The mind is a powerful thing, ultra-runner Jonel Mendoza said in an almost conspiratorial whisper that carried across a room full of stunned runners.

If you think it, you can probably do it.

Preparing to run 100 kilometers takes more mental preparation than physical readiness, said Mendoza, ultra-runner and Frontrunner publisher and editor-in-chief.

Jonel MendozaJONEL MENDOZA, ultra-runner and publisher of Frontrunner, talks to the ungo runners in the Sun.Star Cebu newsroom. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE. (PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX BADAYOS)

“Huwag na tayong magbolahan dito. Hindi ko sasabihing hindi masakit, dahil masakit. Masakit na masakit (Let’s not kid ourselves. I won’t tell you it’s easy because it hurts. It really hurts),” Mendoza told a group of runners gathered at the Sun.Star Cebu central newsroom last Friday. With that, the room fell into stunned silence.

For a newbie runner, it’s hard to take in the idea of running 42 kilometers—the distance from the Capitol to Carcar.

It positively boggles the mind to cover that distance, come back to Capitol and continue running to Talamban in Cebu City, then Mandaue City, then to the old bridge and ending somewhere in Camella Homes in Barangay Pajac, Lapu-Lapu City.

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