PNP's Dandelion Bumahit conquers Corregidor half marathon

MANILA, Philippines - At 8:48 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 19, Dandelion Bumahit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) rounded a bend in the Topside Barracks of Corregidor Island. To his left were the ruins of the Mile-long Barracks, to his right were remains of artillery and the end of the rail line used during World War II. Twenty meters farther, Bumahit would pass one of the island’s most poignant memorials to World War II — statues of two soldiers helping one another — and farther down, the Eternal Flame.

His face, glistening with sweat in the cool December morning, was set with determination but no part of his running form or pace showed any sign of fatigue. Bumahit looked like he was simply doing his morning run.

Four minutes later, at 8:52, two more runners would round the bend, running coach and race organizer Rio dela Cruz, and his coach Allan Ballester. It would only be 20 minutes later, at 9:18 a.m., that the lead woman runner, Michelle Estuar, would reach the barracks ruins.

This was the 14th kilometer in the tough and scenic 21-kilometer Corregidor International Half Marathon (CIHM), participated by more than 340 runners of more than 10 nationalities.

Corregidor Half Marathon race director Edward Tito Kho, top winners, declared King and Queen of the Rock, Dandelion Bumahit and Michelle Estuar, and race organizer Raymund Martelino.

The three men would keep their ranking at the 14th kilometer all the way to the fi nish line, winning as the top three runners in CIHM. Bumahit fi nished in 1:19:01, Dela Cruz in 1:23:26, and Ballester in 1:23:28. The top three winners in the women’s division were Michelle Estuar at 1:47:19, Reylynne dela Paz at 1:54:07, and Ma. Encarnacion Cancio at 2:19:22.

Dela Cruz, the running community’s biggest celebrity and known for his Afro and his well-organized races, knelt at the hydration table after crossing the fi nish line facing the sea and said, “Ang hirap!” Then he downed 12 cups of water.

It was the last three kilometers in the 21-km. course that runners had the toughest time. Dela Cruz, who has run races abroad including Boston Marathon this year, told his coach at the 18th kilometer that he could no longer feel his legs.

For Bumahit, Corregidor is nothing new. He ran last year’s Conquer the Rock, a 10-mile race on Corregidor, and won fi rst place. But this time, the competition was stiff and the route tougher.

The course tested runners on all sorts of surface — forest cover, winding concrete roads, and trail. It also took them through the war memorials and, literally, it was quite a run through history.

For entrepreneur Illac Diaz, it was the start of the race that was most memorable. Runners went into the Malinta Tunnel, whose lights were switched on but nevertheless it was very dark inside, and then came out on the other side to bright daylight. Malinta Tunnel was where Filipino and American soldiers hid during the bombing of Corregidor.

Corregidor International Half Marathon (CIHM) second place winner Rio dela Cruz and third place winner Allan Ballester at the scenic ruins of the Mile-Long Barracks in Corregidor.

Finishers were awarded medallions while runners who didn’t make the cutoff time at the 10th kilometer were given 10k medals. Top 10 fi nishers in

both men’s and women’s categories were given prizes. Top three fi nishers were given medals, cash prizes and gift certifi cates.

Race director Edward Kho, who designed the route with 40 percent of it being trail and with an elevation as high as 40 percent, said the aim of the

race was to provide a destination race as tough as Boston Marathon in the US. Having run several marathons abroad –– including Rome, The Hague, and Toronto –– Kho said Corregidor International Half-Marathon “is aimed to become one of the premier and much-awaited races in the country.”

A bonfi re and carbo-loading party greeted runners on Saturday, the night before the race, while a concert was held on the night after the race on Sunday. The race was co-sponsored by Sun Cruises and Corregidor Foundation.