Tag Archives: Pilipinas International Marathon

Bro. Carlo Bacalla: Running as meditation

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NOT only does running keep Bro. Carlo Bacalla physically fit and sound, it also offers him time for long reflections and meditation.

Running, especially among beautiful locales, are “moments to connect with Mother Nature and my Creator,” the Don Bosco brother told runners in Sun.Star Cebu last week.

A PHOTO FOR FACEBOOK. Bro. Carlo Bacalla before running the 102-kilometer Bataan Death March in 14 hours and 38 minutes to finish 17th.

“Running gives me a clear picture of the social conditions of our cities. When I see people sleeping on our sidewalks, when I see children scavenging for food in garbage bins, when I see young girls on skimpy clothes by the roadside, lots of questions come to my mind,” Bacalla said.

While it pains him to see all these, Bacalla said it also reminds him of his mission as a brother and that there are still “so many people to help.”

He said running gives him ample time to think and view things with new perspectives.

Bacalla said his first race was a 10K in 1986 as a “freedom run” with Edsa hero and former president Fidel Ramos. His first marathon was the real Pilipinas International Marathon, a 42-kilometer race that he completed with permission and condition from his superior because he was still in the seminary.

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5th University Run offers personalized race bibs for first 500 registrants

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The first 500 registrants to the Cebu Doctors’ University’s (CDU) flagship race, the University Run, on August 15 will get personalized race bibs, organizers announced in a press conference Tuesday night.

This is the first time that a race in Cebu, even possibly in the country, will allow registrants to specify what is printed in their race bibs.

PERSONALIZED RACE BIB. Organizer Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III with a sample of the personalized race bib that will be assigned to the first 500 registrants of the 5th University Run on August 15. CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE (PHOTO BY MAX LIMPAG)

Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III, a marathoner who has been recognized by the Sportswriters Association of Cebu for his contribution to running, said the first 500 people to register for the run can specify what combination of letters and numerals would be printed in their race bibs. Larrazabal said the bib has room for 6 letters or digits.

He said that in races abroad, personalized race bibs are only reserved for elite runners.

If you still haven’t registered, however, you should do it now because there were already about 100 registrants on Tuesday night. Registration fee is P250 but students need only to pay P200. Registration areas are in Larrazabal’s Center for Sight clinic in Cebu Doctors’ Hospital, Nike Athletic Club in the Banilad Town Center and CDU.

The race distances are 3K, 5K and 10K. There are separate categories for students and CDU alumni.

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Semantics

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Organizers of the Pilipinas International Marathon (PIM) are standing their ground. Not only are they not going to reschedule their event, which, admittedly, is understandable, they insist that a 25-kilometer race, by Patafa diktat, is a marathon. Pataka (nonsense).

“It is already accepted worldwide, even by the International Association of Marathons; they also accepted that they can use marathon as their ‘lingo’ if it goes beyond 21K and there is a 25K marathon,” International Pharmaceuticals Inc. advertising manager Tito Dela Merced was quoted as saying in a Sun.Star Cebu report on Saturday.

The debate on the use of the term might be getting tiresome but it is necessary. Standards are important for any sport. They are the foundation for records on which we gauge performances. A key component of any set of standards is the correct usage of technical terms.

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University Run or Pilipinas International Marathon?

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(This article was written by Bro. Carlo Bacalla, an ultra-marathoner who placed 17th in this year’s Bataan Death March 102-kilometer ultra-marathon.)

I just recently came back from a meeting in Bangkok and Vientiane (Laos). In Laos I had the chance to see the stadium where the 2009 SEA Games were held. It brought back to mind that bad image of the Philippines sending two separate delegations of athletes from two warring groups named PSC and POC. We know the victims when conflicts exist among our sports officials.

This is my take on the controversy brought about by one sports headline which reads “Two major runs in Cebu in 1 day.” At first I was excited that Pilipinas International Marathon (PIM) is being organized in Cebu. I thought it’s a revival of a famous foot race in Manila in the 80s. I ran 4 times in the Pilipinas Marathon between 1988 to 1992. But it was a standard 42.195 km. I posted my personal best time of 3:45 in one of these races. But my excitement turned sour when I realized it’s a sub-standard 25 km race scheduled on August 15, the same day of the University Run which was announced and posted in the Facebook prior to the PIM.

So where to run when 2 runs happen in 1 day?

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Why I’m joining the CDU University Run

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Dr. Yong Larrazabal’s disappointment was palpable during our phone conversation.

The eye surgeon and marathoner had purposely announced in advance in Facebook the date for Cebu Doctors’ University’s flagship running event, the University Run, to inform other race organizers and avoid another conflict in race schedules.

CDU RUN. Dr. Yong Larrazabal helped make running a mainstream sport in Cebu City with his annual University Run and monthly Run for Sight. Click on photo to enlarge image. (FOTO TAKEN FROM RUN FOR SIGHT’S FACEBOOK PAGE)

The run, which serves as opening of CDU’s Intramurals, was scheduled way ahead, when activities in the school’s academic calendar were determined.

University Run organizers coordinated schedules with other race directors to make sure that they would not hold their runs on the same day. But late last week, the buzz started spreading among runners in Facebook—another race has been scheduled on Aug. 15, the date of the 5th CDU University Run.

It’s a 25K international “marathon,” an oxymoron that should serve as warning. Runners know that you only use the word marathon to describe a race that is 42.195 kilometers long. There are no shorter “marathons.”

The Pilipinas 25K International Marathon is backed by International Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPI) and organized by Joe Deresas, an affable man who was in charge of two of the most problematic races I’ve joined.

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