REEL RUNNING: Official PACE GROUP Leaders of Cebu

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Official PACE GROUP Leaders of Cebu

Last weekend was memorable for me and the rest of TEAM REBORN. We proved to many Cebuanos that the team is strong in both running and triathlon.

(Team Reborn)

Starting Friday, the team attended a 3 day Triathlon Clinic by Coach Mat O’ Halloran and Team Reborn Coach Noy Jopson. We did an easy ride to Catmon and completed a few technical swims to prepare for race day.

(Team Reborn with Mat during Tri Clinic)

Team Reborn then conquered the 1st Naga Sprint Triathlon as members won in almost all categories. Coaches Mat O’ Halloran and Noy Jopson won 1st and 2nd place, respectively, in the Male Open Sprint Category while Tyrone and daughter, Rochelle, both placed 1st in the Male and Female Super Sprint Category. Team Reborn Swim Coach Lorhiz Echavez placed 1st in the Female Sprint Category while Jane-Jane Ong placed 3rd. I and Joseph Miller placed 2nd and 3rd place in the Seniors 30 Category while Tenggoy Colmenares finished first in the Masters 40 Category. Merly Colmenares also placed 3rd in the Super Sprint category. The Team celebrated victory at Tyrone’s residence and prepared for next day’s race.

(Team Reborn pacer group leaders with Balloons)

It is not the first time that Team Reborn lead a pace group during one of Cebu’s big races. During the recent 34th Milo Marathon Cebu Eliminations the team lead pace group sub-2:00 hours and sub-2:30. We lead Cebuanos to the finish line and to a new personal record (PR). RUNCheck sponsored “Run to the Max 3: Conquer the Hill” also had pace group leaders. The Team, sponsored by Holiday Gym and RUNCheck, was asked by organizer and Team Mate Annie Neric to lead pace groups. We lead several pace groups as Annie wanted participants to have several options for a PR. Coaches Noy Jopson and Lorhiz Echavez lead the Sub 1:30 pace while I ran a sub 1:40 pace. Tenggoy and Jung lead the sub 1:50 and the sub 2:00 pace group respectively. Runners only have to keep up or stay ahead of the pace leaders to be assured of a new PR. After winning the Naga Triathlon race, Mat also placed 5th in the Open category during the run while other team mates Merly, Amale, Nica, Jane-Jane and Lorhiz also placed in the respective categories. Male team mates also amused participants as they showcased their skills not only in triathlon but also in dancing as well. (See Video)

(Team Reborn Dance number)

(Mat 5th place win)

(Amale and Lorhiz win)

(Jane-Jane and Merly win)

(Nica win)

Pace group leaders are runners who run at a pre-determined speed to finish at a target finish time. They do not aim for a PR but instead lead other runners get their PR. They are experienced runners who carry banners or balloons to tell participants where they are in the course. Runners can stay behind the pace group leader or run ahead. When falling back from the group, pace groups also have sweepers to help or motivate runners to keep up the pace. Cebu is lucky to have volunteers to lead pace groups. Members of Team Reborn are now the official pace group leaders for RUNCheck races and other runs in Cebu.