History beckons

When Frontrunner Magazine editor Jonel Mendoza, a hardcore ultra marathoner, asked me to direct the first-ever Cebu Ultramarathon, I initially declined. But after some soul-searching and amid threats of Jonel cutting off my leg, I finally agreed. On second thought, this will be history in the making and I want to be part of it. Well although I've done a couple of firsts like organizing the Midnight Run, Trail Run and the Masters Track and Field Championship, I still want to reach out for more. So on November 27, 2010 100 souls will have a date with history, running 50 kilometers from Mt. Manunggal in Balamban to the Cebu Provincial Capitol in 8 hours. Jonel gave me 40 slots while the 60 will come from Manila and the rest of the country. As I write this column, all 40 slots allotted to Cebuanos are filled up. Some of the prominent names seeing action are Bataan Death March Ultra Marathon finishers Haide Acuña and Bro. Carlo Bacalla, Dr. Abe Manlawe, adviser of the Cebu Mountaineering Club and the oldest at 65, Great Wall of China marathon finisher Dr. John Clifford Aranas and Arnold Palma of the NBI.

CERC Joins Ultra

Besides Manlawe who is also Cebu Executive Runners Club founding member, several members are already registered. These are veteran marathoners. Dodong Sulatre, Jun Remo, Joven Villamor, Steve Ferraren, Joel Juarez, Jon Consunji, Dr. Alex Junia, Raffy Osumo, Oscar Villaflor and Cynthia Arnaiz. Another member Harthy Satina called from London that he will be arriving for the event. Also entered are Abby Ponce, Charlie Berberio, Jeppy Lumongsod and Ungo leader Max Limpag.

Support

At this early stage of preparation, I'm overwhelmed with the flow of support. Mountain marathon champion Francis Cosgrave of Ireland, bike book author and Rudy Project dis-tributor Jens Funk and the Cebu City Sports Commission's Brando Enriquez, all promised to give me their experience in mountaineering and mountain marathon. Dr. Manlawe said Jun Vidal, a mountain rescuer who was at the Cebu Pacific crash site in Cagayan de Oro years back and the recent bus tragedy at Trans Central Highway will make the route map. Wow! with all these guys, the best in the field giving me all the support, this early I'm confident we will make history. Oh yes, I'm also soliciting the support of Governor Gwen Garcia, Balamban mayor Ace Binghay and Tsuneishi (through Basti Lacson of Aboitiz) and the different barangays along the route.

Architects On The Run

With almost everybody on the run, architects are no exception. They are even having a race. The United Architect of the Philippines (UAP) Cebu Chapter will stage "the Get-Up and Go Green: Embrace the Green Side" run on October 24 at the Terraces in the Cebu Business Park. Coming from the heels of the successful Aboitiz Race 2 Reduce Challenge which is a stick-ler for the conservation of the environment, the UAP run is also advocating a clean sustainable society. UAP president Jay-R Decatoria said the race will be something different from the usual distances. The categories will be 12K, 6K and 4K. Registration starts next week at the Runnr in Ayala Center, Adidas at SM City, Casa Ilongga at Robinsons Place and PSC Office at the Cebu City Sports Center.