Herrera switching to marathon

LONDON – It didn’t matter that Philippine Navy seaman 2nd class Rene Herrera of Guimaras finished last in the first of two heats of the 5,000-meter run for men at the Olympic Stadium here Wednesday morning. The important thing was Herrera went the full 12 1/2 lap distance even if the lead pack of about 10 runners crossed the end-line over 400 meters ahead.

Herrera, 33, was overwhelmed by the feeling of competing with 20 others in the heat before 80,000 fans on the oval and confessed that he was teary-eyed on the starting block. “You just can’t imagine the feeling,” said Herrera in Pilipino. “This was my first Olympics. I don’t know if I’ll ever participate in another Olympics. When we were called for the starting formation, I had tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe I was on the same track as the world’s best runners.”

Herrera said he was awed by the presence of his idol Mo Farah who took the gold in the 10,000-meter run for Great Britain here last Saturday. Farah placed third in the heat with a time of 13:26. Herrera clocked a personal best of 14:44.11, eclipsing his record of 14:51.40 which he set at the Philippine National Games in Bacolod last year. No runner in the heat had a slower mark than Herrera whose best clocking this season was 15:01.73. The crowd cheered when Herrera finally crossed the finish line over a minute after first placer Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan. Touched by the 5-3 Filipino’s refusal to quit, Farah walked up to Herrera who raised his left arm to acknowledge the tribute. Farah took Herrera’s right hand as they both waved to the crowd. It was an unforgettable moment in Herrera’s track career that has glistened with five Southeast Asian Games gold medals in his favorite 3,000-meter steeplechase event.

Herrera stayed close to the lead pack only in the first 2 1/2 laps then slowly faded away. With seven laps to go, he was behind by 100 meters from the pacesetters. Then the distance extended to 200 meters after nine rounds on the 400-meter oval. The lead pack caught up with Herrera on the back end with about 300 meters left at the 12:52 mark.

“I never thought of quitting,” said Herrera. “I was determined to finish because it’s a matter of pride. My thighs started to tighten up with about five laps to go. I didn’t think about how fast the others were running. I paced myself. I wanted to go over my personal best. I stayed with the lead group at the start but they ran so fast. I couldn’t keep up. But I wasn’t embarrassed even if I crossed the finish line all alone. I did it for our country.”

Herrera said he had no illusions of bagging an Olympic medal although his goal was to survive the heat and make it to the finals. “I was focused on making a good run and that’s what I did,” said Herrera. “I was very excited out there. I wanted to show I could finish and improve on my time.”

Herrera was only the second Filipino to compete in the 5,000-meter event in the Olympics. The first was Ben Silva-Netto who clocked 17:10.2 at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Silva-Netto is now the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association secretary-general and accompanied Herrera here.

Herrera said if given the chance to participate in the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he’ll try to qualify for the marathon. “I know I can be competitive in the marathon,” he said. “I’m used to that distance.” Silva-Netto also ran the marathon in 1968. Other Filipino Olympic marathoners were Victor Idava (1976), Leonardo Illut (1984), Herman Suizo (1992), Roy Vence (1996) and Eduardo Buenavista (2004). In 2000, Buenavista competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase then four years later, moved to marathon.

Herrera’s gutsy performance drew interest from writer John Meyer of the Denver Post. Meyer waited for Herrera in the press interview zone after the race and asked about his background. “This guy didn’t quit,” said Meyer. “The crowd cheered for him as loudly as they did for the first placer.” Meyer was surprised when Herrera disclosed that he made it to the Olympics as a wildcard invitee. The writer didn’t know what a wildcard invitation is because the US never needs it to send athletes to the Olympics.

The oldest in the Philippine delegation of 11 athletes, Herrera said he wanted to set an example as the senior statesman in representing the country proudly despite the odds, obstacles and outcome. “I’ve been with the national pool since 2003 and I’ve always given my best – that’s the least we can do for our country,” he said.

Herrera, who finished a three-year associate’s course in marine engineering at Western Institute of Technology in Iloilo, will fly home after the closing ceremony. He can’t wait to be reunited with his wife Cheryl and their 4-year-old son Kenryzen in their Baguio City apartment. Herrera told Meyer that the first syllable of his son’s name is Ken because he admires the Kenyan long-distance runners.