Doctors Peter Mancao and Yong Larrazabal are leaving Cebu this Thursday. Like they’ve done in Chicago and NYC and Hong Kong, they’re flying—this time, West, to land near San Francisco and join a 42K run that’s acknowledged as “The World’s Most Scenic Marathon.” True enough, when you visit the Big Sur website (www.bsim.org), your eyes will be enamored by God’s gift to mankind called nature: Giant redwoods, breathtaking cliffs, wild flowers—all overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
I don’t follow American Idol (much less, Britain’s Got Talent) and rarely, if ever, post non-sports related material on this website. But this has to be one of the most inspiring Don’t-Judge-A-Book-By-Its-Cover stories. As of 10 a.m. (RP time), Susan Boyle has generated nearly 20 million YouTube hits in less than five days! Click here.
Lewis Hamilton, the reigning Formula One world champion, does not subscribe to the creed of the Catholic charismatic group that I belong to.
I’m a member of the BCBP. Spelled in full, it’s the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals. Founded by a group of Makati businessmen in 1980 (we will be 29 years old this month), the main advocacy of the BCBP can be summed up in two elementary—yet difficult to follow—words: Be Honest.
Forty eight hours ago in this same box that you’re reading, I wrote about Anthony Regis. He’s a swimmer-turned-cyclist-turned-runner who, last September, joined the Singapore Ironman 70.3. That’s a grueling event where you swim 1.9 kms., bike 90 kms., then, when your body is downtrodden and all-wearied, you run another 21,000 meters.
In that triathlon’s first leg—the swim—Anton dove into the Singapore waters to swim freestyle beside 1,400 other triathletes. He finished the 1.9K swim in 52 minutes. Here’s his account of the next stage…
Few people can swim 1.9 kms. Few people can bike 90 kms.—roughly the distance from Cebu City to Bogo. Few people can run, unaided by car or tricycle and with nothing on the feet but socks and rubber shoes, the length of 21 kms. How about finishing not one, not two—but all three? Not one today, one sport tomorrow and another on Thursday—but one after the other? Back to back to back?
Anton Regis has accomplished that. Aged 29 and, for three years now, delightedly-living with his wife Zie (they have a four-month-old baby named Zoe Angelou), Anton works as a Software Development Engineer at the NCR Cebu Development Center at the I.T. Park. That’s his day job. His passion? On Sundays? During days off when he has free time to pedal, swim freestyle and jog?
To view all of Anton’s pictures, click here.
Anton Regis testing his bike
What a shot! Jesse smashing a picture-perfect hit
Thanks to Jesse Bernad, these two sports involving mitts, shortstops, bats, ground balls, and a playing field called a diamond—is back. A star pitcher at the UP Cebu College, Jesse opened “Fastball Batting Cages” at the Aboitiz Sports Field (at the reclamation area, beside Makro) last November to fulfill his lifelong goal of constructing a “Field of Dreams.” Since then, hundreds have trooped to swing, to throw and to score homeruns in a real softball game on a real baseball diamond.
Two days ago, Jesse sent an email. Tackling the WBC, the state of the game in Cebu and his plans for summer, here’s Mr. Bernad:
It’s all set and running! Scheduled during the nice-sounding date of 01-10-10—that’s Jan. 10, 2010—is a grand event that’s long-time coming: THE CEBU MARATHON. By “marathon,” I mean the full 42 kms. (For some, any run, even a 5K Fun Run, is, at times, called a marathon.) Why the early announcement? Because covering 42,195 meters by foot is laborious, effortful and takes time. Organized by the Cebu Executive Runners Club headed by president Jesse Taborada, this is a spectacle that runners ought to join.
Congratulations to one of my closest friends in sports: Nimrod Lebumfacil Quiñones. The Managing Editor of The Freeman, Nimrod’s heart, bloodline and brain cells are all wired to utter one word, “sports.”
Last week, NLQ celebrated his 20th year in sports-writing, a feat that nobody in Cebu can surpass—and very few, I’m sure, nationwide, can match. In our Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) Yahoo e-groups two days ago, Nimrod was deluged with congratulatory emails from his fellow writers. The reason? Almost all of us can trace our beginnings to Nimrod.
Nimrod (with camera) with Ed Hayco, Marian Baring and Goldie Lebumfacil
