I copied the following post from one of the runner’s blogs. I hope everybody will enjoy reading or maybe, following these commandments.
The 40 Runner’s Commandments by Joe Kelly
1. Don’t be a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner, not even other whiners.
2. Walking out the door is often the toughest part of a run.
3. Don’t make running your life. Make it part of your life.
4. Keep promises, especially ones made to yourself.
5. The faster you are the less you should talk about your times.
6. Keep a quarter in your pocket. One day you’ll need to call for a ride.
7. Don’t compare yourself to other runners.
8. All runners are equal, some are just faster than others.
9. Keep in mind that the later in the day it gets, the more likely it is that you won’t run.
10. For a change of pace, get driven out and then run back.
11. If it was easy, everybody would be a runner.
12. When standing in starting lines, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be there.
13. Getting out of shape is much easier than getting into shape.
14. A bad day of running still beats a good day at work.
15. Don’t talk about your running injuries. People don’t want to hear about your sore knee or black toe.
16. Don’t always run alone.
17. Don’t always run with people.
18. Approach running as if the quality of your life depended on it.
19. No matter how slow, your run is still faster than someone sitting on a couch.
20. Keep in mind that the harder you run during training, the luckier you’ll get during racing.
21. Races aren’t just for those who can run fast.
22. There are no shortcuts to running excellence.
23. The best runs sometimes come on days when you didn’t feel like running.
24. There is nothing boring about running. There are, however, boring people who run.
25. Distance running is like cod liver oil. At first it makes you feel awful, then it makes you feel better.
26. Never throw away the instructions to your running watch.
27. Don’t try to outrun dogs.
28. Don’t wait for perfect weather. If you do, you won’t run very often.
29. When tempted to stop being a runner, make a list of the reasons you started.
30. Without goals, training has no purpose.
31. Go for broke, but be prepared to be broken.
32. Spend more time running on the roads than sitting on the couch.
33. Make progress in your training, but progress at your own rate.
34. “Winning” means different things to different people.
35. Unless you make your living as a runner, don’t take running too seriously.
36. Never tell a runner that he or she doesn’t look good in tights.
37. Never confuse the Ben-Gay tube with the toothpaste tube.
38. Preventing running injuries is easier than curing them.
39. Running is simple. Don’t make it complicated.
40. Running is always enjoyable. Sometimes, though, the joy doesn’t come until the end of the run.
ROTARun 21K @ McKinley Hill/ 5:30 AM 20 September 2009
Last Friday, I found out that the Berlin Marathon will be staged on the day that ROTARun will be held. What is significant about the Berlin Marathon is that this is where Haile Gebrselaisse broke the world’s record finish time in a Marathon Race in 2:03:59 hours last year. It is expected that he is going to improve his record in this race. This is also the first Marathon Race for the World’s Marathon Majors (Berlin, London, Chicago, New York, & Boston) for the year 2009-2010.
For my apparel for this race, I prepared my Red Adidas Running Shorts and my first time to use an Adidas Running Shoes since I started running and combined/matched it with the nice dark-blue ROTARun singlet that goes with the cheap registration fee of P 200.00. I was thinking that I could run well in this race after doing much of my tempo runs at the ULTRA Oval Track and hill training runs in Antipolo for the past days since the Eco Dash 21K Run. I was doing “double” runs (morning & evening runs) in preparation for this race to build-up more endurance and strength to my legs in anticipation to the dreaded uphill climbs at McKinley Hill.
My First Adidas Running Shoes (Ozweego)
One of the Few Singlets I Used in a Road Race
In my meetings prior to the race with my Elite Team Bald Runner, I’ve always emphasized to them to study the route of the race and position our support staff on areas where assistance would be needed by the runners. The race strategy was to attack the hills and run faster on the downhill and plain areas. However, I was already apprehensive on the distance of the said route. I was thinking that the distance might not reach the desired 21K. The other thing that bothered on my mind was the expected traffic of runners for the lesser-distance events, which I call “side-events”, along the route as the 21K runners would run along the Lawton Avenue. I was thinking that Lawton Avenue will be filled again with the 10K & 15K runners as the 21K runners will be running towars the last 1-2 kilometers to the finish line. The last thing that bothered me was the length of the water stations to be fielded along the route.
I was not supposed to be bothered with the exact distance of the race, the length of water stations, and the traffic of runners along the route but being a runner, race organizer and director, I could see that there was something wrong as weeks before the conduct of the said race, the original race/event organizer withdrew (?) from the said event and the takbo.ph people led by Jinoe aka Manokan Express came to the rescue with Ian Alacar, a runner-friend, as the Race Director. With Ian Alacar at the helm of the event and the technical support of the PATAFA people, I was confident that this race will be a success. More updates about the race were posted at takbo.ph in order to guide the runners about parking areas and the final schedule of races and warning for runners to arrive in the assembly area earlier before the race starts.
My team and I arrived at the McKinley Hill area at 4:50 AM but there was a long line of vehicles entering the multi-level parking building as most of the free parking slots had been taken by other vehicles and the other streets were restricted for parking by other vehicles. It appeared that all the vehicles were forced and led to the said building to pay a parking fee! I directed my staff not to proceed to the parking area and instead look for a space for temporary parking near the assembly area and later transfer to the Bayani Road area once the 21K runners had left the Starting Area.
I had to immediately leave my staff after my race bib was pinned on my race singlet and proceeded to the starting area. After a brief warm-up jog and stretching exercises, I immediately positioned myself behind my elite team runners as the Program before the race started was going on. I noticed that I forgot my Oakley glasses in the car but I was glad I was able to instruct my staff/photographer to have it given to me at the Bayani Road. As I was shaking my legs and my arms to prepare for the start of the race, the starting gun went off and I went with the flow of the lead pack, trying to maintain a slower pace before slowly increasing it up to my race pace.
I was smiling while I was running my first kilometer because most of the runners were sprinting and passing on my sides. At the uphill portion going to the British Embassy, these “sprinters” started to slow down and I was still smiling as I passed them one by one. My mind was fixed on “attacking the hills” and trying to get faster on the downhill and plain areas. Most of the runners tried to keep up with my pace on the uphill portion from the McDonalds up to Lawton Avenue but I left them for good and slowly made my pace faster. I was prepared to run an average pace of 4:45 up to 4:55 mins per km, a slightly faster pace than the Eco Dash 21K pace of 5:00 mins per km, for this race as I knew this course as a fast one due to my familiarity of the route.
At Bayani Road With My "Pacers"
While I was running along the Lawton Avenue as I proceeded towards Gate 3 (Philippine Marines Area), all I knew was that I was running with a registered runner in the person of Major Eddie Radaza of the Philippine Army who is also a fast & competitive runner but in the end, he was my Pacer during the run. Aside from a constant sound of coughing on my back from another runner, I thought I was with only two runners—Major Radaza on my side and the “coughing” runner on my back! However, after I saw the pictures of me taken during the run, I was surprised to see that I was surrounded with 4-5 runners with no other runner/s trailing on our backs! I said, this is the same scenario that I saw last Sunday afternoon when I saw the LIVE Internet Telecast of the 2009 Berlin Marathon with Haile being surrounded with his Pacers from Km 1 to Km 30+, I felt like I was really “The Haile” being surrounded by Pacers and trying to break my PR for the 21K race! However, in the end, it turned out the other way around…I was their Pacer!
On My Way Back at Bayani Road With My "Pacers"
As I checked my GF 305 regularly, I would reached an average pace of 4:35 mpk and my slowest would be 5:12 mpk. Along Lawton Avenue, I maintained a pace of 4:38 mpk to 4:45 mpk and I was confident that I could improve my time for the 21K run. Running along Bayani Road and inside the Heritage Park was uneventful as I tried to increase my pace and give cheers to other runner-friends whom I met along the course. I really did not mind if I did not see any kilometer markings along the route as I was focused on maintaining my average pace.
As I was about to reach the crossing of Bayani Road and the new Gate 3 of Ft Bonifacio at the vicinity of St Michael’s Chapel, I glanced at my GF 305 and it registered a time of 1: 14+ minutes and I was surprised to see also that the distance I’ve covered was only 15+ kilometers. At this point, I knew already that the distance was short by so many kilometers and not meters! I really don’t know but I slowed down at this point even if I was already on the level/plain portion of Bayani Road going back to Lawton Avenue. My GF 305 registered my slowest average pace at 5:15 mpk at this point! But with the presence of my Pacers, I tried to increase the pace until we reached Lawton Avenue. As predicted, I had to weave around the slower 10K & 15K runners who filled almost the reserve lane for the runners as I ran along Lawton Avenue towards to the Finish Line. From here, everything was “cruise control” until we reached the entry to McKinley Hill where I dashed downhill and then towards the Finish Line.
My last 2 kilometers of the race was like Haile running his last 5 kilometers in the Berlin Marathon when he was running alone without his Pacers and his feeling that he could not break his world record after he realized that he was running too fast up to Km 30 where he broke the record by 11 seconds. Haile won the 2009 Berlin Marathon in 2:06:08 hours and his fourth straight win in a row. He won 50,000 Euros being the Champion and another 30,000 Euros for the time bonus for breaking the 30K World Record Time. I did not win any prize for the ROTARun but I felt I was “Haile” wearing his brand-sponsor Adidas (shorts & running shoes); aided by Pacers; and was trying to break my record PR for the 21K race…but…
My GF 305 registered a finish time of 1:27:58 hours with a distance of 17.85 kilometers. An average pace of 4:55 mpk, faster than my average pace of 5:00 mpk in the Eco Dash 21K, could have produced a better finish time for me for the distance. The course was short by 3K+ and I consider this as a “Mortal Sin” in road racing. I knew I could improve my average pace down to 4:45 mpk if only the race distance was accurate and I was sure of this because I was still strong after I reached the Finish Line! My speed & tempo runs as my preparations for this race were put to waste as I really prepared for this race.
Well, aside from the short distance of the race as compared to what had been published, I have the following observations:
1) The Water Aid Station tables were still short in length—I was amazed with how long was the length of each of the Water Station seen during the Berlin Marathon last Sunday afternoon.
2) Long Period of Time to Award The Winners—I think it does not take so much time to get the results of the Top 10 runners in each Distance Race. I had to wait until the members of the Elite Team Bald Runner had been awarded and it took us up to almost 10:00 AM to leave the place. This is one of the reasons why I hate “side events” in a Road Race. If a race calls for a Marathon Race (42K), then don’t add a Half-Marathon, 15K, 10K, 5K or 3K in the same Race Event with the same route. Due to traffic of runners and the use of more water consumption, the awarding of winners will be longer also! Personally, I don’t mind if this is the decision of the Sponsors or the Race Event Manager and Race Organizer but as for me, this is a sign of “maximizing” the number of runners which is being translated to being “greedy” for more proceeds from the race and from the running community.
3) Nice Singlet & Cheap Registration Fees—I like the singlet that goes with the cheap registration fee of P 200.00. This is one of the few road races that I chose to wear the singlet that goes free with the registration fee. Surprisingly, the singlet did not give me any “chafing” problems on my upper arms, armpits, and nipples. I know the Race Organizer had to seek for Sponsors and Friends to finance the other needs for the race. As per experience as Race Organizer, the registration fee was enough to pay for the singlet and race bib and other minimal incidental expenses. The payment for the PR group, technical support (timer/clock & operators), marshals, support staff, permits, and medical support were not covered from the registration fees paid by the runners. I believe that the payment of such services had been shouldered by the members of the Rotary and their Sponsor-friends. What is important here was that the Race Organizers tried their best to pursue this event despite their limited time of “fine-tuning” the basics in road racing.
4) Rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse—Would you believe that for a small and limited races like the BDM 102 and the 1st MASTERS 15K Run, I have to subject myself to actually measure the route of the race by conducting “test runs” and rehearsals with my staff on the conduct of the race, weeks and days before D-Day? Personal meetings/conferences, exchange of e-mails & SMS, and telephone calls are not enough to produce a perfect race. You need to bring all the people involved in a “walk-through” along the course and rehearsing what they are supposed to do during D-Day. It is easy to say and answer, “Yes” or “I’ll/We’ll Do It” or “I’ll inform him” or “I’ll Take Care Of It” or other words of assurance but what is important is to see how your staff and volunteers do their jobs during rehearsals. Proper rehearsals and repetitive actions of what to do will make an event to “near” Perfection.
5) Awards, Prizes, and “Freebies”—My Elite Team appreciates the prompt awarding of Awards and Cash Prizes during the Awarding Ceremony. At least, the winners were not made to wait for another day or report to the office of the Sponsors to claim their Prizes. I really appreciate the Finisher’s Medal given to all the 21K finishers.
6) Thieves, Again?—I have read a post of one of the runner-bloggers about incidents of theft on vehicles parked as the race was going-on. It really pisses me off to hear such incidents in road races. Despite the presence of security guards and policemen in paid-parking areas, there are still cases of thefts being reported. With this incident, I think the deployment of more security personnel to guard our parked cars will not completely solve this problem because we know and have proven that the thieves are also runners like us! So, let’s go back again why I hate “side-events” in road racing. These thieves pose as runners in the lesser distance events like 3K or 5K and after they finished their event/s they proceed to the parking areas as legit runners and then “target” the cars of the runners still running on the road. So, it is up for the Race Organizer to weigh the consequences of his race— more “side-events” with more “profit” but with bad reputation or no “side-events” with “break-even” or less profit but with good reputation.
7) Contingency Plan—Just like us as runners who have race strategy and contingency plans to survive up to the finish line and meet our objective for the road race, the Race Organizer/Race Director must have also a contingency plan in order to adjust to any problem or eventuality that arises on race day. Ian Alacar and Doc Lyndon of takbo.ph approached me during the time when the Awards were given to the Winners and they explained to me what went wrong few hours before the race started. They found out that the Heritage Park authorities did not allow them to use some of the roads which were intended for the race course, thereby resulting in the lack of distance of more than 3 kilometers. I did not understand the reason why the Heritage people would not allow the race to extend further to their farthest roads since in the past road races held inside the Park, runners would be allowed to run in these areas. The contingency plan should had been to extend the road race up to NAIA 3 Airport/ Camp Villamor even if the runners would fight it out with the traffic of vehicles outside the Camp. I think the road from Lawton Avenue to NAIA 3 Airport does not need any permit for the Race Organizer to extend the race along this road. Or maybe, let the runners run two loops along Bayani Road before proceeding to the Finish Line.
Lastly, I still salute and commend Jinoe; Doc Lyndon & takpo.ph members and Ian Alacar for having the courage to accept the responsibility of conducting this race despite their limited time to adjust to some problems & concerns on the conduct of the race after the original Race Organizer left the said Project. I suggest that in your next project(s), feel free to send SMS, call, e-mail or invite me in your planning/”brainstorming” sessions and “test runs”/rehearsals so that I can input some of my suggestions. Don’t worry, my services is FREE!
To The Race Organizers, Good luck and Best Wishes on your future races!
P.S. Don’t forget to get your license and register your group with the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) as Race/Event Organizer.
Do you still remember Duncan, the 12-year old kid/runner who won in the BOTAK’s Paa-bilisan 1-Street Mile Race held at the UP Diliman Campus last month with a time of 4:36 minutes?
I was able to meet him again after I finished the ROTARun 21K race yesterday morning. He just finished his long run workout using the same “old and taped” shoes he used when I first featured him in this blog. His father was with him and I asked his permission for Duncan to join the members of the Elite Team Bald Runner for a “brunch” and meeting in our “training camp”/office after the Awarding Ceremony of the race event.
Finally, I handed Duncan a slightly “used” pair of Newton Racing Shoes which is one of the shoes donated by Mr. Jim Lafferty. The following pictures will show how happy this talented kid was after receiving the said shoes:
Duncan Wearing The Team Bald Runner ShirtThe Happy Duncan While Wearing His Newton Shoes
The following article was copied from www.marathonguide.com. The famous Berlin Marathon is being held today, 20 September 2009. This Marathon Race is considered as one of Marathon Races included in the World’s 4 Grand Slam Marathon Races.
This is where Haile Gebrselaissie got the world’s record finish time for the Marathon Race in 2:03:59 hours.
Check on the website of the Berlin Marathon for the LIVE Update at www.scc-events.com
Gebrselassie Versus Kibet – The Fastest Marathon Duel Ever?
No one could have imagined that the BERLIN-MARATHON would become one of the
most spectacular sports events in Germany when the race was started for the
first time 35 years ago. That happened next to the Grunewald, a forest in
West Berlin, and there were only few spectators. Today the real,-
BERLIN-MARATHON attracts around one million people who celebrate one of the
greatest running events on the globe. It was almost 20 years ago – after
the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 – when the race got a huge
boost. Leading through both parts of the German capital from 1990 onwards
the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON became famous for superfast winning times, great
crowd support and growing fields. This Sunday we could well see another
thrilling race: defending champion and world record holder Haile
Gebrselassie (Ehtiopia) will be up against Kenya’s Duncan Kibet, who leads
the current world season’s list.
A record number of 40,923 runners from 122 nations have entered the 36th
edition of the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON. Since the race belongs to the World
Marathons Majors (WMM) even more people want to take part. A year ago
35,783 runners finished the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON. That was the highest
number ever in the history of the event and the 2008 event became the
seventh biggest marathon ever seen. In 2006 Race Directors of the
prestigious marathons in Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York had
formed the WMM.
Gebrselassie targets his own record once again
So far five runners have established personal bests of sub 2:05 at the
classical distance. Two of them will run in Sunday’s real,-
BERLIN-MARATHON. While Haile Gebrselassie had improved his global record in
Berlin in 2008 to 2:03:59 Kenya’s Duncan Kibet had run 2:04:27 earlier this
year and has moved up to number two on the alltime list.
Haile Gebrselassie’s goal is obvious: He intends to break his world record
again. If he succeeds it will be the third time in a row that he would
establish a new world best at the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON. So far the 36
year-old has broken an amazing 26 world records during his career.
Gebrselassie thinks that he can at least slice off another 30 seconds from
his present marathon record. “If everything fits together perfectly then
may be even 2:02:59 would be possible,” says the Ethiopian, who is going
for a record fourth consecutive victory at the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON.
But Sunday’s marathon could well be the toughest for Haile Gebrselassie in
Berlin. In a recent interview Kenya’s star runner Paul Tergat named four
fellow countrymen who he thinks may be able to break Gebrselassie’s world
record: Olympic Champion Sammy Wanjiru, Martin Lel, James Kwambai and –
Duncan Kibet.
For more than two years Haile Gebrselassie has not competed against an
athlete as strong as Duncan Kibet in the marathon. This could well become a
fascinating duel. “I feel honoured to be able to run against Haile
Gebrselassie,” said Duncan Kibet during Thursday’s press conference in
Berlin. My training went very well and I think it is a very good sign that
my training partner James Kwambai ran 59:09 minutes last Sunday at the
Rotterdam Half Marathon.” Duncan Kibet did not want to comment on a
possible world record attack, but said that he intends to break his
personal best. For this he must of course run in the region of the world
record. “After Rotterdam I though that I might be able to run even faster
in Berlin. So this is why I decided to go for this race.”
Looking ahead to a duel with Haile Gebrselassie the Kenyan record holder
said: “I don’t know about Haile’s training. And he does not know about my
training. So we will have to wait and see how it develops. But I will try
to run his pace.”
There will be two more Kenyans and one Ethiopian with high-class personal
bests in the race. Francis Kiprop came fourth at the Seoul Marathon in 2008
with 2:08:30 and Mariko Kiplagat (all Kenya) placed fourth at last year’s
real,- BERLIN-MARATHON in 2:09:04. Ethiopia’s Eshetu Wondimu was able to
improve to 2:08:41 despite bad weather conditions in this year’s Dubai
Marathon. The strongest non-African runner could be Atsushi Fujita (Japan)
who has a personal best of 2:06:51. This however is already nine years old.
Ethiopian favourites in the women’s race
Askale Tafa Magarsa will be the favourite in the women’s race on Sunday. A
year ago the 24 year-old Ethiopian finished second behind Irina Mikitenko
(Germany), clocking a great personal best of 2:21:31. With that she
remained the second fastest woman worldwide in 2008. Now Askale Tafa
Magarsa returns to the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON and will be eager to further
improve. She may well be able to establish a world season’s best, which
currently stands at 2:22:11. Irina Mikitenko clocked this time when winning
in London in April. Askale Tafa Magarsa’s strongest rival probably will be
a fellow Ethiopian: Atsede Habtamu clocked 2:25:17 in torrential rain in
January’s Dubai Marathon, where she took second place.
Genet Getaneh will also be in with a chance on Sunday. The 23-year-old
Ethiopian finished fifth in 2:26:37 at the Dubai Marathon this year. The
strongest Kenyan should be Leah Malot. She has a very good long distance
track record and improved to 2:30:29 at the Paris Marathon this April.
Months and weeks before the conduct of the first BDM 102, I sent letters of request for support to almost everybody in the government, most especially to politicians whom I know, could support such a sports endeavor. Not one of the politicians gave me a positive response on my request. The Philippine Sports Commission which I depended to be supportive in any sports development gave me a negative response. At least, the PSC gave me a letter of response indicating that they don’t have any budget for the said request. Guys, I am not asking for hundreds of thousands or millions of pesos for this event, I just wanted a “token” for the additional support for the Aid Stations along the route.
Actually, these letters that I’ve sent to these personalities were just a “test” on how far can they support a sports event that commemorates a celebrated part in the history to honor our heroes who fought for freedom and democracy that we enjoy right now. Most of the “politicians”/Senators did not send any letter of response but a number of them sent a written negative response on the said request. Unfortunately, I received the following letters from them.
On the brighter side, one of the politicians whom I know personally gave me P 5,000 as support, five (5) weeks after the conduct of the race. The support was too late, however, I immediately contributed the said money to the Charity to help the hundreds of families affected due to a typhoon in Cagayan Valley on that very week that I received the money.
As for the other politicians who, most of them are running for the highest political position of the land next year, they did not answer those daily calls for us to follow-up our request and some of them whom we talked would tell us that they could not support our event. So, these politicians did not pass our “test”. They are only good for their “soundbytes”, “appearances” and “pronouncements” that they support sports up to the point that you see them and read their news releases printed on the broadsheets. I hope and pray that these “presidentiables & vice-presidentiables” will not win in the next election and for the other “politicians” not to be able to be re-elected in their positions.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Response To Request
Department of Tourism's Letter of Response
Letter From Senator Loren LegardaSenator Panfilo Lacson's Letter of Response
In one of the posts I’ve read in the Internet, I came up with the following allegations about how much “these politicians” would receive during their stint in their positions. Based from the “source”, these allegations could be true!
GUSTO KONG MAGING SENADOR NG PILIPINAS
ANG SARAP MAGING SENADOR!
Miriam Defensor Santiago was featured in Correspondents last week.
Maganda rin naman ang naidudulot ng pagiging prangka ni Senador Miriam Defensor-Santiago. Ayon kay Santiago , marami ang tumatak-bong Senador dahil sa laki ng budget na ibinibigay sa kanila kada buwan.
Lumalabas na P35,000 suweldo nila kada buwan ay pakitang-tao lang sa milyun-milyong budget ng bawat senador. Kada buwan ay may Fixed Monthly Budget ang bawat Senador ng humigit-kumulang P2 Milyon.
Sa opisina pa lang nila ay humigit-kumulang P500,000 ang budget nila sa Maintenance and Operating Expenses (Rental, Utilities, Supplies at Domestic Travels) at P500,000 para sa Staff at Personal expenses. Kaya para makatipid ang ibang Senador, kaunti lang ang staff na kinukuha nila. Nagtataka ka pa kung bakit mayroong mga Ghost Employee?
Bukod diyan, may P760,000 allowance pa sila kada buwan para naman sa Foreign Travel. At ang masakit pa nito, hindi na kailngan i-liquidate ang mga resibo ng mga gastusin ‘yan kundi Certification lang ang Requirement.
Heto pa, lahat sila ay Chairman ng mg Komite sa Senado. Ang Committee Chairman ay tumatanggap din ng budget na sinlaki ng tinatanggap ng mga Senador na humigit-kumulang P1 Milyon din! Hindi sila mawawalan ng Komite dahil 24 lang ang ating mga Senador at 37 naman ang Committee sa Senado. There’s food for everybody ‘ika nga! Lumalabas na doble ang kanilang benepesiyo at kita kapag sila ay nabiyayaan ng Committee Chairmanship.
Sa P200 milyon na Budget para sa Pork Barrel ng mga Senador bawat taon, awtomatikong may 10% na S.O.P. o kita ng Senador na P20 milyon. Ito ang porsiyento na ibinibigay ng mga kontratista sa mga Senador na nagbibigay sa kanila ng mga Infrastructure at Livelihood Project.
Bago matapos ang termino ng isang Senador, kumita na siya ng P100 milyon saPork Barrel pa lang. Yung ibang Senador mas gahaman, hindi lang 10% kundi 20 – 30% ang komisyon hinihingi sa mga kontratista.
Pansinin niyo na lang ang pagbabago ng buhay ng ilan sa ating mga Senador simula nang manungkulan sa puwesto. Kung dati ay simple lang ang kanilang pamumuhay ngayon ay nakatira na sila sa mga eksklusibong subdivision, maraming bahay sa Pilipinas at abroad at mahigit lima ang sasakyan.
Ngayon nagtataka ka pa ba kung bakit gumagastos ng daan-daang milyong piso ang mga Senador sa kampanya para sa isang posisyon na P35,000 lang ang suweldo kada buwan? Bawing-bawi pala ang gastos kapag naupo na!
ANG SARAP MAGING SENADOR! ! !
I wonder how much is the budget for a Cabinet Secretary or in a Department under the Executive Branch of the Government.
“Bakit kaya hindi nila maisipan na magdagdag ng Cabinet Position para sa Department of Youth and Sports Development (or Excellence) para mawala at palitan na ang Philippine Sports Commission?”
For next year’s edition of BDM 102, we will never send any letter of request to these sports institutions and “politicians”. We will try to seek support from the private and corporate sector this time and from the “usual friends” who have the “heart” to support us and who believe in our advocacy.
This is how long a typical water station during the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon. This was supposed to accommodate 12,000 runners for the Marathon distance. If there are 5,000-6,000 registered runners for the Marathon and other side-event races, then, at least, one half of this water station would be a typical water station for our Road Races in the country.
The following pictures were linked by Ultrarunner Rick Gaston as part of the many Water Stations for the annual NIKE Women’s Marathon held in San Francisco where he is the Captain (In-Charge) in these Water Stations on the Mile-17 & 25. Thanks Rick for the pictures!
NIKE Marathon Water Station (Courtesy of Rick Gaston)Another View of a Water Station in the NIKE Women's Marathon Race (Courtesy of Rick Gaston)A Well-Stocked Water & Gatorade Station (Courtesy of Rick Gaston)
The following are the reasons why I am going to join the 2nd Subic International Marathon where SMART is the Major Sponsor of this running event:
1) Location of the Route—If you want a variety of running route in your Marathon running experience, then the route of the SMART Subic International Marathon is the best! The new SCTEX’s Floridablanca’s Exit/Entry will be the starting area and the finish line is located at the Remy Field’s Oval Track, inside the Subic Freeport. This is a chance to leave Metro Manila for awhile in order to change your running environment. As compared to the route in last year’s Marathon Race, this year’s route is more pleasing and better for the runners, most especially to those who are intending to finish their first Marathon Race.
2) Pollution-Free—Unlike in Marathon Races held in Metro Manila, the SMART SIM offers a race route that is free from pollution—air and noise pollution. The route is devoid of heavy traffic of vehicles, no buildings, no populated areas, and no distractions. No crazy or yelling drivers at you while you are running. No intersections and no pedestrians! Everything that you see around you along the route is the long asphalted road infront of you; the rice fields seen on both sides of the Expressway; hills and mountains on your front and right side and sometimes on your left side when the highway cuts through a hill.
3) Running Surface—The expressway is made of asphalt which a softer and more forgiving surface for our running legs than the concrete-paved roads. Runners would not notice it but the running surface in a marathon race gives a big factor on how our running legs perform in a long distance road race. However, since the cross-section view of the highway is curved on its edges, it is advisable for the runners to shift to the more level part of the highway. I am sure I will be running along that white paint protion on the edge of the road because it is softer than the asphalt.
4) Time of the Race—The race starts at 4:00PM which I think will be the first full Marathon Race to be held on such time of the day in the history of Road Racing in the country. The North Star 10K Run in Laoag City & Paoay, Ilocos Norte is the only Road Race then that starts at 4:00PM on the 3rd Saturday of December. I am sure the sun is still on the west horizon and about to set. This is the time when the heat of the asphalt road and the cooler air that is brought by the setting of the sun would meet. It is expected that the temperature and humudity will still be high but this will be compensated with winds/breeze coming from the mountains and the rice fields. Runners would have a chance and expect to see the sunset on the horizon while running which in contrast with the usual morning road races that we join in Metro Manila.
5) Registration Fee is Cheap!—As compared to the other Marathon Races, this race is very cheap and the singlet that goes with it is nice and of good quality. This is one of the few Marathon Races where you can have your Race Packet (with singlet) given to you once you submit your registration form.
6) Prizes Are Very Attractive—For the elite and international runners, the prizes at stake are very attractive and SMART has really invested in this Marathon Race for the promotion of long distance running competition in the country. Hopefully, this race will put the Philippines in the map of world’s famous marathon races. This race will also promote Sports Tourism for the country.
7) Race/Event Organizer & Race Director—Without a doubt, the people behind this race are very responsive to suggestion and/or comments from runners. In short, they are considered “professionals” in the world of road racing events. Adi De Los Reyes and his team had been in the sports corporate and events management for years and he had conceptualized a lot of ideas for the running community. Chief Superintendent Samuel Tucay of PNP who just retired few months ago is also a seasoned marathon runner, a friend, will be the Race Director for the said event. Actually, the Subic International Marathon is the “brainchild” of C/Supt Samuel Tucay and he maintained to be the Race Director since last year’s edition.
SMART 2nd Subic International Marathon Poster
8) Advocacy of the Event—While C/Supt Samuel Tucay was the Chief of the PNP’s Training and Education Command based in Subic Freeport, he advocated the adherence to running to all PNP personnel who are considered as “scalawags” in the service as they were transformed from “bad eggs” to “good models of policemen” in his Command. C/Supt Tucay was very successful in his program and later adopted such program for the whole PNP and to the different regions. It is through running and adherence to physical activity that anybody could be transformed into a “productive” individual to the community.
9) Dedication to My Bereaved Mom—I joined this Subic International Marathon last year but I was registered for the Half-Marathon as part of my training for the 2008 Pasig River Heritage Marathon. It was January 20, 2008. I will never forget this date as few hours after I finished the race, I got the news from my youngest sister that my Mom died after eating her lunch. She was 82 years old and she died due to cancer. Since then, I made a promise to myself to run the Subic International Marathon annually as a dedication and tribute to my Mom.
10) My Picture On My Blog’s Title—Yes, that picture on top in my blog’s Home Page Title was taken while I was running the 1st Subic International Marathon. I never changed my Blog’s Presentation/Theme with the said picture for the past year & months. So, every time I see my blog, the Subic International Marathon is always recalled and remembered. By the way, I don’t intend to change the Presentation/Theme & such picture on the title of this blog and that is what I call “Consistency”!
And lastly, I am a loyal subscriber of SMART since 2000 and I never changed my cellphone number!!! That’s another example of “Consistency”!
Good Luck on your training and See you at the Starting Line!
Ben Gaetos, an ultra runner friend from Los Angeles, California sent me a Balaikbayan Box full of used donated shoes from his ultrarunning friends in California. I received the said box last Friday and it contained 34 pairs of running shoes.
Thanks again, Ben! Hopefully, these shoes will be given to our less-fortunate runners on the day of MILO Marathon Finals which will start and end at the Quirino Grandstand, Luneta Park on October 11, 2009.
Balikbayan Box From Ben GaetosFilled With Neatly-Packed 34 Pairs of Running Shoes34 Pairs of Running Shoes Displayed On The Floor
My rule of thumb in selecting a road race to join when there are two or more road races in a particular day is to select the road race with the farthest distance! So, I’ve chosen the Eco Dash: The Ayala Malls Environment 21K Run as my race run early this morning.
I was already at the starting area 15 minutes before 5:00 AM (the scheduled start of the 21 K race) and I was hoping that the 21K race will start on time. However, the 21K runners are not yet in the corral/starting area and I knew already that the race will start later than the time it was scheduled. While waiting before going to the corral, I did a short stretching and slow jogging drills just to warm up my body as it was raining. I was able to see familiar faces who are “die-hard” and “hardcore” runners belonging to the MASTERS group and from the younger ones. I had a brief chat with the HING’S Running Club, the Hardcore Group, the takbo.ph group, the MASTERS runners who joined last week’s 15K race in Camp Aguinaldo, my brother General Samie with Babette & nephew Lemuel; Sir Amado aka Reinier6666, and the members of the Elite Team Bald Runner. Simple words/statement of guidance and encouragement to my elite runners before the start of the race had always been a part of my ritual to boost their morale.
At The Starting Line With Elite Team BR's Rene Desuyo
The race started at 5:30 AM after 3 “demonstrators” conducted a simple stretching exercises infront of the runners with the beat of music at the background. And all of a sudden while I was talking to my Elite Runner Rene Desuyo, I just heard the sound of the starting gun and we were off.
My race strategy was to maintain an even pace of 5:00 mins per kilometer or faster and “attack” the uphill climbs at the Kalayaan Flyover and Bayani Road with “surges” or “fartlek” runs with 1-minute duration which I repeat until I reach the top. I usually count my strides as my left foot strikes the ground up to 90 or 100 and repeat the process by counting back to 1. I usually do these “surges” and “fartleks” when I want to overtake and pass someone who is a faster runner infront or beside me. This is a good technique which anybody could do to improve their time and performance in road racing.
On the first 2 kilometers of the race, the runners’ distance with one another stretched out and I was happy to maintain my average pace at 5:00 mpk with ample space on the road but a “newbie” runner kept on making “surges” on me and made criss-cross cutting on my lane/direction as he overtook me for so many times before we reached the Kalayaan Flyover. I did not mind him and continued with my pace but as soon as we hit the uphill climb, he slowed down and did not bother me anymore.
The rain kept on pouring and the road was full of flowing water and some areas were with “potholes” but the runners were not deterred from the adverse condition but for me, it was very comforting that I felt refreshed with the cold rain and seemingly fresh air. I really appreciate the presence of so many water stations and Gatorade Stations along the route and I observed that our Race Organizers had improved on this but I still have to wish the presence of longer tables for these water stations in future races.
I enjoyed running along the wide streets of Makati Business District—Paseo De Roxas; Makati Avenue; up to the turn-around beside the Shang-rila Makati Hotel, without any vehicles. The road marshals were very efficient in controlling the vehicles in all the crossing/intersections. I was running alone while I was running along those wide streets.
On my way back at the Kalayaan Flyover, I met the bigger group of the 10K runners and I had to take a limited space at the right side of the road and I was hearing a lot of greetings from the runners I met on this part of the route. Despite the blurred images of runners I saw through my peripheral vision, a simple wave or “high-five” to these runners was enough to acknowledge their greetings. Thanks, guys! Your greetings kept me running at a faster pace!
Turning Right At Rizal Drive After Coming From Kalayaan Flyover
As I turned right at Rizal Drive (the street along the old Jollibee and McDonald at The Fort), I saw a lot or 3K & 5K runners & walkers who filled the whole street and I could not see the 21K runners ahead of me! Knowing the route for the 21K race, I kept on passing and weaving through the slower runners until I reached 5th Avenue. Once I turned right on this street, I saw that the 21K runners infront of me had gained so much distance from me and I started to “surge” on the uphill portion until I reached the McKinley Road. As I reached Lawton Avenue, I was able to pass more runners and I was surprised that almost all the HING’S runners were infront of me. These MASTERS runners are really good and fast runners! I think their Ice Cream & Ice Buko and other Ice Candies mixed with Ice Cold Beer is their “secret” in running and road racing!
Running along Lawton Avenue up to the end of Bayani Road-C5 turnaround was a lonely one but I kept on looking on my watch just to be sure that I kept my average pace and I observed that I became slower when I attacked the uphill climbs at the Bayani Road by 10 seconds. However, I made sure to pick-up my pace when I reach the downhill/plain portion of the road. More “surges” or “fartleks” along the way and more counting mentally until I was back at The Fort area and up to the Finish Line.
Few Meters Before The Finish Line
For the last 4 kilometers, my GF 305 registered an average pace of 4:35 minutes per kilometer, a pace faster than my 5K average pace at the Mommy Milkshake last week, and I found out that I have more strength left after completing the race. I finished the 21.06K distance in 1:45: 25 hours, registering an average pace of 5:00 minutes per kilometer based from my GF 305 watch.
After a brief rest to drink two cups of water and some “photo-ops”, I ran another 3.6 kilometers around the BHS loop and extending the distance up to 5th Avenue as my “cool-down” run. It was nice to know and witness the awarding of the members of the Elite Bald Runner as Champions in the Men’s & Women’s Champions in the 21K Race ( Rene Desuyo & Anna Vargas) and Champion in the 10K Race (Jujet De Asis).
I am satisfied with the result of my run in this race. Based from my previous post on how to predict finish time for the Marathon Race, my finish time for this Half-Marathon (after adjustments) could, hopefully, give me a finish time of sub-3:45 hours.
Bald Runner 
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