He finished within the cutoff time and upon reaching Capitol, made a show of being tired. Like he actually ran 50 kilometers.

I first learned of it when I overheard the runner’s teammates talk among themselves about how the person rode a habal-habal.

I have since confirmed it with a source I trust, who also got confirmation from several people. I have also gotten reports from other people who saw a runner ride a vehicle in the route.

FINISH LINE AT THE CAPITOL. Frontrunner staff members prepare the finish line of the 1st Cebu Ultramarathon at the Capitol in Cebu City. (PHOTO BY JAMES GO)

I cannot understand a person who would cheat in a road race, much more an ultra-marathon. It’s not as if we get a prize for finishing it. All we got at the finish line in Capitol was a commemorative plate, T-shirt and a food pack. The run—the entire 50 kilometers—itself was the reward.

Insulting running community

What the cheat did insulted the running community. He actually finished earlier than Brian Padilla, an Ungo Runner who was on the verge of giving up but decided to continue because he left his emergency money with one of the support vehicles.

Padilla ran-walked to the finish line expecting to see it abandoned and planning to just scream in relief and have his photo taken at the 0KM marker. Instead, he found fellow runners waiting for him, runners who pleaded with the organizers to keep the finish line tarpaulin and to give him a finisher’s plate.

What the cheat did insulted Jonel Mendoza, the hardcore runner who publishes Frontrunner magazine and who took the risk of organizing an ultra-marathon in Cebu. What the cheat did insulted marathon man Raffy Uytiepo, who was the race organizer. What the cheat did insulted Joel Juarez, who looked frightfully in pain when he collapsed in a heat stroke but still managed to finish after a short rest.

What the cheat did puts into question all his previous races, including marathons here and abroad. If he could cheat in one, he could cheat in all.

Challenge

I still haven’t given Jonel the cheat’s name, opting to give him a few more days to redeem himself. To the ultra-cheat, please do the right thing:

1. Call up Jonel Mendoza to apologize. He may not understand you and would likely tell you “lugi ka, nagbayad ka ng 50K pero kulang yung tinakbo mo (it’s your loss. You paid for 50K and yet you ran a shorter distance)” but pray he would forgive you.

2. Return your plate and T-shirt. You do not deserve it. Leave it at the backdoor guard of Sun.Star Cebu and I’ll have it sent to Jonel.

3. Do not sign up for future ultra-running events. If you sign up for the May 1 ultramarathon in Cebu, I will propose to Jonel that we increase registration by P20 (we will name the fee after you) to pay for a race marshal to follow you the entire route. I will ask that the race marshal be made to wear a neon orange shirt to make sure he is easily visible.

If you feel smug thinking that you fooled the entire running community, you are only fooling yourself.

What good are speed and endurance if you do not have integrity? What good are your marathon medals? “It is character,” said Stephen Covey, “that communicates more eloquently.”

JERRY ALMOST BEATS ATAN. Among those who ran the Quezon City International Marathon last Sunday were Joel Garganera, Ian Baguio, Allan Delantar and Atan, Jeson and Jerry Guardo. Serial marathoner Garganera completed the 42K as recovery run for the grueling Cebu ultra-marathon. An animated Garganera described how Jerry was on the verge of beating Atan and was already formulating a Facebook status update when a late surge by the former congressional candidate left him eating Atan’s dust.

Alvirg Busa finished the race in a blistering 3:20. Cebu’s running queen, Mary Grace delos Santos, on the other hand, decided to save her strength for this Sunday’s Milo National Finals.

JOY POLLOSO FINISHES FIRST MARATHON. In Singapore, Ayala Center Cebu division head Joy Polloso, a hardcore Ungo Runner, finished her first full marathon “barefoot.” She ran 42 kilometers in Vivo Barefoot, a shoe line that mimics barefoot running. Joy is running yet another full marathon on Jan. 9, the 2011 Cebu City Marathon.

Among those who also finished the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon were Kenneth Toledo and Ungo Runner Jorge “Dindz” Bartolabac, who ran his first full marathon in 4 hours and 57 minutes.

The idea of running can be daunting. Five kilometers might as well be 50K for someone whose idea of rigorous walking is to visit all the shops in Ayala Center Cebu. Three kilometers might as well be a jaunt to Timbuktu for someone who’s never walked farther than the office canteen.

BUSINESS LEADERS BY DAY, UNGO RUNNERS BY NIGHT. (From left) Joy Polloso, John Pages and Sheila Colmenares during their pictorial for a series of posters showing how running is a sport for everyone. The posters are part of the Ungo Runners Think Pink campaign to get more people in Cebu running. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE IMAGE. (PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALEX BADAYOS)

I thought I was running to the moon when I decided to run 10K in last year’s Milo Marathon Cebu eliminations even if I still couldn’t complete running an entire circuit at the CCSC tracks without crumpling out of breath. When I made up my mind, it was still more than two months away.

“The body does not want you to do this,” 1980 Boston Marathon women’s champion Jacqueline Gareau cautions, “As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy…It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed.”

Gareau’s statement resonates even more with people like me as she started running to rid herself of a cigarette addiction.

It’s hard to start running. It’s hard to get out of bed earlier than usual to hit the road until you are out of breath.

But once you reap the benefits of exercise, all the aches, all the troubles will finally be worth it.

“The first day that you go out and exercise, you are healthier than the day before because the body all of a sudden realizes, ‘I’ve got to use those muscles, I have to make them stronger. I have to make them fitter. I have to make them so that I can cover more ground,” Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy associate professor Miriam Nelson said in the documentary “Marathon Challenge.”

“So it’s a survival mechanism, that our body is responsive to the demands that we put upon it,” she added.

Crucial to my success in making running a habit are 1.) my wife, Marlen, who shared my enthusiasm and who encouraged me to keep on running, 2.) other runners who ended up becoming friends and who encouraged me to continue with the sport and gave needed advice, 3.) colleagues who shared my enthusiasm for the sport.

The best way to develop a running habit is to find a friend who is already into the sport. He or she can guide you and provide crucial motivation when you are still starting out.

What is even better is to find a running group that welcomes newbies. One such group is the Ungo Runners, which is working with the Ayala Center Cebu to get more people running.

The Ungo Runners Think Pink campaign is a twist in the annual Think Pink advocacy of Ayala Center Cebu. Apart from cancer awareness, the campaign is expanding to get more people into the “pink of health” through running.

This Friday, Ungo Runners are encouraged to bring along a newbie in our weekly night run that will start at 10 p.m. from the Sun.Star Cebu central newsroom on P. del Rosario St. If you’ve long wanted to run but have never found people to help you start out, this Friday’s your chance. Ungo Runners have pledged to help as many newbies as possible start running.

She was almost unable to bear the heat and was ready to quit at the turning point near the Cebu Institute of Technology University but Dan Morales, a member of the Ungo Runners, a group that runs every Friday night from Sun.Star Cebu to the IT Park, told her to continue at least until the SRP where he would wait for her.

NORA ROSETE TECLING gets escorted by Ungo Runners on the final stretch of her grueling 21K run. Race officials had told Nora to quit the race because they thought she couldn’t finish it. They thought wrong. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE. (PHOTO BY AXL ACLIBAR)

Morales manned the mobile water station of the Ungo Runners at the CIT in Sunday’s 21K race of the Milo Marathon Cebu leg. He hadn’t slept since Saturday and spent the early morning hours of Sunday going through the Milo 21K route to count the number of water stations and find where he could set up his own station to serve ice-cold water and Gatorade to Ungo Runners.

With several Ungo Runners joining their first official 21K last Sunday, the group decided to field mobile water stations to make sure members were well-hydrated on race day. Bikik Besavilla started the initiative by managing to get contributions from Summit. It was already too late to arrange for supplies from our regular Ungo run supporter James Abilla for St. James water.

Milo had set the tone for generosity earlier that week. The company gave away 400 shoes to students of Tejero Elementary School and the good deed was matched by the local running community.

Mobile water station assignments

Besavilla took charge of the area near Gaisano Metro on Colon St. Assisting her were her daughter Mil Cang and Nina Igana, the daughter of Ungo Runners Ramie and Dr. Humility Igana.

Morales offered to take charge of the V. Rama stretch but decided to move to CIT upon seeing two water stations on the street. Louela Rosal stepped forward to volunteer to man the crucial SRP water station. She too didn’t sleep since Saturday, too excited for the Ungo Runners, especially the first-timers, to complete the race.

When I posted a call for volunteers in Facebook the noon before race day, I was flooded with offers of contributions and help.

Ayala Center Cebu division manager Joy Polloso, herself an ungo runner, quickly sent a message to say that since she wasn’t able to register, she would man one of the water stations. Dr. Orlando Osorio and wife Jojo also quickly signed up to volunteer.

The SRP team was completed by Ceejay Polloso and Joesieron Pajuelas Uy. Members of the SRP team did not know each other before that day. They didn’t even know where exactly they would meet. All they knew was that all of them were Ungo Runners and they were there to help members of their running family.

The groups, however, did not limit their assistance to Ungo Runners, giving out cold water and Gatorade to all runners who made it to the heartbreak highway.

“You can do it!”

And so it was the case that when Tecling reached the SRP to look for Morales to quit, she was met by a full complement of Ungo volunteers. Tecling said that when she entered SRP, she was looking for Morales’ car to give up. But Morales would have none of it. He encouraged the 21K first timer to continue the race.

“Kaya nimo na! (You can do it.),” Dan said.

“Dili na, Dan. Init na kaayo. Dili na nako kaya! (No. It’s too hot. I can’t finish the race)” Tecling said.

“Naa koy payong sa auto. Huwaton ta ka. (I have an umbrella in the car. I’ll wait for you),” Dan said.

With that and with Morales’ pledge he would drive by her side, Tecling continued to the “layo pa kaayo (still far)” turning point at the SRP. She got the umbrella at the Sugbo Building, unfolded it and continued running. She would fold the umbrella in the shade and run holding it “like a band majorette.”

UNGO PACE GROUP. (From left) Dr. Raymund Bontol, Joy Polloso, Jojo Osorio, Tenggoy Colmenares, Louela Rosal, and Dr. Orlando Osorio near the water station set up by Ungo Runners volunteers. The Ungo volunteers helped a lot of runners at the heartbreak highway called the South Road Properties by serving ice-cold drinks all runners, not just their fellow Ungo Runners, to complement the official water stations set up by Milo. Click on photo to enlarge. (PHOTO FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE OF JOY POLLOSO)

Marshals later told Morales to tell “his runner” to give up, “hindi na kaya!” But Morales was insistent. Ungo Runners had been training on the three bridges for several Sundays for that one goal—a Milo half-marathon medal. Morales was determined Tecling would get hers.

At the SRP bridge, an ambulance sidled up to Tecling but her determination had set in. She was suffering but she would finish. She would not give up.

She was later met by ungo runners Dindz Bartolabac, Marben Golez, Rico Dale Petallar and Daryl Ygot. She was cheered on by the SRP group, which had gone to P. del Rosario St., and fellow runners Tito and Irene Vildosola, Axl Acibar, Ritchell Selma and Victor Chan.

Just as organizers were starting to disassemble the Milo finish line arch on Sunday, Tecling entered the Cebu City Sports Center to the boisterous cheers of Ungo Runners waiting for her. She was paced by a group of five men, with one holding the umbrella for the runner on the cusp of fainting. She crossed the finish line in 3 hours, 12 minutes and 10 seconds, cried and said a loud prayer, “Thank you, Lord!”

I failed to meet my race goal last Sunday. But that’s marginalia to a profound lesson I learned that day—it takes a community to run a difficult race.

I’ve never been prouder to be an Ungo Runner.

Jakosalem and officials of Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC), which is organizing the Cebu City Marathon 2010, said they decided to close the road to ensure the safety of runners.

RUNNERS’ SAFETY. Organizers Meyrick Jacalan and John Pages of the Cebu Executive Runners Club and Cebu City Councilor Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem discuss the closure of the entire SRP route and half of the Cebu City roads that are part of the marathon route on Jan. 10, 2010. Organizers said they pushed for the closure of part of the road to ensure safety of runners. (Photo by Max Limpag)

John Pages of CERC said that although there are runs every Sunday in Cebu, roads aren’t closed and runners have to contend with at times impatient drivers angered by the traffic jam. (On a side note, I actually punched the side of a jeepney that cut me off in Mandaue City during the Rock and Run, not to be recommended, believe me.)

In other developments announced in yesterday’s press conference at the City Sports Club:

• Ayala Center Cebu has confirmed that a pre-race pasta party will be held on Jan. 8 at The Terraces. Ayala Center Cebu division head Joy Polloso said there will be free food for the first 500 runners.Polloso also said they are working with Ayala Center Cebu merchants, especially those in Active Zone, to offer registered runners discounts during the marathon expo, which will be held the week before the marathon.
• Timex will be giving free watches to the top three finishers of each division, said coach Rio de la Cruz, a Timex endorser and race director of FinishLine, which will be deploying the ChampionChip that will be used to time 21K and 42 runners of the Cebu City Marathon.
• De la Cruz said the use of RFID transponder chips will allow organizers to publish race results a few hours after the event. Pages said the results will then be uploaded to the Cebu City Marathon website.
• Globe Telecom’s Jerry Yntig also pledged to provide phones to the winners of the different categories.
• Holiday Gym and Spa will be deploying masseurs to give free massages to 21K and 42K runners after the race.
• Perl Jacalan, also of CERC, said race packs will be distributed on Jan. 6-8. She said only out-of-town runners will be allowed to claim their race packs on Jan. 9.

COACH RIO. Rio de la Cruz holds a sample of the RFID chip that will be used to time runners of the 21K and 42K races in the Cebu City Marathon. De la Cruz said the finishing times and ranking of runners will be available hours after the marathon is finished. (Photo by Max Limpag)

Jakosalem assured runners that their safety is on top of the concerns of authorities. He said they will be deploying a large number of traffic enforcers. Pages said active CERC members have been assigned to oversee a 1.5-kilometer stretch and recruit people to help man it. He said they were told to come up with ways to motivate runners like playing music or getting a band.

Organizer Meyric Jacalan, of CERC, also said that he hopes that in the coming years, the Cebu City Marathon will become an institution and people will come out to watch and participate, in the same way that residents of cities abroad do during their own marathons.

Jakosalem said that Cebu City is planning to organize more runs, depending on the success of the Jan. 10 event. In a brief talk after the press conference, he said Oct. 10, 2010 or 10-10-10 falls on a Sunday and might be a good date to host another marathon.