Cebu Marathon is back!
Eight years ago, I ran my first Cebu Marathon but it was only a 5-kilometer distance. It was tough back then because I was at my heaviest at 309 pounds and ever since that run, it has been my ritual to join the Cebu Marathon every year.
Then at 2012 I ran and finished my first 21K in less than three hours but every year after that the Cebu Marathon for me started to lose its identity as the premium Marathon race in Cebu when Runrio took over. The Cebu branding started to lose its image as the logo of Runrio had more exposure although the medals were still awesome the registration fee has steadily increased every year after that and then one time when I registered I asked "why is the race so expensive? And she answered "Runrio man gud sir!"
Fast forward to 2018 last weekend finally the Cebu Marathon kicked off with the Cebu Executive runners handling the race again. Ten members from the METAFIT Tri Team and my Boot Camp went full force and joined. Almost all the categories were represented except the 5km. In the 42km distance our team co-captain Zusette Co ran her best at four hours and 47 minutes. Zusette is one of our winningest member as she has consistently set foot on the podium at every race and just recently the 8080 Triathlon in San Remigio. Father Frere Clemente ran a blistering time of 3 hours 47 minutes, almost 30 minutes faster than last years Cebu Marathon he suffered food poisoning 2 days ago but recovered in time with proper medication, hydration and the power of Prayers.
Again surprising everyone is Pimco Pimentel and Christian Marc Demoral. Both running their first full marathon Pimco finished with a time of 6:04 and what makes this incredible is that Pimco has not been running that much, the most he ran was just 18km after the 21km Milo marathon.
Pimco relied purely on muscle memory and countless of jumping jack, squat, push up, lunges, and burpees we did in our boot camp. Christian Marc on the other side finished with a respectable 6:14. Marc on the other put on mileage night in, night out plus again countless of our exercise and 4 minute workout plus the most important factor of all “INSPIRATION”.
Christian Marc is madly inlove and at the finish line Roxanne also known as “witwit” his fiancee was there to cheer and support Marc at the finish line. At the 21km distance Jose Paolo Echavez almost broke the 2 hrs mark and missed by 6 seconds only, if not for cramps on the final 2 km of the run, "Kulang kaayo akong mileage for a 21k, I took 2 gels, pero wa jud.. the lack of mileage plus the fast pace at the starting line got me. If I kept my 12k pace, I possibly could have finished at 1:50. But things happen and huge lesson learned", said Paolo. Not bad for a first time half marathon finisher. Coach Lem Co finished under 3 hours while Althea Dy, Edith Ecarma, Sarah Lucero, Jodette Romaguerra and Fritz Co finished with a ton of time to spare before the cut off time.
Fritz was recovering from a flu and would have gone directly home at the 10km mark but thanks to Sanjay’s coaching he was able to dig deep and talk or chatted his way to the finish line. They talked from start to finished but still managed to finish within cut off time. Yours truly finished the 10km distance with 1:23 minutes.
But what made the big difference from this Cebu marathon to previous years is the branding CEBU was once again visible. The meals was a mouthful ( rice, fried chicken, egg and water) compared to the one piece ensaymada years ago. Although the cue line was horrible with a staff of more than 10 they combined all the distance in one cue line and it took us almost 20 minutes just to claim the meal.
The commerative 2xU shirt was awesome, it was given to all early bird registrants for the 42 and 21km participants. Plus the New Balance runners tee shirt and the finisher shirt for 21 and 42km. Gone was the major blunder of the finisher shirt given to the “10K MARATHON FINISHER” printed two years ago on the shirt. The awarding started late and special mention to the recovery tent where I was able to get a good good stretch and recovery blade therapy by Coach Lyza.
Although the late finishers were not able to avail the service as most of therapist had other jobs and events to attend to. The hydration station was well organized, the water was really ice cold.
There are still room for improvement like the strict implementation of the marshall like runners taking a short cut. Some took the motorcycle back, others were hiding and pretending to pee but maybe was booking for an Angkas ride.
The results posted also had some names unlisted which should not happen for an international event. Maybe at the 100 or 200 meters before the finish line a sensor will be added, so that before crossing the finish line it can be determined if he or she really deserves the medal. Maybe a Globe or smart or sun tracker can be helpful.
We asked for it and we got it! Cebu Marathon is really back! BACK in CEBU. The branding the festive atmosphere! SEE YOU IN 2019.
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