shoes “and stopped running for a long time.”
In January, with excitement over the approaching 1st Cebu City Marathon spilling over to profile pages of Facebook users, Ralph was encouraged to run again. He said some of his friends whom he thought could never run a kilometer were starting to run five kilometers, 10K and even 21K.
SHOW ME WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE… Virna Liezl Lim Firmeza (at right) with close friends Emelee Sagun (left), Susan Militante (3rd from left) and Florence Mata (2nd from right). The friends pose with Rening Ylaya and top female runner Mary Grace delos Santos during the Cebu City Marathon. Firmeza was influenced into running by her friends. CLICK TO ENLARGE. (FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE OF VIRNA FIRMEZA)It made me think, he said in a Facebook interview, that if they could do it, then I could, too.
The status messages—those short posts announcing to the world what a Facebook user is doing or wearing or eating or even thinking—were the biggest factor, said Ralph.
“They also make it sound so fun, it makes you wanna give it a shot,” he said. Ralph is now a regular runner. He is also a member of the ungo runners, an informal group of runners who run every Friday night. Ungo runners found each other through, where else, but Facebook.
Virna Liezl Lim Firmeza also credits Facebook postings of her runner friends in getting her to run. Among her friends are top amateur runner Florence Mata, who frequently wins a top 10 spot in weekend races, and runners Emelee Sagun and Susan Militante.
Losiaboi, delos Santos dominate Citirun
Mar 28th
As widely expected Simon Losiaboi and Mary Grace delos Santos dominated their respective divisions in the Citygym Citirun this morning.
Losiaboi finished the 12K route in a blistering 00:39:15.01. Jobert Carolino finished second a full minute later, clocking 00:40:39.50. Veteran runner Reprinel Banzon completed the top three by finishing third with a time of 00:40:48.58.
DOMINANT. Mary Grace delos Santos sprints with trainer Mosherwin Managil to win the women’s 12K category in the Citygym Citirun held in Waterfront Hotel Cebu City early today. CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW LARGER IMAGE (Photo by Max Limpag)Completing the men’s 12K top 10 are 4th John Philip Duenas (00:41:23.49); 5th Riez Enriquez (00:42:09.84); 6th Paul James Zafico (00:43:52.95); 7th Noel Tillor (00:43:55.39); 8th Alvirg Busa (00:44:39.52); 9th Roger Saldo (00:46:25.97); and 10th Renvie Gabuya (0:48:11:117).
Losiaboi just came from two successive defeats Mendel Lopez.
In the women’s 12K, delos Santos finished first with a time of 00:45:37.17. Madelyn Carter was second with a time of 00:49:27.63 while Joeyry Lee finished third by clocking in 00:52:56.95.


