3 on 3

3-on-3 basketball was a very popular sports event in the U.S.A and Europe.  In the mid-Nineties, Nike tapped yours truly to organize the first Nike 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a game played at half court with 3 players each forming a team.  Adidas came out with its own version dubbed Streetball Challenge  which was played inside or at parking lots of malls. 

Although running in Cebu has slowed down, there’s still a lot of runs.  I was amused seeing the schedule of races on Cebu.  For  instance, there’s 3 full marathons, 2 half marathons and one 25k run all in 3 months. 

There’s also a 160km and two 50km ultramarathons also on the same stretch.  The Cebu City Marathon was staged last Sunday amid stormy weather, the SRP Midnight Marathon will blast off on March 2 while the Kawasan Marathon fires  off in Badian on March 23.

 My Kenyan friends and some foreign coaches think this is not healthy.  Running 3 marathons in 3 months takes a lot of toll on a runner.  Elite runners run only three to four marathons a year. If a runner intends to run all these runs, then it’s wise to tap a funeral parlor as sponsor.

 Some runners who run weekly when ask if they still feel good after running so many races say, “Okay lang ko”, “I feel great”. Yes, maybe they’ll be okay for now but what about when you start to get old.  Payback time doesn’t happen overnight.

I know of some runners who abused their bodies when they were younger.  Now they’re either limping or worse, resting six feet under the ground.  One good example of progressive running  is the new Milo Marathon queen Mary Joy Tabal. 

Joy did’nt hurry things, she started with shorter distances then graduated to the full marathon pacing herself along the way.  The result was amazing, snaring the national record.

 Well just an advise friom an “old runner” who’s been running for 35 years and still pounding the roads with only minor injuries, please select only races that are well-organized and rest in between.  Pit Senyor!