I highly recommend marathon finishers to read the following article from the Running Times Magazine if they are interested to try ultra marathon running in the future.
http://runningtimes.com//Article.aspx?ArticleID=21831
Good luck and train well!
I highly recommend marathon finishers to read the following article from the Running Times Magazine if they are interested to try ultra marathon running in the future.
http://runningtimes.com//Article.aspx?ArticleID=21831
Good luck and train well!
Bald Runner 
Sir J,
A Nice read specially to the Filipino ultra community.
The BDM website should be included in the ultra sites like ultrasignup.com.
BTW, Sir, you should do the Bataan Memorial March in New Mexico next March. The commemoration and honor that the organizer included in the program/march tells how much they respect the veterans who were in Bataan during the war. You will get many ideas that could be incorporated to your BDM.
I did not see Gilbert gray in that race. I hope he was not injured (he planned to join the heavy division)
Abe
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there is a plan to have the BDM Races to be included in the ultra signup system but it will mean additional costs for the runners as the administrators are asking some fees for their services (which is normal because it’s business)
i’ve read so many journals and listen to many stories of our senior EP/soldiers who joined in the event for the past years when i was still in the active service and i appreciate your recommendation. as for the ideas, i will ask the PVAO to do something about the pre/during the race activities but as a purist in running, such activities are “distractions” to the runners. btw, it should be of interest for you to know that there is a runner who organizes a yearly “araw ng kagitingan” run (relay run) that traces also the BDM route every april 9 and he invites the living “survivors” of the BDM to grace his ceremonies. i think this ceremony is a fitting activity for the event.
thanks for the insights!
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Sir Jovie, as the father of BDM, it is a MUST for you to do Bataan Memorial. It is not just a marathon. You have to experience it. You won’t regret it. That I promise you.
You can timed your next California visit on the last week of March. I’ll pay for your R/T air fare from LA to El Paso and car rental.
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I am sure that Sir Jovie will learn a lot from the New Mexico commemorative event. But it doesn’t make sense to me to do the Bataan Death March historical march/run in another geographical area other than the Philippines! If you ask me, they should be the ones coming here to see the route, to see the names at the Capas Shrine, and see that about 85% percent of all the men who died were Filipinos. I am thankful for American influence in our society, but some things are meant to be respected. And if they respect the memory of the veterans — then how come Filipino veterans do not get the same benefits there as they do American veterans? These questions may forever be left unanswered. But I admire the Americans who are WWII veterans who come back and do the Bataan route, most by taking a car [I’ve read blogs] and taking pictures. There’s something when you are in the same place where history took place compared to being elsewhere trying to relive the experience. It’s like being a vegetarian [wait, I’m in fact one] and eating vegie meat trying to fool oneself into believing that it taste like chicken but it is still at the heart of the matter — still tofu in its basic form.
In short, it would have been much better if they organized it here — bring them here to walk/run the entire course and make them see the difference. It’s like that anti-sexual harassment campaign done in Alaska a week ago. The theme was “Walk in Her Shoes” — and the men wore high heels during the entire day parading themselves around a university town/campus walking down hallways with banners and shirts. It’s different when you begin to understand the different of walking and talking the talk. And same goes for such a historical event such as the BDM.
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I understand your sentiment. I was just fortunate to do both BDM and BMM this year and made some observations.
New Mexico realized that it had more soldiers captured and killed in Bataan than any other states, so it commemorated the march for 22 years now. Our BDM is just 3 yrs old and without Sir Jovie, we would not have any.
I want our BDM to be a world class ultra and that participants will remember why it was held in the first place. I will help and ‘walk my talk’.
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blas, thanks for the comment. as i said, over and over again, BDM is in the Philippines. let us treasure it and love it. as runners, this is the only way we can repay to our dead heroes! cheers!
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