Hong Kong Marathon

Some 14 members of the Cebu Executive Runners Club will be running in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon set February 12, 2006 in Hong Kong. Those who will tackle the full marathon are current club president Roel Militar, Dodong Sulatre, Joel Juarez, Dr. Vic Verallo, Rening Ylaya, Steve Ferraren, Oscar Lopez, Sergio Amora and Dr. Felix Barera. Running in the 21K half marathon are Ombudsman Ed Canton and yours truly while joining the 10K run are Judge Gabby Ingles, Dr. Philine Barera and probably the Del Prado brothers, Dr. Alfonso and Tony. Al and Tony have ran with me and one-legged runner Rudy Fernandez in the 2003 edition of the marathon and also last year in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. Roel, Dodong and Joel are fresh from the MILO Marathon Manila elimination where they ran in the full 42K distance. Joel, marketing manager of Stanford Laboratory clocked 3:34 to qualify in the finals come October. The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon attracts close to 20,000 runners including some of the best marathoners in the world. We are still expecting more members to join us. Those from other clubs who are interested to join us in Hong Kong may contact me.

Lara Jane disappointed

After getting a lot of praises in Cebu for her spectacular record in her New Jersey school, Fil-Am 100m hurdler Lara Jane Que was a picture of disappointment after her time trial Saturday at the Cebu City Sports Center. Lara clocked a slow 15:6, a far cry from her mark of 14:6 registered last May in Ridgewood High School, NJ where she studies. Her interim coach Precing Capangpangan said 3 weeks of training is not enough to even get close to her current record. Precing and I compared notes on the factors that govern performance. Training is different from actual competition where one is pushed to the limits because of intensity. For instance, my protégé Roy Vence, 6-time MILO Marathon champion performs better when pressured in a race. There's also such thing we call "biorhythm" meaning you will feel "ug kondisyon ka" during race day. In basketball lingo we call it "off-night" even if you're a scoring champion there will come a night when your shots just won't go in. Precing also said Lara is 8 lbs heavier compared to when she clocked that 14:6 record while the weather here is quite different. It was hot and humid when Lara had her time trial. However, Lara Jane is unfazed, she is still going for the US National qualifying time of 14:5 when she returns to New Jersey next week. By Philippine standards her mark is good enough to qualify for the national team. "Sayonara" Lara, good luck, may God push you some more in your next jump. Are we looking at below 14? Well, dreaming is not a crime and sometimes dreams come true.

Bowen Montecillo

Former ALA runner Bowen Montecillo won last Sunday's MILO Marathon Central Luzon qualifying run held in Tarlac City. Bowen who's now with the Philippine Army clocked 1:11:29 to claim his first crown outside Cebu. My former teammate Old Warrior Ray Antoque in the defunct Nike Running Club, 12-time champion in the PAL Manila Marathon didn't run, as he was part of the local organizing committee. Rey has won the MILO Tarlac leg, a record 10 times. Meanwhile, Cebu is bracing for the MILO leg here where over 18,000 runners are expected thus breaking last year's 17,800.

New Jersey Pinoy Runners

In my last column, I wrote about former running champ Dino Cardines, now based in New Jersey. Dino who has been in the US for the last 9 years, told me about the other Pinoy runners in New Jersey. Dino who works as a shop custodian in a Catholic School earns over $ 100 daily. Dino said Teddy Danoy, a former sprint jr. record holder is now teaching golf for beginners in a New Jersey golf club. Danoy worked as a caddy when he first came to the States and is the best golfer among the Filipinos in their community. Another national record holder Weng Monton works as an elementary school teacher while former running great Primo Ramos works in a construction firm. Dino said they would all be waiting for me when I run the New York City Marathon hopefully next year. Nice to know you're all doing fine guys.