October 16, 2007 | 12:00am
The other Sunday at 5:00 a.m. several members of the Cebu Executive Runners Club took off from the Sug angan Restaurant for our weekly long run. We were also escorting new member Dr. Renald Ramiro to his first-ever 14-kilometer run. Just before the start Doc Ren asked me if he could tackle the distance. I told him actually it is also my first run over 5 kilometers as I’m just coming back from the injured list. Barely two kilometers from the start, I tripped from a manhole handle as it was still dark. If not for my experience I would have hit my head or face on the pavement. So it was bruises on my two knees and elbows. Sergs Amora advised me to take a cab and wait for the group at our hideaway. But my never-say-die spirit told me to go on. Surprisingly, I was able to finish the run through the inspiration of our club members Oscar Lopez, Jessie Taborada, Joel Juarez, Rudy Tindugan and Inday De Gracia. Actually the injury was nothing compared to my assorted souvenirs in the past like a fractured face, broken ribs, ligament tear on my knee, first degree burns on my arm and broken teeth.
But, “hindi ako nag-iisa”. Dr. Abe Manlawe fell 80 feet from a mountain climbing stint in Negros, Dr. Vic Verallo broke his jaw when he fell from his bike. John Pages had stitches on his face and likewise broke his jaw in a cycling crash in Busay. Judge Gabby Ingles damaged his Achilles tendon that required him to walk with crutches. Sergio Amora lost two front teeth and landed in the hospital when his mountain bike hit a stone and crashed. Jessie Taborada’s face was swollen (murag gikulata ni Pacquiao) when he fell to the ground while running. And just last Sunday while I was writing this column, another new member of the club Bernie Sabayan tripped and fell in a ditch (diggings) and also received the same injuries as mine. However the pain is not as much as the Rolex watch Bernie lost during the accident. The watch probably submerged in the water or got buried in the mud. Now Oscar Lopez is scared, who’s gonna be next? Of course the greatest tragedy was Rudy Fernandez losing his leg in a grenade blast in Iloilo. But did these people stop? No way, they even went for more. A runners creed “pain last only for a moment but honor last forever”
Archers and Lancers
When the University of San Carlos forced six-time champion University of the Visayas to a fifth game in the CESAFI, I got worried. Well I predicted that UV will win its seventh title. But did you know the similarities with the way La Salle won in the UAAP? Just like UV, La Salle got into the Finals the hard way. La Salle won its seventh crown just like UV who snared its seventh title. And both are men in green. When La Salle was clobbering the University of the East, I also recalled that I once studied at UE for one semester after being late for enrollment at La Salle. At that time UE was King of the UAAP and had one great player on its team, Robert Jaworski.
Daylight Robbery
My American runner friend David from the Midwest asked me if he had a good deal when he paid P 300.00 to have his pants hemmed in a F. Ramos shop. While we were talking, a robbery was happening in a downtown supermarket near City Hall, prompting me to comment “I thought the heist was being staged downtown”. But with the rate the shop charged David it was a broad daylight robbery. A few days later David queried if I know a good hotel in Bohol. I gave him recommendations then he told me that a travel agency is charging him P 9,000.00 as a car rental fee for a sight seeing tour of Bohol including the Chocolate Hills, Loboc River ride, Hinagdanan Cave and other interesting places. I made a deal with a friend who drives a van and David got the vehicle for P 3,000.00. David checked in a Panglao beach resort and really enjoyed his stay. Just a few hours after he left the next day, the Cebu robbery suspects were arrested at the same resort hotel. “Murag gisundan siya sa mga kawatan”.
