Michael Keon’s Revelation On Project Gintong Alay


While browsing on the Facebook Page of Mayor Michael Keon after watching his Live Interview with Pinoy Athletics in the past few weeks, I found this particular post or story on the Mayor’s FB Page. This story answers the question why he resigned from the Project Gintong Alay.

My snappy salute to Mayor Michael Keon for his conviction for the good of the Philippine Sports during those days when the Project Gintong Alay was at its peak and success.

Please click on the link below.

m.facebook.com/story.php

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A New Direction, New Stories


Starting today, February 11, 2021, this blog will be anything under the sun. Aside from running and my outdoor lifestyle and experiences, I will be making some stories of anything I can think of, whether it is about fashion, food, news and current events, my personal opinion on events, and maybe some repost of things that I want to share to my readers.

I think this will a way and good reason for me to write again in this blog. As I grow and become older, I have been not so consistent with my daily runs as my runs had been transformed to hiking/walking in my backyard and within my playground. After I have finished a 4-month “virtual race” last year, I had to rest and instead of going back to running, I have managed to do some hiking for the past months. Such hikes would last up to 2 hours as my longest duration and on regular basis, a short hike lasting for one hour. Sometimes, I would carry a backpack with weight in it for more effort and challenge.

Since September 2020, I became interested with Heritage Boots which by chance was able to discover them on Facebook. After one month of reading and researching about the history of Heritage Boots in the Internet, I became interested in them. Luckily, there is a popular brand which is the “Red Wing Shoe” that is locally available in my country. Through a Facebook Page, I finally decided to try the said brand and bought one pair of boots.

With my subscription with You Tube and being able to revive my Channel, I found out that there is a lot of videos about the Red Wing Shoe Heritage Boots. Maybe, this could be one of the reasons why I finally decided to buy my first pair of such brand. On October 9, 2020, I bought my first pair of the said brand with their Iron Ranger Model 8111. I have posted two videos of this particular Heritage Boots Model in my You Tube Channel since then. I will post a link of these videos in the next days to come.

Having bought an Iron Ranger 8111 Amber Harness (colored brown) in an Authorized Store of the said brand in Metro Manila had given me the comfort and peace of mind of getting the right size for my feet. Sizing of new users of the Red Wing Shoe is always the most discussed topic in the Internet. Whether in FB Pages, Groups and Internet Forum, this “sizing” topic (how to get the right size) would always flood the comments section in the You Tube Channel and other Discussion Groups. Because I was able to try different sizes in the said store, I was able to zero-in my right size. Just like in any other International Shoe Brands, I shoe size is 8D! Most of my Signature Brand Shoes are size 8D except for my Corcoran Jump (Combat) Boots which is 9D, the Combat Boots that I used on the last 10 years of my active military service. I think I will have a separate story about my Corcoran Jump Boots which is also considered as one of the Heritage Boots that is Made In The USA.

Since my purchase with my first Red Wing Iron Ranger 8111 Amber Harness, my interest now is being directed to Heritage Wear or Vintage Wear and their respective stories that go with them.

As I don’t want to create another blog site for this topic (Heritage & Vintage Wear) and for my personal opinion and other things that I could think of, I decided to use this website just to continue with my subscription with WordPress. So, practically I am back to blogging again.

Some Tips In Traveling To The Philippines During Covid-19 Situation (As of October 6, 2020)


In the past few days, I have read in my Facebook Newsfeed about a question being raised/posted by a Filipino who is based in the United States on what is the protocol to expect and follow once an arriving passenger gets into the Manila International’s Airport.

Through the experience related to me by a Filipino Tourists who was stranded in the United States for almost six months due to the pandemic brought about by the Covid-19 virus and through the experience of a friend (US Citizen) who arrived from the United States (also) due to an emergeny situation to attend to in the Philippines, the following are the steps/procedures to follow once a passenger arrives at the airport.

  1. Tourists have to take a Covid-19 Rapid Test/Swab Test which is paid by the tourist once he/she arrives or exit from the airplane. The cost for each test is about US Dollars 95.00. One has to accomplish some form stating you Name and e-mail address or contact number where the Rapid Test Result will be sent once the result is available.
  2. After the Rapid/Swab Test, tourist has to arrange for his Hotel Accommodation at the Airport where he will be transported immediately. Car or Taxi Services are available in the airport to provide the necessary transportation to your Hotel of choice. Hotel Accommodation and Taxi Service are not FREE for tourists.
  3. Tourist is advised to stay inside his Hotel room until the result of the Rapid Test/Swab test is sent to the passenger. Usually, the test result will be released and sent to the passenger in a few hours through the e-mail address stated in the Form filled-up during the Test.
  4. If the Test is Negative, you can already the leave the Hotel and proceed to your final destination. If your final destination is within Metro Manila, you can take the Taxi services available at the Hotel. If you are Positive, you can have the option to stay longer in the Hotel or take some advise from authorities of the Department of Health on what are your available options to be able to observe and strictly implement the 14-day Quarantine Period for you.
  5. If you are an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) returning to the Philippines, the Rapid/Swab Test is FREE at the Airpot. After the Swab test is done, the OFW will then be transported to a government-designated accommodation facility/Hotel for them for FREE. Just the same with the tourist, they will wait for the release of the result of the Covid-19 Test. If the test is negative, they can leave the Hotel and proceed to their Final Destination. If found positive, contact the Department of Health for further steps for your immediate 14-day Quarantine Period to a Government designated facility or have the option to stay in your residence and follow the 14-day Quarantine protocol.
  6. Just in case, the tourist has a connecting flight from Manila to another destination in Visayas or Mindanao, he/she should have made made the travel arrangements during the time when his/her ticket was purchased for Manila. If not, this travel connection should be made once he/she arrives at the Manila International Airport. A Travel Pass from the Philippine National Police (PNP) is a requirement for this trip. (Note: There is a PNP Desk at the Airport where to ask for information and request for this Travel Pass)
  7. The Travel Pass will facilitate a coordination with the Local Government authorities in your final destination for your trip from the Local City Airport to your final place of destination. You will be asked to strictly adhere to the 14-day Quarantine Period in your Final Destination.
  8. Always observe the wearing of face mask, face shield, no talking in enclosed space, washing of hands with soap and/or alcohol (after touching or holding anything not in your possession) and social distancing (of at least, one meter apart)

For further information, please click the links below:

https://www.dfa.gov.ph/covid-19-advisories/26376-travel-restrictions-by-philippine-government-on-foreign-travelers

https://guidetothephilippines.ph/articles/ultimate-guides/philippines-travel-covid-19

Keep safe always and thank you for reading! Cheers!

Ten-Minute Video: Team PAU @ 2020 IAU 6-Hour Global Virtual Solidarity Run


The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) invited the Philippine Association of Ultrarunners (PAU), the National Ultramarathon Federation of the Philippines, to join the 2020 6-Hour Global Virtual Solidarity Run which was held last August 29-30, 2020. This event was attended by more than 40 member countries with a total of 426 athlete-runners throughout the world.

Team PAU was composed of 9 Male and 9 Female runners coming from the different regions of the country. Due to the Covid-19 Lockdown restrictions, all the runners were advised to do their running in their place of residence, whether on the outdoors or indoors (on treadmill machine). Team PAU represented the country in this event.

Here is the Video of Team PAU during the event:

Team PAU Video @ 2020 IAU 6-Hour Global Solidarity Run

Thank you for watching. Cheers!

(Note: Please subscribe to my You Tube Channel for more running adventures and stories in the Philippines. Thank you!)

2020 Virgin Money London Marathon Race Highlights


Months before the conduct of the 2020 London Marathon Race, it was announced that the scheduled April event will be held despite the Covid-19 pandemic situation and it will be held on October 4, Sunday, with the participation of selected world elite athletes coming from selected countries. Most significant in the announcement was the participation of the two of the fastest marathon finishers in the world: Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya who is the reigning world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:01:39 hours in the 2018 Berlin Marathon and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia who is the world record holder and Olympian record holder in the 10,000-meter event with a time of 26:17:53 minutes and second fastest time in the marathon with a time of 2:01:41 hours which he set in the 2019 Berlin Marathon, two-second slower than Kipchoge’s time.

Aside from the World’s Men’s Elite runners, the World’s Women’s Elite runners were invited to join the race. This is to include the Elite Marathon Runners from Great Britain. The rest of those who are supposed to participate and had been picked in the lottery to join the 2020 London Marathon had been asked to join in a virtual run and be able to complete the run within a period of 24 hours. Unfortunately, I registered for the third time in this marathon event and as usual, I was not been able to be picked up in the lottery.

In the months, weeks, and days before the London Marathon, there were so many information on the social media and printed media about this “duel” of the two fastest marathon runners in the world; Kipchoge and Bekele. With its hype, I tried to research on the Internet on the past competitions where these two great long distance runners had joined and competed with each other. Bekele was already a World and Olympic “Star” in the 2000s while Kipchoge was trailing behind him in the Oval Track Competition Races. However, during the 2010 and later years, both runners had shifted to road running on marathon races. Kipchoge started to shine and perform consistently in Marathon Races in Europe. However, Bekele had also his winning races on the road until he was sidelined with some injuries. Bekele is 38 years old while Kipchoge is 35 years old. But, these two runners had been always pushing the bar for the world record in marathon up to this time. The sub-2:02-hour time in the Marathon Race are being held by these two greatest runners in the world.

Kipchoge & Bekele Poster (From Google/Facebook)

In my past blog, I posted and predicted that Eliud Kipchoge will win over Kenenisa Bekele in the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon. However, I was still confident to predict that the winning time will be within the 2:02-2:03-hour range knowing how the place looks like when I had the chance to visit London in 2018. The London Marathon was held along the streets surrounding the St James Park near Buckingham Palace which is a loop-course covering a distance of 1.33 miles for each loop. Runners have to complete 19+ loops to finish the Marathon distance of 26.2 miles while is completely flat.

Two days before the race, Bekele announced to the media that he was withdrawing from the race because of an injury on his left calf muscle which he got two weeks before on a sprinting session. With this news, I was confident that Kipchoge would win the said race.

I watched the LIVE coverage of the London Marathon in the evening of Sunday, October 4, 2020 (Manila Time) after I found out that Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won the Women’s Championship with a time of 2:18:58 hours. She is the current Marathon World Record Holder with a time of 2:14:04 hours which she achieved in the 2019 Chicago Marathon Race. Worthy to note in the women’s race is the “sprint run” of  Sara Hall on the last 50 meters to pass Ruth Chepngetich to the finish line winning the race as the First Runner-Up in 2:22:01 hours. This is Sara Hall’s Personal Best in the Marathon.

Kitata & Kosgei: Overall Champion & Women’s Champion (Picture From Google)

On the last loop of the Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge could not react on the blistering pace of the faster runners and he did not win as I had predicted. Tola Shura Kitata of Ethiopia won as the Overall Champion of the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon with a time of 2:05:41 hours. He was the First Runner-Up in the 2018 London Marathon where Eliud Kipchoge won as the Champion. Eliud Kipchoge finished the race in 8th place with a time of 2:06:49 hours and he said in his post-race interview that his ears got blocked during the last loops that he could not concentrate and focus with his run. However, he was gentleman enough to accept the result of his performance. Kipchoge and Bekele will be back!

Thank you for reading. Have a good day and week ahead of us.

Sports Events This Weekend (October 3-4, 2020)


There are two important sports events that will be happening this weekend. It will be the second game of the NBA Finals for LA Lakers against Miami Heat on Saturday morning (Manila Time), October 3, 2020 and the London Marathon Race in the afternoon of Sunday (Manila Time), October 4, 2020 where the Top 2 Fastest and Greatest Marathon Runners, Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele will be competing with each other with the rest of the Elite Runners entire the World. On the Women’s Category competition, it will be a fight between Brigid Kosgei and Vivian Cheruiyot.

On the NBA Finals, LA Lakers won in the first game with a score of 116-98 where the game was played in Los Angeles, California. I would predict that LA Lakers will win again in the Second Game. 

On the Virgin Money London Marathon Race, I would predict Eliud Kipchoge to win the race with a time of less than 2:03 hours with the route of 19.6 laps along the streets around the St James Park in London, England. On the Women’s Category, I will predict Brigid Kosgei to win.

Good luck to LA Lakers and Eliud Kipchoge.

200 Days Since Covid-19 Lockdown


On this day, October 1, 2020 marks the 200th day since Metro Manila and the whole of the Philippines where put into Lockdown due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. On March 17, 2020, I just arrived at the Manila International Airport from my last International Trail Running Event participation in Sabah, Malaysia. From the airport, I went directly to my training playground in Bataan, which is 110 kilometers northwest from Manila, and stayed there for almost four months until Lockdown restrictions were relaxed and eased up.

Since then, I have been going to Manila on a monthly basis to attend to my financial arrangements and updates. It was just last month, September, that I experienced eating in a restaurant, buying a shoes (Onitsuka Tiger) inside a Mall, and check on my house and staff on a regular basis. So far, so good. On these activities outside of my residence, I would be using a face mask and a full-face shield and made sure that I observe social distancing of at least, one-two meters apart from other people in public areas. Whenever I am driving my car in my monthly trips, I would be always with my face mask. I think this is now the “new normal” while the Covid-19 virus is still present in the environment.

For the past 200 days, I have been busy with running in my Backyard Loop and within my Playground which consists of hills and mountains all around the place where I am now staying. I have also renewed my subscription with the You Tube Channel where I would be posting some videos about running and things that I have been doing in my Playground. However, for the past two weeks, I have reduced the number of hours that I would engage myself in running. I am now strictly following a “One-Hour” daily running routine. Since I finished the 1,000K Virtual Run Across Tennessee and the IAU 6-Hour Virtual Solidarity Run during the period of the 200-day Lockdown, it is time for my body to reduce my daily running duration after one week of rest and recovery period. At my age of 68 years old, I have to slowdown and balance my running with my rest and recovery. At this moment, I was able to bring back my body weight to 133 pounds from 123 pounds at the peak when I was doing my Virtual Runs.

I always make sure to wear a face mask during my runs outside my backyard and maintain one-two meters of social distancing in populated areas. Above all, I always maintain and boost my immune system by doing my daily exercises through running and stretching; eating healthy foods, and making sure to sleep at least, 8 hours every night. Living simply and healthy during this time.

More posts on this blog coming soon! Thank you for reading.

 

New Contents In This Blog


Starting today, October 1, 2020, this blog site will be featuring “general information” on things that are happening within the environment, whether they are politics, social issues, economic issues, health and sports, and other current events and latest information. Hopefully, this will make this blog site relevant and on “real-time” situation reporting. I will be adding some information about fashion and entertainment, most specially on the movies that I watch on my Apple TV through You Tube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos, and Apple Movies.

With this development, I will expect myself to be writing almost everyday and make myself busy. Thank you for following and reading this blog.