In The Tormenting Arms Of Full Mary

It is 90% mental and 10% physical.That how a runner friend of mine describes running a full marathon. It is no joke for a first timer like me to do one.After nine months of finishing 10,15 and 21km races,I finally convinced myself to succumb in loving arms of full mary.

July 5, 33rd MILO MARATHON; KM 0

At the starting line,I had a good chat with fellow 42k virgins like Marygenie,Natz,and Sam. I was as excited as they were.
Starter gun fired at exactly 4:30. I ran with Sam for the first two kilometers.Without having so much strategy in my mind,I maintained a pace between 6:30 to 7:00 hoping to beat the five-hour curfew. I don't hava a garmin that's why everytime I came in pace with someone who has,I tried to ask what speed we were running at so I can keep up with my target time.

The first 15km

I saw Pojie and Rod and paced with me for a while. After quick hellos and high fives,we parted. Upon exiting the Roxas Boulevard and entered Buendia, I met with the Takbo.ph support group stationed at KM12,their constant cheering lifted my spirit up. I just felt I'm doing good!



Buendia to Kalayaan

Too many runners zooming past over me. I just maintained a comfortable pace but quite satisfied that I struggled for 1 hour and 30 minutes by the time I stepped on 15th km . I just broke my personal record at this distance. Just when I started to feel really thirsty,a biker paced with me for a while.He turned out to be Patrick(vVinceth),a takbo.ph ultramarathoner who volunteered to support the runners,offered me a gatorade.

Kalayaan Flyover climb to The Fort Strip

Few meters before the Kalayaan Flyover I gathered momentum for the ascent and recovered at the top to conserve my energy. At the fort strip I took short walks in every water and gatorade stations. I also had a short stop at the next takbo.ph support group composed of beautiful people just a few meters away from the end of kalayaan flyover.


Lawton Avenue

Just as the sun has started to come,a rain fell hard as if all the runners were praying for it. It was raining while the sun shines. Someone paced with me for a while and introduced himself. He was Bulakenyo, also a regular member of takbo.ph. The rain abated when I passed the 2nd U-turn and headed to Bayani Road.

Bayani Road and C-5 U-Turn

Mary started pounding me.My energy was slowly giving up. I started to walk frequently. While walking,Rico and Migz passed over me and asked me if i'm doing good. I gave them the two-thumbs up. Migs offered me gatorade and after that they parted. I just can't pace with them.

Going Back

Under the heat of the sun, I headed back to kalayaan flyover.Lactic acid was already building up in the muscles. I started to feel wasted,my spine,legs and butt were already aching.
The sun came hard along Buendia Avenue. I came to point of giving up, the heat was drying up the remaining energy in me.I said to myself,there was no use of trying it hard since it is almost 8:45. I won't beat the 5 hour cut-off. Blisters in my toes were taking its toll. I was like a lone wolf in the desert,panting. Is this all I can offer? Am I doomed to take the taxi and go home with a wrecked ego?

The Motivator

At almost to point of giving up,one runner, a middle-aged man approached me and made a comment on my shoes. He tried to break some humor upon noticing my shoes is the same as his.He said our shoes should bring us to the finish line whatever it takes. We have the same shoes, same pace,same height and both first timer.We became running partners for the last 10km and develop some sort of strategy to run every kilomer then walk a few a meters then run again. We introduced ourselves to each other and exchanged running stories and experiences. He is Dr. Jun Kagaoan, a dentist. He came all the way from Vigan to join the full mary for the first time. He's 42 years old and running a 42km!. Oh man, this guy is 10 years older than me and I don't want to be left behind! This team-up driven away the anxiety and weariness. Indeed,having a buddy in times of suffering lessens the pain.In some ways,we both motivated each other. I could still remember the phrase he always utter: "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever"!.

The Last 5km assault

At 9:15 AM,it's good to see again the takbo.ph support stationed at Buendia. With their constant cheering, I felt like a celebrity and even managed to strike a respectable running poise for their cameras to capture.The support group made once again our run much easier under the heat of the sun as we exited Buendia and entered Roxas Blvd back to where we started.
More stories were exchanged between me and my running buddy as we tread the Roxas Blvd. By 9:30am, we have already accepted the fact that we were not elgible for medal or certificate but very eager to prove that we can still make it to the finish line. And by doing so,we can call ourselves marathoners. We even made a pact to run another marathon with vengeance.

The Finish Line,KM0

With ample energy left in our bodies, we scampered the last 200 meters like Japanese soldiers crying a banzai charge to victory. Though we were thirty minutes late,nothing is more exhilirating than being under a banner with all-caps F-I-N-I-S-H word on it. We forgot every tormenting circumstances we had earlier. All we know is we made it. All we know is we ran 42.195km nothing more,nothing less.And all we know we became marathoners for the rest of our lives.