Remembering Mark Anthony Ylanan

I don’t recall exactly how I met Mark, but all I remember was that I was just starting to get crazy about cycling in 1987-88. I heard from a taxi driver that the North Reclamation Area (the loop around SM City North) was the place where cyclist go to train everyday. I felt awkward riding with the pack as it was my first time to do so. Mario Bacalla probably noticed it, and befriended me. He was my first cycling buddy and he proceeded to introduced me to this reed, thin kid, his protege, Eric Cabalda, who believed that he was going to be the next Boy Pagnanawon. He didn’t, hahaha!

The sport of bicycle road racing in Cebu in those days were not structured and there were two groups fighting out for supremacy- The Philippine Amateur Cycling Association (PACA), and the pros who tried every year to hitch their stars to the Marlboro Tour wagon.

So, I took over organizing the events at the Recla, hoping that I’d be able to create an alternative group for us, but I knew I could not do it alone. Then Eric introduced me to Mark, who just recently arrived from a stint in ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia. Mark had lost a few front teeth from a basketball incident and wanted to change sport. He told me that he wanted to make the sport better. And so, the unofficial partnership was born. Mark had the connections and the people to do the legwork and I was his 2nd man. We directed races not only  here in but also in Ormoc and Hilongos, Leyte. He also had stints at the MTB nationals and SEA Games. In fact, he was the only race director that the Tour ni Frank, the oldest amateur stage race in the country, ever had.

Mark was not only an exceptional race organizer but he also packed an explosive sprint and he won a lot of Recla races over the years. We trained with a group about 4x/week at the Recla and every Sunday we rode to Lugo, but I guess his work at TESDA, where he eventually became the Provincial Director in Bohol, was getting in the way of his cycling. He faded from the racing scene but was now very visible with directing races. Mark was one of the most unselfish person I have ever met. Unlike some race organizers, I never heard him demand for a certain fee, in fact, he would rather that he and his crew go wet and hungry than ask money for lunch from the sponsors. He clearly knew what was wrong and what was right.

Last November 11, his friend, Romeo, came calling and told me the shocking news that Mark just passed away an hour before. I knew Mark was not feeling well for a few months and had lost a lot of weight lately but I thought that he was on the mend. How wrong I was!

Losing a friend is tough but losing a great husband and a wonderful Dad is a million time tougher. I am hoping and praying that Ellen, his wife, his daughters Marycar and Christine, will find peace in knowing that Mark had lived his life to the fullest, in spite of the fact that he had crossed his personal finish line at a young age of 56.

Goodbye, my friend!