On the run in the beautiful island
Posts tagged Joel Garganera
Close Osmeña Blvd. early morning Sundays
Jun 16th
It was serial marathoner Joel Garganera who first raised the proposal. In the middle of one of the weekly Friday night runs that start from the Sun.Star Cebu office, he talked about the need for Cebu City Hall to make the city’s streets friendlier to runners.
Garganera pointed out that not only are Cebu City streets not friendly to runners, they are also generally not safe for children. Look, we don’t even have sidewalks, he gesticulated while running sideways.
KAPAMILYA RUNNERS ON THE ROAD. Close to 2,000 runners joined last Sunday’s 10th dyAB KApamilya Run. Above, the runners occupy one lane of Gorordo Ave. near the UP Cebu College. (PHOTO BY TEDDY ESPINUEVA)At the end of the run, he proposed a novel idea to get more people off their couches and running on the street: close Osmeña Blvd. for a few hours every Sunday and limit it to walkers, joggers, runners and bikers.
Garganera had wanted to pursue it as part of his political agenda in his failed City Council bid.
During the post-run breakfast in last Sunday’s Kapamilya Run, Garganera raised the idea again and got the support of ultra-runner Bro. Carlo Bacalla. But Garganera was preaching to the converted. What is needed is for the converted to start preaching to those in power.
Atan Guardo now on the run
Jun 5th
TWO days after being arrested by a team of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents for what he denounced as a politically-motivated case, businessman Jonathan “Atan” Guardo is now on the run.
Guardo, who ran against incoming Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmena in the last elections, finished his 10-kilometer race in an hour in yesterday morning’s Looney Tunes Active Fun Run at the Northwing in SM City Cebu.
ON THE RUN. Businessman and sportsman Jonathan “Atan” Guardo (center) sprints the last few meters with Tinago Barangay Councilor Joel Garganera, a close friend, ally and fellow runner. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE. (PHOTO BY MAX LIMPAG)After the bruising elections with his bitter political rival, Guardo has been doing 15-kilometer to 20-kilometer runs as part of his preparation for two full marathons scheduled just one week apart—the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon on June 27 in Malaysia and the Milo Marathon in Manila on July 4.
Tomorrow, the businessman and sportsman is running to Danao.
Guardo was detained overnight Thursday after being arrested by an NBI 7 team who served an arrest warrant issued against him by a Manila court hearing the malversation of public funds case filed against him by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Good running shoes are not enough, runners need safe roads: Joel Garganera
May 9th
Never mind us, Joel Garganera said while we were completing a tempo run around the jogging area in the IT Park a few weeks back, think of the children who have to walk to school and back home every day.
Garganera, who is running for a City Council seat in the Cebu City north district, was discussing with a few runners who joined one of the Friday Night Runs about how the city’s streets are unfriendly to pedestrians and hostile to joggers. He wants to change that.
ON THE ROAD. Former Tinago barangay captain Joel Garganera, a serial marathoner, campaigns on the road for a Cebu City Council seat in the north district. CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW LARGER IMAGE. (PHOTO PUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION FROM SUN.STAR CEBU)“Children need sidewalks so that they can be safe in walking to school. Our streets are not child-friendly,” he said.
Better streets and sidewalks that keep children safe will also benefit runners, Garganera said.
The former Tinago barangay captain is an avid runner. He has run six marathons in just a year.
“I run, I swim, I bike, I play basketball. I read the sports section of the newspaper first. I got my children into sports at an early age. I encourage my friends to join me in my running and biking. I’ve seen and lived the benefits of sports that’s why I’ve put sports development high in my legislative agenda,” he told Sun.Star Cebu in a recent interview.
The disaster that was the 3rd Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes Run
May 5th
Marathoner Abby Ponce felt faint near the Super Metro in Mandaue City—about 15 kilometers into the 21K race—in last Sunday’s 3rd Mayor Jonas Cortes Run, also known as Mandaue’s Mini Death March.
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.
Ungo
Mar 23rd
ON FRIDAY nights, Sun.Star Cebu executive editor Michelle So works in running shorts. At 9 p.m. managing editor for news Isolde Amante and news editor Charmaine Rodriguez go through the last few news stories and prepare to close the remaining news pages before changing to their jogging pants or running shorts.
At that time, reporters Justin Vestil, Linette Ramos and Rene Martel have finished writing their stories and are now in running attire. Graphic artist Kent Ynot and Ariel Catubig of the Sun.Star Network Exchange are also ready to go.
WE OWN THE NIGHT. Ungo runners in front of the Sun.Star Cebu office before running to the It Park in Lahug, Cebu City. CLICK TO VIEW LARGER IMAGE.Outside the newsroom, men in tights sit on the steps of the stairs talking to one another. Dr. Raymund “Reel Runner” Bontol accompanies a large group of runners, among them Jefferey Chua and Ralph Noval, from the Cebu Velez General Hospital, and gives tips on running. Aeda Mae Siao, meanwhile, accompanies a friend who is on her first night run.
Higher up the stairs, Eric Agaton of Nike Banilad Town Center leads a group of three men all wearing Nike running shoes.
Joel, serial marathoner
Mar 10th
When the starting gun was fired during the 2nd Rotary Run last Feb. 21, Joel Garganera followed his race start ritual—he grabbed his wife’s arm and gave her a quick kiss—only to find he had kissed a shocked stranger.
Joel never recovered from the faux pas as he was separated by the mass of runners from his wife, Audrey, who stood shocked a few paces away. He darted off for his 15K run shaking his head and mumbling to himself “buanga (crazy).”
Joel Garganera sprints after his son Federico to the finish line of last Sunday’s Quota 12K Classic run at The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu. CLICK TO ENLARGE. (PHOTO BY MARLEN LIMPAG)Humor defines Joel Garganera. Whether talking about his reaction upon seeing the grades of his son Federico (pronounced with an Italian diction, nickname—Dodong) or the ecstasy he feels during his regular run or the accomplishment of having finished six marathons in about a year, there’s never a dull moment with him.
When running with Joel, you’re likely to end up with a side stitch—not because the pace is punishing, but because he tells such funny stories in such a humorous way. Joel is one of those runners you want in your long runs because they make the kilometers fly by effortlessly.
Running defines Joel Garganera. Public service may be his vocation—he became, at 21 years old, the youngest person to be elected a barangay captain in Cebu City—but running is his avocation.
Running an unplanned marathon
Mar 2nd
“What was in those beans?” I chuckled to myself on my first pass by the Cansaga Bay Bridge on my way to Liloan early this morning.
John Pages, the person responsible for my addiction to running, sent me a coffee brewing set because he wanted me to try preparing one using a French Press. I brewed one cup as soon as I woke up yesterday morning and proceeded to suit up to run for work.
My day had already been planned: I was to run to work, write my column piece on Joel Garganera, perform my news desk duties, meet with the Visayan Electric Company (Veco) staff for lunch to discuss a fun run they were planning, and run back home at night.
I had formulated my lead for the Garganera column piece in my head but I felt something was amiss. I felt I knew Garganera based on the several occasions that I interviewed him, many times while on the run, but I was anxious I was incapable of doing justice to his story.
Chaotic timekeeping, awarding mar Go for Green Tourism Eco-Fun Run
Nov 30th
An otherwise good Sunday fun run attended by about 1,500 runners was marred by chaotic time-keeping and awarding of winners yesterday. The Go for Green Eco-Tourism Fun Run awarding dragged on until close to 9 a.m. because members of the racing technical committee took so long to finalize rankings.
Some finishers questioned the result reported by the race’s technical staff. The confusion got to a point that a man was named a top 10 finisher in one of the women’s categories.
Race director Joe Deresas blamed yesterday’s snafu on last minute adjustments and changes by registered runners on their race distances.
CLICK TO ENLARGE. Media category winners (from left) Allain Cortes of Sun.Star Cebu (3rd), Ronald Banugon of Bombo Radyo-Cebu (1st), and Max Limpag of Sun.Star Cebu and CebuRunning (2nd). (PHOTO BY SUN.STAR CEBU’S ARNI ACLAO)
The announcing of winners got so drawn-out that even if people were already leaving, winners of some categories were still not determined. The winners of the special categories for media and the Cebu Association of Tour Operators (Cato) took so long to determine because of the chaos in the technical staff’s booth. The Cato winners, in fact, were no longer named, only the numbers were read and very few winners approached the stage to claim the prizes.
Barangay Lahug to stage 3K, 6k, and 12K runs in Running MAD 2
Nov 6th
SIX months after holding its inaugural run, Barangay Lahug will hold Running MAD 2 on Nov. 22 at 5:45 a.m., officials announced in a press conference yesterday afternoon. The event will hold races for 3 kilometers, 6K and 12K.
Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos said the run is meant to encourage people to adopt a fit and active lifestyle.
