A Marathon Comeback

PAL Manila Marathon 1982

I arrived here in Manila yesterday afternoon and after depositing my backpack in one of the guestroom in Redemptorist Baclaran I immediately proceeded to the Mall of Asia to get my race packet at IZOD containing my bib number, singlet and final instruction. It is still 5 days more to go before the Philippine International Marathon for the Pasig River but I am already very excited.
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Finally, I am making my marathon comeback! My last marathon was in 1995 in Rome just a month after finishing my doctorate at the Gregorian University and before coming home to the Philippines.
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I still remember my first marathon in 1980. I had taken up running in 1979 after giving up smoking (I smoked 2 packs day for 8 years) and losing 25 lbs. So a year later I joined my first Milo Marathon (20 km in 2:04) and then ran my first full marathon in Davao in December 1980. There were only 150 of us and I finished 33rd with a time of 4:30. I was addicted to running and made a promise to run one marathon each year until my old age.
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In January 1982, I ran my second marathon - the Manila International Marathon. There were over 1,500 participants and I placed 194th in 3:36:28. The race director (Dorotheo) told us that the first 200 runners will receive their medal from President Marcos during the dinner in Malacanang held in their honor. That's how I got to meet the dictator face to face (he probably never guessed that I was one of the political prisoners who was imprisoned for 7 months after he declared martial law).
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So from 1982 to 1989, I went to Manila to run the marathon to fulfill the promise I made to myself. I became known as the marathon priest. I posted my best time in 1984 (3:33:13). After that I kept on attempting to break 3 hours and I usually reached the half-way mark in less than 1:30 but would slow down especially after 30 km. Still I was usually able to finish in under 4 hours. I thought I would finally break 3 hours during the California Marathon in 1991 but again I hit the dreaded "runner's wall."
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The Rome Marathon was the worst marathon I ever ran - 5 hrs 12 min. I was running well for the first 30 km and then suddenly I felt pain on my right knee. I did not give up, I just walked slowly the last 12 km. Since then, I have not ran a marathon. I attempted several times to do a comeback but my knee injury kept recurring. So I decided to take up mountain biking instead and became known as the biking priest. But I missed the marathon and I often reminded myself of my vow to run a marathon every year until I grow old.
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Last year in May 2008, after completing my over 5,000 km solo bike-tour around the Philippines, I decided to once again try a marathon comeback. As I slowly trained, using the Galloway method (run-walk) and Chi-running, I rediscovered the joy of running. 30 years after taking up running, I am still running - although I stopped running marathons for 14 years. This is a new beginning. This time, I won't race against the clock - I will just aim to finish. This is what matters most. I already lost 20 lbs, and I hope to lose another 20 lbs to reach my ideal running weight. A faster marathon will have to wait. I still have many more years of running - 30 more years, God willing.
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What's do I want to do next? A solo, unsupported ultra-run from Iligan to Davao (390 km in 8 days), perhaps this coming March 2010. What excites me most is not the race with thousands of runners, but running alone up in the mountains , along trails and highways for days or weeks, with just a backpack. Some day I will journey across the Philippines not on a bike but by running alone, without any support vehicle. . And then, of course, the triathlon. These are my fantasies, or dreams waiting to be realized

The marathon priest is back! The ultra-marathon and triathlon priest is coming soon.