The following pictures were taken at the Bald Runner’s Donate A Shoe Booth at the Finish Line (Luneta Park/Quirino Grandstand Area) of the Araw ng Maynila Half-Marathon Race on 06 July 2008:
From left side, Charlie (running & rowing mate of Mark FB); DelQ (runner from Los Angeles who had a brief vacation in Laoag City & Manila & he was scheduled to leave for LAX last night); Bald Runner; The Loony Runner; Mark FB; and IbanRunner.
We had this second take as the first pose was taken against the light/sun. Charlie and Mark FB were late for the Half-Marathon start and opted to run the 10K race. DelQ is a member of a running club in Los Angeles and he promised to donate some running shoes from his club members.
A pose with Joms of Happy Feet Runners (far left) and Patrick Concepcion aka Running Shield (on my right) ; the famous Doknoy (#305) & Don Ubaldo (#398) on my left side. Hey, I am surrounded with the fast and famous runners of Happy Feet!
As I was walking towards my parked vehicle, Sherwyn, the runner on my left, called my attention as the Bald Runner and I asked them for a pose. These runners are members of the Tutuban Running Club. They told me that my name was announced few minutes before the Half-Marathon started.
As promised in one of my comments, I distributed a Bald Runner’s sticker to each of the runner-blogger who visited/dropped by the booth. My booth had become the official meeting place of the runner-bloggers after road races in Metro Manila.
I was informed by Captain Espejo that some runners donated finisher’s t-shirts after the race. To those who donated these t-shirts, thank you very much!
Bald Runner 
BR, it would have been very easy to get back in the car and go home. However, you’re a true warrior, not only to your countrymen, but to me as well. The fact that you saw some runners and the road marshalls helped. Though the course wasn’t quite 21K, that doesn’t been that you gave your all! Congratulations on the run!
Also, great to see the photos and the faces of the names I see in the posts. I’ve exchanged posts with everyone (I believe except MarkFB). MarkFB has a lot of knowledge about our sport.
Only 125 days before landing in the Philippines!
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wayne, thanks for those nice words. photo-ops after the race had been a “habit” already & my booth is always made as the official meeting place of the runner-bloggers & friends of the Bald Runner. a brief chat about the race and plans for the next race are always the main staple of the conversations. hey, that’s 4 months to go! good luck & hope to see you soon!
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We’ll be missing this habit of ours, the end-of-the-race photo-ops at BR’s booth for the next few weeks… have a great trip to SFO! Extend our regards to Wayne 😀
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Hey BR, please contact me when you get here. I think you have my e-mail. If not, let me know. Please have a safe flight and will see you when you get here!
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Good job, BR! You are truly a model to us. I’m very delighted to have a picture with you and with fellow runners in Manila. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I was about to leave after changing my sweaty running shirt but I was lucky to spot you when I took a last peek at the chute. Sorry, I did not able to thank and say goodbye properly. Thank you for letting me know about this run and although I was not 100% prepared, I made it through. This run made me realize how spoiled we are on road races in the US. I was quite uneasy on taking water only (recipe for hyponotremia) on a hot and humid morning race. I did not bring any source of electrolytes either. The Marshalls have done great and I enjoyed to see the area along the course that I haven’t seen for over 20 years. My GF305 registered 12.05 miles, way short for a half marathon. I wish I had more time to mingle after the race. I’m now back in LA and I’m anxious to share this experience with my friends. Please contact me at your convenience when you are in LA. I’d like to ask some details about your “donate a shoe” project. Thanks and more power to you and every runner in the Philippines.
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BR,
Good luck in SF! Hope you’re able to make the best out of it, especially running with your kids. Im glad I decided to run last sunday even if it was just the 10km. Seeing you and the others reminded me of how much I love to run. I’ll consistently see you guys after August.
delq,
Nice to meet you, hope you get to help BR by getting the other fil ams know about the project. I dont think you guys are spoiled there, we just dont receive the same “love and care” here. : ) Hopefully these will change sooner or later as the sport progresses and catches on with everyone.
sfrunner,
Knowledge is free to those who seek it. : ) I just want to learn and keep on learning on what I love doing. BR has been an inspiration to this thirst for running knowledge especially when he first mentioned Lydiard. Hopefully we can all run with you when you get here.
Markfb
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loony, the “bald runner’s” booth will still be in the finish line area even if i’ll be out of the country. captain ferdie espejo will be there. you can ask from him extra stickers if you need more for your friends. so, the booth will be there as the regular meeting place of the runner-bloggers!
wayne, thanks. don’t worry, i’ll still make my posts while i am in los angeles, death valley or las vegas! hahaha!
delq, i am glad you were able to tour manila the hard way but i know you enjoyed the race just like the other runners. taking pictures after the race in my booth had become a habit to the runner-bloggers and friends of bald runner. don’t worry, i’ll have enough time in los angeles and see to it to contact you and see your running group/friends there. i hope your brief visit here was a memorable one. see you soon!
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Si Joms pala nakasama ko yan before when he ran with his coach and Ben sa Antipolo. I only recognized him here (kasi nakasulat name nya. hehehe)
For those with medical or health questions, Loony Runner is the man. He’s also probably the leanest and fastest doctor I know.
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markfb, we are glad to see you back with charlie joining again in road races. thanks for the wishes. i’ll see to it that this blog will be updated on a daily basis. somebody told me that reading this blog had become addictive. the truth is, i am the one who is now the addict, giving you information about running for you to be inspired & motivated to run some more and improve your race times. wishing you the best of luck on your dragon boat competition, too!
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Thanks BR. I’ve been informed that Dean Karnases will be running SF as well as being the guest speaker at next year’s RRCA Convention in SF (late March). 1972 and 1976 Olympian – Frank Shorter will be there as well. I’m one of the reps for the convention so I’ll share everything possible.
markFB, thanks again. I couldn’t agree more with sharing knowledge. I’m a Lydiard guy too, and because of his ideas, I’m still running today. Also, I agree with loonyrunner. A recent item about running in humidity vs dry heat confirmed my theory for years.
delq, if plans for the Tokyo Marathon fall through (lottery), I’ll plan on running the L.A. Marathon next year. Good course and great support. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
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BR, Good luck sa SF Marathon! Cant wait to see your pix and take on the SF Marathon. 😛
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Hi BR,
Have a wonderful trip, a fruitful time with your kids and a nice SF marathon run… God bless,
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wayne, thanks for the info about dean karnazes running the san francisco marathon. will be contacting you.
bards, i may not be setting a PR time in the SFO Marathon but the joy of running with my son & daughter & finishing it will be the “best time & worth remembering” in my running. thanks for the nice wishes.
junc, thanks you very much & keep on running!
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thanks mark! hey it’s great that your booth will still be there 😀 anyways, BR, that’s Doknoy (bib 305) and Don Ubaldo (bib 398), also of Happy Feet.
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bakit parang may ibang tinitignan sina jomster sa pic nila? hahaha
yup 305 is doknoy and 398 is my o3 teammate don! 🙂
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marga, there were three (3) guys who were holding 3 different cameras taking our pose. so, depending on the location of the 3 cameramen, our eyes were not focused to only one camera, if not, we were all “cross-eyed”..hahaha!
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Hi BR. This is Rowell from LA. my running buddy Del Q. sent me this site and it was amazing to see that there’s a lot of filipino runners back home. I wish I can join you guys. but hey I see that you are going to run the 2009 LA Marathon and City of Angels. I would like to meet you and introduce you also to my filipino runners here in LA. Have a good run!!!
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loony, thanks for the info on the names of the other runners from Happy Feet. the booth will always be there in every weekend road race.
rowell, thanks for the visit. delq had been a regular visitor of this site since i revived my running last year. there are lots of runners here as well as runner-bloggers and i am here to share my experiences and knowledge i got from the “running boom” of the 70s & 80s and of course, my daily activities in running now that i am retired from the service. hope to see you soon earlier as you expected. thanks again!
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