On the run in the beautiful island
Posts tagged Ramsey Quijano
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.
You don’t think you can run?
Feb 16th
Think again.
On Feb. 9, 2009, I couldn’t run one kilometer. On Feb. 9, 2010, I ran 34.34 kilometers to celebrate my 34th birthday. I did it barely two days after running a grueling 21.7-kilometer Condura Run that passed a steep mountain called Skyway in Metro Manila.
The idea to run one kilometer for each year of my life occurred to me in the typically nostalgic days leading to my birthday. When I told John Pages, the person mainly responsible for my—and that of a thousand other Cebuanos’—addiction to running, he was very cautious. I had doubts, myself. It was too soon after a 21K race and I wouldn’t have time to recover. My wife, who is also my running partner, was just as cautious.
But there’s something about milestones that can unstopper an internal reservoir of valor and craziness. The birthday run became, for me, a blister that wouldn’t go away.
Having never run longer than 23 kilometers, I decided to split my birthday run in two legs—a 19-kilometer route to work in the morning and a 15-kilometer stretch to run home from work in the evening.
Still tired and sore from the Condura run, I was prepared for hell.
