I guess the
starting point of many a discussion about the first-ever Run United Philippine
Marathon is the size of its finisher medal.
It is huge. Nope. A better term is humongous, dwarfing any
medal the Pinoy running community has seen in our shores. I even dare to write
that it is perhaps the biggest finisher medal in Southeast Asia, after
comparing it with the one I got at the 2012 Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore. Indeed, the organizers of the
RUPM succeeded in making it memorable.
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| The evolution of my
marathon medals: TBR, Condura and RUPM |
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| The RUPM dwarfs the SCMS |
But the story of
the RUPM, to my mind, will not be complete if we do not talk about other things
that make it widely celebrated. Other runners may point to the red-carpet
finish line. A handful of nationalists would wax sentimental about the waving
of small Philippine flags as they cross the finish line.
In my case, I
like to highlight the joyful experience of
the spirit of Bayanihan in action during the RUPM. To
quote from Wikipedia, “Pronounced like
"buy-uh-nee-hun," bayanihan is a Filipino word derived
from the word bayan meaning
town, nation, or community in general. "Bayanihan" literally means, "being a bayan," and is thus used to
refer to a spirit of communal unity and cooperation.”
This spirit of
communal unity was seen from the
starting line to the finish line. At the
start, many runners were busy taking group pictures, showing such camaraderie
that only Pinoys can display. The
participants were all smiles and I got to say hello to familiar friendly
runners like the Running Diva, Monkey Saladeer and a big group of Fairview
Running Club members. In the course of
the long run of 42 kms, I see many
running buddies helping each other achieve their running dreams. Also, strangers helping strangers. At the 26-km mark which is after the EDSA
flyover in Roxas Boulevard, a pair of ladies of a running club were handing out
the all-important salt to weary runners. Two kilometres before the finish line, members
of Team Snail Runners were on the road offering snacks.
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| 83neans with
Benedict Balaba |
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| With Fard’s navy recruits for running |
I, too, was a
beneficiary of this spirit of cooperation from a stranger. From the
24-km mark to the 28-km mark, I was running alone as my fellow
83nean, Ed Balcueva, signalled me to
move ahead as he was slowing down. I was
without a running buddy at that point and I was experiencing difficulty in
maintaining the pace that would hopefully power me to a sub-6 marathon (a very
rare milestone for me). So I had to
look at the runners nearby, checking out who I can tag along. Then I observe this lady runner ahead who was
doing run-walk breaks. I quickened my
pace to catch up with her and when I did, I asked her if she was doing the
Galloway and asked too if I could join
her. She answered both in the
affirmative. I got to know her name,
Myla Go of Team Boring.
From the 28-km
mark to the finish line, I ran with her and thanks to our cooperation, got to
finish with a time of 5 hours & 55 minutes. My second sub-6 marathon in 7 attempts. Maraming salamat Myla sa tulong.
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| Myla Go of Team
Boring |
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| Waving the flag (photo
courtesy of Ernie) |
So the spirit of
bayanihan lives on in running events like the RUPM.
Mabuhay ang
Unilab. Mabuhay tayong mga Pinoy runners.
P.S.
I was not the only 83nean who was very happy with the
RUPM finish time. Ernie Badong posted a
PR of 4 hours & 32 minutes. All the other 83neans who joined the marathon
finished: Bobby Castilla ( 4 hrs &
11 mins ), Ruben Fajardo (5 hrs & 35 mins), Noel Guevara (6 hrs & 15
mins) and Ed (6 hrs & 30 mins).
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| First to change was Bob |
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| Congrats on a PR
Ernie |
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| Malaki at matigas nga Fards |
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| Practice or not, the show must go on Ghibz |
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| So
many goodies Ed |
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| 83neans with Art Puncia of Unilab |
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