PACERS... Heroes of the 2011 CCM

In the world of running, pacers are heroes. They sacrifice their own PR to help others achieve theirs. This coming January 9, 2011, Heroes will emerge. They will wear official pacer singlets on race day. These runners deserve not only medals but our honor as well. Thank you Pacers!!! 

Get to know your pacers!!! And don't forget to TAPER. Recovery is part of training too.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Belly

Merry Christmas everybody!!! Our (CERC) gift to you this season is the inclusion of the SRP Tunnel during the Cebu City Marathon. Aside from the road closure at 4:00 AM to 9:00 AM on race day, we finally made arrangements of using the SRP tunnel as part of the sights to see in Cebu.

Humba and Ice cream are my weakness. I have been eating a lot since last week and have gained weight. Less exercise with a bottomless pit of a stomach will definitely ruin a properly engineered training program. One of the biggest challenges of the CCM is to maintain race weight during the December days. Lucky for me, I can NOT run the CCM. Organizers and members of CERC have to take care of the water stations along the CCM route. While you busy yourself tapering and maintaining proper diet, I eat and rest. I will be assigned at the SRP Tunnel water station along with fellow Ungo Runner Dr. Alex Junia and Dr. Clifford Aranas. Please share with me you comments or suggestions on how to make MY ASSIGNED WATER STATION the most memorable. Email me at reelrunning@ceburunning.com.

Merry Christmas Everybody!!! And a Happy New Year!!! See you in 2 weeks!!!

The Excitement begins

The 2011 Cebu Marathon was just formally announced. January 9, 2011 is the date. Runners from all over the Philippines will flock the Cebu streets to witness the beauty of Cebu and our much awaited marathon. 

The 2010 Cebu City Marathon summoned almost 4,900 runners in the best race the Philippines has to offer. Given perfect reviews by celebrity runners Jaymie Pizarro (The Bullrunner), Jinoe Gavan (Takbo.ph), Jovie Narcise  (Bald Runner) and Haide Acuna (The Marathonfoodie) the Cebu City marathon was a big success. The secret to its achievement is simple. The Cebu City Marathon is a race for runners organized and supervised by runners. Members of the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) manned every water station from KM 0 until the last turning point. Doctors, Entrepreneurs, Lawyers and other executives (all marathoners) made sure the race exceeded every runners expectations. 

 “This year will be bigger and better” promised Jesse Taborada the president of CERC since its early years. 

Souvenir Shirts. New Balance Shirts are given away to the first 4,500 registrants of the Cebu Marathon. As of October 28, 2010, a total of more than 2,790 runners have already registered thus leaving only 1,710 shirts up or grabs. New Balance will also offer a special 20% discount to all registrants wanting to buy new shoes in selected stores by presenting their Cebu marathon claim stub. 

Registration. Planet Sports, The Athlete’s Foot and other related shops will accept registration in selected key cities around the Philippines (Manila, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao). The official website of the Cebu Marathon will be live soon and will accept online registration.

Out of town guests. Selected Hotels all over the metro and in Mactan will be offering special rates to participants. Since the marathon will launch the start of the Sinulog week, guests can stay longer and witness the sinulog festivities. 

Pacers. Yes. We will have pacers next year. We will have runners leading a group to finish at a predetermined time. Popularized here in Cebu by TEAM REBORN, pace group leaders will finish at sub-5:00, sub-5:30 and if possible sub-4:45. Recruitment is underway for these noble runners willing to extend their help to the less experienced.

Timing Chip. The next Cebu Marathon will have timing chips for all race distances. Yes, ALL. Runners in the 5K, 21K and 42K will all receive timing chips and will have their finish times recorded. 

 (From the Net) 

Route and the SRP tunnel. Negotiations are underway which will include the SRP tunnel in the route. It will pose as a challenge to runners as the route is almost a kilometer long and will be a different running environment. The route will still include the South Road Properties (SRP) coastal road and some parts of Cebu City. Starting venue will still be at IT Park. Organizers hope that all cebuanos support the event and help cheer runners during the race. We encourage everybody to participate during race day and wake up early. Like the Sinulog festival, spectators can hang around along the race route and greet all runners with an authentic Sinulog welcome. 

Medals. Like this year's race, the Finishers medal will still be given only to the 42K finishers. Sorry. The design? Wait and see. 

The next Cebu Marathon will also have running clinics scheduled this November and December to help participants prepare for the race. The Marathon Expo will be held on January 5-7, 2011 in Ayala Active Zone where all the race packets will be distributed. A carbo-loading party will be held on January 7, 2011 and will be free for the first 300 registrants. Restaurants in Ayala Center Cebu will be serving pasta at the venue at a reasonable price.

“All systems are go” said Meyrick Jacalan for the next Cebu Marathon. Runners have less than 11 weeks to prepare for the big race.

See you on the Road.

CCM Runners Memoirs

Cebu City Marathon Photos of Friends and Family who joined the Event.

(Official Singlet, Bib, Chip and Medal)

 

(John Pages)

 

(Starting Line)
 

(Takbo.PH Members - Justice League version)
 

(Team BaldRunner)

 

(The BullRunner Jaymie Pizarro)

 

(Wonderwoman carrying Sto.Nino Twinkle Ignacio)

 

(Team SugbuTriathlon)

 

(Max Limpag with Mary Grace de los Santos and Elmer Bartolo)

(CVGH Friends)

(Doctors / Marshals)

 

(MEPZ Runners)
 

(1st Time 21K Finishers: Dams and Jeff)

 

(1st Time 42K Finisher: James Go)

 

(Dr. J.C.Aranas unchallenged by the 42K)

 

(Marathon Foodie Haide Acuna)

 

(Happy and Crampless Joel Garganera)

(Veteran Runner Rening Ylaya)

(Warm-Up Annie Neric Style)

(Dr. Peter Mancao with RTS Runners)

(Dr.Yong Larrazabal with Harty Satina)

(Donna Cruz-Larrazabal also with Harty Satina)

(Red in a sea of yellow)

 

(Jinoe and Que of Takbo.PH at KM 32 Water Station)

(Dam and Bosing Paced the 21K at 6:30)

 

(Encouragement at the Finish Line)

CONTRIBUTION FROM FRIENDS

Other Photos available at www.Fitandrun.info and www.pages.ph

An Organization driven by Passion

When CERC promised an international standard marathon, they delivered. Participants to the well attended Cebu City Marathon (CCM) cheered as CERC members were congratulated of a job well done. Joel Garganera even added that "This marathon (CCM) was far better than Singapore". Although a few hiccups were observed, CCM lived up to all the runner's expectations.

(Friends: Jaja, Doty, Mon-Mon and Bosing) 

Official Chip time results were posted less than 6 hours after the race at the website (www.cebumarathon.com).No runner was dehydrated. No accidents related to the race occurred. Start times were punctual. Post-race snacks consisted of sweets from Leona's, Summit water and 100 plus. Medals were given to all 42K finishers even if they completed the course in more than 7 hours. These things make the Cebu City marathon one of the best running events in Cebu City and the rest of the Philippines.

(1st time 21K Finishers: Dams and Dr. Jeff)

The Passion for Running drives each CERC member. We run in groups every weekend not only to maintain good health but to share with friends our love for the sport. We do not race with each other but instead maintain conversational pace. We also enjoy a few antics conveyed by none other than the Club President, Jessie Taborada. We also run marathons together.

When CERC planned to hold a 42KM race in Cebu during the Sinulog festival, all members were excited. We checked if the idea was feasible and observed if Cebuanos were ready to run a full marathon. We got so excited that we neglected the fact that we were actually not going to run in it.  Members loved the idea of bringing an international marathon to our hometown and share to all Cebuanos the feeling of finishing a full marathon. Six months passed and the big day arrived. Members were distributed to maintain 10 water/ medical stations and were assigned 4 KM areas of responsibility each station. These stations were prepared since 10PM the night prior to the race. Despite limited budget, every water station was required to come up with live entertainment, food for the runners and at least 20 marshals to guide the runners. Medical personnel and Doctors were assigned at selected stations and an ambulance was on call in case of emergency. Protocols were reviewed to make sure runners were safe at all times. 

(CVGH Running Doctors) 

When passion drives an organization, success follows. When CERC promises another International Marathon, WE WILL DELIVER. Congratulations to all the participants of the Cebu City Marathon and Kudos to all the members of Cebu Executive Runners Club for organizing the biggest running event in Cebu City.

(32KM Water Station Heads: Dr. A. Junia and Me with Jinoe and Que of Takbo.PH)

(Team BaldRunner during the Carbo-Loading Party)

(RUNNR Cebu Staff)

(Running Doctors)

(Takbo.PH Runners from Manila)

(Bloggers: MarathonFoodie Haide, Jin of Takbo.PH and Reel Runner)

(Reel Runner with Dams at the FInishLine)