Carl's 104K

104 kilometers. At the highway speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour, a vehicle will cover the distance in around an hour and 20 minutes. At 60 kph, that’s around 1 hour and 45 minutes. It’s a distance travelled by regular commuters between Bogo and Cebu. Going north, there are the familiar sights of buses, cars, trucks and big bikes. Some go an extra mile when they proceed to San Remigio (Hagnaya) and proceed to Bantayan Island. Others proceed to either Medellin, Daanbantayan or all the way to Malapascua. As a resident on the northern side of the island, we’re proud with what we have although I have to admit that our roads aren’t that great and vehicles aren’t exactly experts of road etiquette.

But as a proud resident from the north, I can say with pride that our roads were ran on by a bunch of road warriors who ran, walked, hopped and drag themselves for 104 kilometers from Bogo to the Plaza Independencia. They’re called ultra marathoners, not just marathoners. They literally go the extra mile (and more) when they go beyond the standard distance of 42 kilometers for a marathon. Just when people are just breaking in to cover 10K and 21K runs in a race or a fun run, we also have runners going over 42 kilometers. But why do they do this? Why do they spend over half a day on the road running from Bogo to Cebu?

Curious about it, I checked out the effort of a good friend named Carl Veloso who finished the run in 15th place (out of 117 finishers) with a time of four hours and 19 minutes. He, along with the other ultra marathoners, were flagged off late in the evening in Bogo, and reached the finish line at around 2pm of the following day. Following a route from Bogo that passed through Borbon before hitting the highway, Carl and his ultra brothers and sisters went through darkness with the use of a miner’s lamp for the evening and dawn part of the run. It must have been some sort of a nightmare of a run on a road without street lights in practically empty areas. I’m pretty sure those miner’s lights were like candles lit for a procession. The welcome light “aids” had to be the headlights of the vehicles of officials and support crews. The next crucial part of the run was at sunrise. From the mental side of things, runners expect the heat to step up with the sun making its presence known. At this point, they probably hoped that this was to be an all-evening type of a run. The morning also reminded them that it was like a 42 kilometer run from then on, a real marathon. They just happened to forget to sleep and decided to walk overnight to the starting place for the 42 km portion. From the cool night, the sun was to become the hell of the run for the rest of the day. This was felt most on the areas of the Cebu North Road that didn’t have trees or buildings that could provide shade. You can bet that their feet were already sore from hitting the pavement all night and all day long.

When you look at guys like Carl, you can’t help but admire them. From the thousands of people who are into running, not too many go out to run ultra marathons. This race had 163 runners registered. And they all had common traits that would stand out for us to follow. For starters, they all had that determined will to get the job done. They were focused, committed and gung ho. Having set this as a target since they started running, they prepared a game plan with the goal of finishing the race. Along with this came tons of sacrifices that had to be made. Regular practice was a must and this included giving up late nights of partying or going out. It also meant waking up early every morning for a practice run.

Hard work and diligence are also a given for them. Carl not only works hard at his chores as a father and provider for the family. He also works hard on his dreams like ultra marathons. Perseverance is another natural trait that also comes out. Perseverance at practice plus perseverance at the actual run is so crucial in overcoming all adversities thrown at them. Carl’s goal was to finish the run to prove that when one sets his sights on something, he can achieve it. And so far, I’m not surprised why he was able to finish the run. He was simply applying to the run the traits that he also practiced when with his family and at work. After all, he is a successful businessman. Another crucial element was the presence of a team. Carl’s wife Liza was his #1 cheerleader and support crew member. With her were Bas and Leah Silawan who are also runners themselves. Bas and Leah decided to make their weekend a sleepless one to help the dream of a friend. Where else can you find friends like them?

Take a bow Carl and all you ultra marathoners. You’re an elite group of athletes who set the bar for heroism in sports. How I wish we had thousands more of you around.

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Time-out: Check out the Christmas Fair at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu today! >>> You can reach me at [email protected].