Tag Archives: Gibraltar Straits

Endurance sports mold character: Basti Lacson

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Endurance sports mold character, Aboitiz Equity Ventures chief reputation officer Sebastian “Basti” Lacson told runners gathered in the Sun.Star Cebu central newsroom last Friday.

“I think endurance sports are formers of character. You go on even if your body tells you to stop. You wake up at 4 in the morning even if your body tells you to sleep,” said Lacson.

BASTI LACSON. The Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. chief reputations officer gets his exclusive ungo shirt with glow-in-the-dark paint from Michelle So, Sun.Star Cebu executive editor, Sun.Star Superbalita editor-in-chief and Sun.Star Running Club muse. Click on photo to enlarge. (SUN.STAR FOTO ALEX BADAYOS USED WITH PERMISSION)

Endurance is something Lacson has plenty of. While finishing his master’s degree in Spain, he finished the Barcelona marathon in 1995 in three hours and 56 minutes. He finished “a couple” of half-marathons after it.

He insists that he not be called a triathlete because he was “only able to finish a couple of triathlons.”

But on Oct. 6, 1996, he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with two companions, Spaniards Gonzalo Ceballos and Pedro Vernis, by swimming for five hours and 19 minutes from the town of Tarifa in Cadiz, Spain to Punta Marroqui, Morocco.

“It was a great experience. I was scared of the water and I conquered my physical and mental handicap,” he said.

Lacson, a former team captain of the Ateneo Blue Eagles who played with Vince Hizon and Eric Reyes, said he has always been into sports.

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Only Pinoy to swim across Gibraltar Straits to speak in Friday night run

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THE only Filipino to do a transcontinental swim by swimming crossing the Gibraltar Straits will speak about building endurance in Friday night’s weekly run from the Sun.Star Cebu office on P. del Rosario St. to the Asiatown IT Park.

Sebastian Lacson, Aboitiz Equity Ventures chief reputations officer, swam from Tarifa, Spain to Punta Marroqui, Morocco on Oct. 6, 1996 in 5 hours and 19 minutes. Gibraltar Straits separates Europe from Africa and connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea.

BASTI LACSON. The Aboitz Equity Ventures chief reputations officer after crossing the Gibraltar Straits in 1996.

Lacson is a former captain of the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

When he was studying for a master’s degree in Barcelona, he joined a full marathon and finished it in 3 hours and 56 minutes.

“Towards the end of my master’s someone mentioned a swim across the Strait of Gibraltar. I set my sights on that, swam like a maniac for six months, and finally felt I was ready for the swim. I swam from Tarifa, Spain to Punta Marroqui, Morocco in October 6, 1996 in 5:19 minutes. This was a real ordeal, conquering physical and mental stress at the same time,” he said.

Lacson, who was 25 that time, finished the swim with two others, Spaniards Gonzalo Ceballos and Pedro Vernis.

Aboitiz is organizing the first Aboitiz Race to Reduce Challenge 2010 on Aug. 22 at the South Road Properties. Lacson will be talking about the race. He will also discuss building endurance as an athlete and share his experiences in endurance sports.

Here’s the regular ungo run route. The red line indicates the intermediate ungo runners’ route, an 8-kilometer stretch that includes an uphill jaunt to Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. The blue line indicates the beginners’ route, which is about 5 and 1/2 kilometers.


View Friday night run in a larger map