Bicolano Penguin: 2015

THE JOY OF SPRINTING: Topless or Otherwise

"On your mark, get set, go!"

"Good tidings we bring

To you and your kin

We wish you a Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year"

I read somewhere that "Evangelization is simply sharing something good and helpful to other people." Sharing something good. To my mind, this is essentially what we are doing in the newly-launched Balik Alindog Program (BAP) of our Ateneo de Naga High School Class of 1983. That is why we are seeing enthusiasm on the part of our fellow 83neans as they respond positively to an Open Letter posted a couple of weeks ago in this blog.

Dec 6, 2015 was an eventful day in the local running community.

Dear fellow 83neans,

Christmas cheers are upon us.

Blogger's Note: To my mind, any self-respecting Pinoy marathoner should run in the Philippine Marine Corps Marathon.

Yesterday at the Gatorade Run 2015 Manila, I was running with two roses both named Roselle and I was the lucky thorn.

Running with a running club is a great way to develop a sense of community - the joy of having accomplished something together, the spirit to want to give back to the community. This aphorism is accepted by the 48-strong members of Team Sinarapan as they set out to organize their 5th fun run for a cause in 5 years since their establishment - Takbo Mo, Edukasyon Ko 2015 - 21km Challenge.

There was an itch in my feet that needed scratching.

"It's your Bicolano Penguin's fourth anniversary. It has taken a roller coaster journey, but I know your blog will always be something to cherish. Keep writing, BP."

Looking at the elevation profile of its 42-km route leaves no doubt that participants of the Philippine Marine Corps Marathon PMCM will have hills for breakfast galore come the early morning hours of Nov 15, 2015.

A description of an ultra runner goes like this - one of those intrepid souls who positively savour the thought of running beyond and farther than the marathon distance.

The 2015 Run United Philippine Marathon is my second RUPM. It is my 11th full mary since I started running in 2010. But it never gets old for me - the feeling of giddy excitement at the starting line and the endorphin-induced euphoria at the finish line. And in between the two lines stretched for 42 kilometers and then some , there is always a motivating factor to keep my crampy and wobbly feet going.

Rare is the 42-km marathon in Camarines Sur. For the past 6 years, as of my count, there have only been 3 full marathons in our province: the 2 editions (2010 & 2011) of the Camsur International Marathon and the 2012 Penafrancia Marathon. Contrast this with running crazy provinces like Batangas, Laguna, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Davao where marathons and ultras are almost a monthly event. While these provinces experience La Nina , Cam Sur has the El Nino in marathons.

Looks good. It must be good.

A fun run organized by a parish church has always occupied a special place in our heart. It is indeed a very inspiring notion to see a community coming together for the singular purpose of hosting a fun run, which mind you, is no easy matter. There are so many variables and logistical issues to deliberately consider and painstakingly manage. Even highly-paid professional race organizers would attest to such difficulties and the organizers of parish fun run are doing this for free.

"Turn right, not left." I shouted out at my grade school classmate Gina as I tried to catch up with her in the Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City. She was trotting fast along Diokno Boulevard and about to turn left Seaside Boulevard. Going left would have her joining the 5-km run instead of the 3-km run which the two of us registered for.

"We run for many reasons. We run for our health. We run to win a finisher medal and a finisher shirt. We run to be happy. We run to prove others wrong. Rare is the time that we get to run to express our sympathy. The memorial run this April 19 in MOA is one such occasion."

"Our Bicol. Our Home. Our Run."

Blogger's Note: 46 started and 37 finished within the cut off time of 32 hours. This is the statistical story of the very first edition of the Mayon 160-km Ultra Marathon held last April 10-11, 2015. Numbers don't lie. True but most times, cold numbers maybe not enough to paint a picture of the human struggles and triumphs needed for the ordinary mortals to accomplish such an extraordinary feat. We are in luck this time for two of the finishers have agreed to answer questions about their pioneering adventure. Bob Castilla (Bib No. 1 ) and Ernie Badong (Bib No. 20) finished 6th and 20th place, respectively. They are batchmates of the Bicolano Penguin (BP) in the Ateneo de Naga High School Batch 1983 ("83neans"). Both were supported in the 160-km ultra by another batchmate Allen "Por Da Lab" Tolledo. Both are veterans of more than two dozen ultra marathons in Luzon and Mindanao. The longest that Bob has conquered is the 2013 West Coast 200-km Single Stage Ultra while Ernie's longest is the 2013 Bataan Death March 160-km Ultra. Both proudly donned the row5runnin shirt. In this interview, they gamely and separately answered the questions about the 2015 Mayon 160 from the BP as well as from fellow row5runner Kevin Moral and fellow 83nean Bitoy Lorico.

5 hours, 36 Minutes & 44 seconds.

With my hospital confinement for almost 2 weeks in March, the Bicolano Penguin has been quite reluctant to resume running. It was discombobulating for me to have a healthy blood pressure (100/70) prior to my hospitalization and have elevated levels (160/100) upon my hospital discharge. Caution was what my Commander in Chief (CIC) was telling me.

You know that climate change is a veritable reality when even on a Holy Week this year, a super typhoon (Code name "Maysak") is threatening to hit the island of Luzon. It is supposed to be the height of summer time and yet there is a gloomy consciousness about this new normal. Our Planet Earth is indeed fucked up. Pardon my french.

5 hrs & 36 mins; 6 hrs & 35 mins; and 7 hrs & 40 mins. These are my finish times in previous running(s) of a marathon on the Skyway. It has been getting slower every time. That is why I could be forgiven for mixing up the "i" with the "e" when excitedly describing my latest finish time. In today's 7 Eleven Run 1500 Marathon, the Bicolano Penguin crossed the finish line with a time of 5 hours and 50 minutes. Sub-six, baby.

Man, by nature, is visual. We easily and eagerly get attracted to bright colors and shapely form. Thus, I can be forgiven for succumbing easily to the allure of the Altra Provision 2.0. What with colorways that are beautiful to our eyes : Gray-Blue; Black-Red: and Green-Blue. All 3 colors are cool and the supplier (Singphil) shipped me the Green-Blue pair.

In the early dawn on the courtyard of a church , a priest was blessing with holy water the assembled group of more than a hundred runners, mostly women, as they await the start of an all important advocacy run in their community. Such was the sight that greeted the Bicolano Penguin and his fellow Row5Runners as we arrived in the Barrio of Castanas in the Municipality of Sariaya of the Province of Quezon as twilight started on that morning hour of March 7.

With the oath-taking of its duly-elected officers this Tuesday (Mar 2) inside the Mayor's office of the Paranaque City Hall , the Paranaque Running Circle (PRC) achieved another milestone in its journey for legitimacy and relevance. To recap the past 12 months, we have seen the following major steps made by the PRC:

Come this Saturday (Mar 7), there is a worthwhile fun run in a provincial town that is very much worth visiting. Such a fun run is the "Takbo Para Kay Juana" and such a town is Sariaya in the province of Quezon. I was informed of this race by my row5runnin friend Gudelia Marcelo who is a proud Sariayahin.

Blogger's Note:

This is the third in a series of stories of the Bull Runner Dream Marathon 2015 experience. Of the 6 First Balfour runners entered in the TBRDM this year, Alice Monfero is the one I have known for the longest time. She was a co-worker when I headed the Treasury team in FB more than a decade ago. She is pretty athletic and has excellent physical flexibility. When I first recruited officemates to join

Blogger's Note:

This is the second in a series which features the stories of 6 First Balfour runners who conquered their first marathons at the Bull Runner Dream Marathon this 2015. This is the story of RJ Santos, young at 30 years old but alredy the head of the geodetic enegineering team in FB. From the province of Bulacan and educated in UP Diliman, RJ brought with him hard-working and smart-

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