Category: Marathon

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.

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.

Ten years ago last December 27, Jasmin and I exchanged vows at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral then boarded a flight 48 hours after to stay for five nights in this city labeled as one of Asia’s most enthralling.

In Hong Kong, we rode a mini-train to the top of Victoria Peak. We dined on Peking Duck, strolled along Nathan Road, boarded the Star Ferry and, by nightfall, sat mesmerized at the display of lights across the harbor. We squeezed inside the MRT, disembarked in the shopping district of Mongkok and stood dazed at the dizzying walking pace of our Chinese neighbors. We took a train to watch horse-racing at the far-flung Sha Tin Race Track and even entered the Hong Kong Convention Center and nearly saw, in person, Jackie Chan!

If you own a pair of running shoes, can lift one leg in front of the other and move from Point A to Z; if you love to sweat and know that while your heart is pumping 155 beats per 60 seconds then you’re getting healthier; and, best of all, if you want to join in a Sinulog activity this busy weekend—then I suggest you join me and hundreds of others this Saturday. The Sto. Niño procession? No, that’s on Saturday afternoon. The Sinulog Grand Parade? That’s on Sunday.

At 6 a.m. this Saturday—just two days from now—it’s a sports event that’s touted as one of Cebu’s biggest running spectacles this 2008: The Mizuno-Shell Sinulog Half-Marathon.

Organized by the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) and ASAP (Advertising Services And Promotions), the Sinulog Half-Marathon offers two options for all: a 5-K Run and the 21-K Half-Marathon. The start and finish will be at the Asiatown I.T. Park and participants are asked to be there by 5:30 a.m.

The biggest day of the biggest week of the biggest time of the year is near. On Jan. 20—next Sunday—Cebu will be swarmed with Sto. Niño devotees, foreigners, San Miguel beer, fireworks, Y101 helicopter rides, street-dancing, SM and Ayala midnight-shopping, face painting and, yes, running.

Running? Yes, no misprint there; amidst all the revelry arrives one of the biggest running events in 2008: the Mizuno-Shell Sinulog Half-Marathon. And you should join it! Why? Why join a run? Why the 21-K half-marathon? Why Cebu? And why during the Sinulog? Here’s why…

Last Sunday morning, my alarm rang at 5:20 in the morning. From our hotel room in Manila, I took a peek outside and saw that the cement roads were wet and the skies were dark and rain was about to fall. I went back to sleep. By 7 a.m., I arose back and wore my running shoes then headed for Rizal Park to run 12 kms. Just a few hours earlier, on the same spot, the 31st Milo Marathon commenced. There were several categories: 42-K, 10-K, 5-K, and 3-K. Thousands of men and women ran. Here are some photos…

Yesterday (Friday, November 9), our Sun.Star Cebu sports editor Mike Limpag penned an excellent article about the recent New York City Marathon run of doctors Yong Larrazabal (below photo, right) and Peter Mancao. Below is the article, “After New York, doctors eye Boston marathon.”

FOR MOST people, spending thousands of pesos and traveling halfway round the world evokes images of a relaxing vacation—not that of waking up early in the morning to wait in line in the cold mist for five hours just to get the chance to run 42 kilometers for four or five more hours.