Hong Kong Marathon: What an adventure!

Helicopters swirled the skyline. Booming music blared. Photos were snapped. Camera bulbs flashed. Wives, husbands, children, friends—all tiptoed at the sidewalks to revel in the hot atmosphere of last Sunday’s cold morning.

From left: (sitting) Ted Tecson, John Pages; (standing) Dr. Peter Mancao, Jesse Taborada, Serge Amora, Dr. Vic Verallo, Meyrick Jacalan, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, Dr. Nicole Chua, Dr. Albert Santos

At 7 a.m., our Cebu team huddled at the Kowloon Hotel lobby, posed for pictures with the RP flag, wished each other good luck, then, all in unison, we sang, “HAPPY… BIRTH… DAY… TO… YOU…”

Meyrick Jacalan, who turned 37 when the clock struck midnight last Sunday, grinned from ear-to-ear as we serenaded him at the hotel parking area.

From Cebu, 14 among 49,947 runners in Hong Kong

From left: John Pages, Mendel Lopez, Leszl Gitaruelas, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, Dr. Peter Mancao

HONG KONG—After six months of waking up each Sunday at 5 a.m. for “The Long Run,” after pairs of Nike shoes worn-out and replaced, after over 1,000 kms. of mileage, dozens of Runner’s World magazines read, hours of ‘80’s music on the iPod Nano listened to while bouncing up and down, after booking this trip last December and registering to join my first-ever full Marathon, only three words are left unsaid: THIS IS IT!

At 7:45 this morning, a gun will fire and echo along Nathan Road here to signal that, yes, finally, the race has began.

Would you believe: A record 49,947 runners will trample on the cemented roads here to join the 2008 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Can you imagine that? Fifty thousand pairs of legs hopping, squeezed together, arms moving front and back, hearts pounding, and lungs huffing and puffing? In weather that’s super-cold at 12 degree Celsius?

Sports headline news here: Note the legs formed into the number “49,947”

Red-hot Valentine’s Day in Hong Kong is Cold

HONG KONG—The two words and eight letters that spell this popular region south of China can be downsized and cut to one word and four letters: C-O-L-D.

My wife Jasmin and I arrived here via Cebu Pacific from Cebu at 12:16 a.m. yesterday and, when we stepped out of the airport doors and smiled to greet the Hong Kong air—we clammed up like shells. We zipped tight our jackets, buried our hands inside the pockets, shivered.

Temperature reading? Nine degrees Celsius.

When we finally arrived at our headquarters here for four nights—the Kowloon Hotel along Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui—it was past 2 a.m. We got off the N21 Citybus 50 meters from the hotel and, while walking at that unholy hour towards the hotel’s doors, cold wind breezed and enveloped our already-cold bodies.

Davis Cup: More Photos

DAN MASTOUS, my good friend from the U.S. who arrived in Manila last week just in time to watch the Philippines versus Japan three-day event (Feb. 8 to 10) called the Davis Cup, sent me more pictures yesterday…

Eric Taino (left) with Cecil Mamiit in the doubles event last Saturday, Feb. 9

Published
Categorized as Tennis

No Horsing Around

This weekend (Feb. 15 to 17), a big event will kick-off at the Mandaue Reclamation area: the annual Horse Show and Competition now officially named “The Governor’s Cup 2008.” If you want to see cowboys or want your 12-year-old to ride on a pony, visit this weekend. To my brother-in-law Jake Mendez, the president of the organizing group (CEOBSA), good luck. And, doesn’t Governor Gwen look pretty and perfect in cowboy attire?

ML and LG: Ready…. Set…. Go…. HK!

John, Leszl and Mendel

At 11 a.m. yesterday in my office, I met two athletes. Skinny and long-legged, they can sprint after a cheetah. Ask them to visit the Cebu City Sports Center and they’ll zoom round and round, circling the track oval with nary a sweat, not losing breath.

ML is Mendel Lopez. Only 23, Mendel has amassed a pile of trophies, medals, citations and, yes, worn-out running shoes that will tower taller than the Ayala Center Christmas tree of last December.

“I won gold in the 1500 meters yesterday,” he told me a day after dominating the regional PRISAA. “Same with the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays. We won gold.”

Gold, you see, is Mendel’s favorite color. And rarely has he joined an event in Cebu and not—at the end of the finish line—hung a round metal around his neck that’s not shining gold.

RP vs. Japan in Davis Cup: We lost 0-5

NO, it wasn’t embarrassing. And the matches, especially the first two days and the doubles last Saturday, were close. We just couldn’t pull through. I spoke last night to Randy Villanueva, one of the officials from the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) who helped our Davis Cup team, and he said the matches could have gone either way. But the fact is, the final score in the Davis Cup tennis tie between the Philippines and Japan is 5-0. The winners: Japan. Here’s a story from the Phil. Daily Inquirer… The below photos are courtesy of my good friend Dan Mastous, who flew in from Boston the day before and made it in time to watch all three days. Thanks, Dan!

Published
Categorized as Tennis

Run For Your Heart

Another highly-successful event organized by Dr. Peter Mancao, one of the most prominent running doctor/enthusiasts in Cebu. Here are the details on yesterday’s “2nd Run For Your Heart” event written for The Freeman by Caecent Noot-Magsumbol.

AT THE STARTING LINE: Doctor’s Division champion Dr. Yong Larrazabal (center) with (wearing purple) Milet Chiongbian, who placed second in the Women’s Executive division

Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama (center) leading the charge with (to his right) Councilor Edgar Labella and (left most) Bernard Lanutan

From left: top runners Christy Sevilleno and Leszl Gitaruelas sharing a laugh with Robert Salahug, Dr. Peter Mancao and John Pages

Published
Categorized as Running