New Registration Venues for QCIM

It seems like there will be many Cebuano runners joining the QCIM. When Dr. Ling Abella a.k.a. Scribbles a.k.a Mad Dawg Haus reported to the Marathon Foodie that Fitness First in Ayala had no idea about the QCIM registration, I panicked.

Rene Villarta a.k.a Jazz Runner, immediately clarified that the registration venues have been changed. Instead of Fitness First, Cebu-based runners may register starting September 11 at the Timex Branches (I know there's a Timex Store in SM and Ayala)

The following are the registration details for the QCIM

Regular Registration Venues:
All TIMEX Watches Branches Nationwide (Cebu, SM Megamall, SM Southmall, SM North Edsa, SM Mall of Asia, Greenbelt 3

NIKE PARK – Bonifacio High Street, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

Secondwind Running Store – Teachers Village, Diliman, Quezon City
(Other registration venues will be announced soon.)

Late Registration Venue: Quezon City Hall

ONLINE Registration: www.finishline.ph www.runnex.org/qcim2009/

REGISTRATION FEES:
(Local Residents) Race/ *Regular Reg / *Late Reg / Assembly Time / Gun Time
5k P 300.00 / P450.00 / 5:30am / 6:00am
10k 300.00 / 450.00 / 5:15am / 5:45am
21k 500.00 / 650.00 / 4:30am / 5:00am
42k 650.00 / 800.00 / 4:00am / 4:30am

FOREIGN REGISTRATION FEES: US DOLLARS$ -- US$ 40.00 --

ON LINE REGISTRATION AT : www.finishline.ph or www.runnex.org/qcim09/

Regular Reg: September 11 – October 4, 2009

Late Registration: October 5 – October 11, 2009 (at Quezon City Hall)

E-MAIL : QCIM@finishline.ph

Get Ready -- Cebu City Marathon 2010

It is definite.

The Cebu City Marathon will push through on January 10, 2010.

This was confirmed by the Cebu Executive Runners Club at a press launch held Thursday, August 27, 2009 at the Mooon Cafe.

"We are announcing it even as early as today so that the runners can prepare and properly train for it, " said John Pages of CERC.

The Cebu City Marathon will have male and female categories for the following events: 42K, 21K and 5K. The 10K was excluded from the race plan in order to encourage the current crop of 10K runners to progress to the next level, which is 21K and 42K, while still giving new runners the chance to participate under the 5K category.

"CERC will hold a series of running clinics that will teach runners how to prepare properly for a marathon. It will be handled by medical doctors and experienced marathon runners," revealed CERC President Jesse Taborada.

The Cebu City Marathon will be co-presented by the Cebu City Government, who already committed to provide all the cash prizes for the event totaling P300,000.00. The cash prize for the first place finish in the 42K will be P50,000.00 (male and female). This event will hopefully be a part of the official Sinulog calendar.

"Apart from the singlet, those who will successfully complete the 42K will be given a finisher's T-shirt and possibly (the logistics are still being worked out) a finisher's medal," said Meyrick Jacalan also of CERC.

The start/finish area will be at the Cebu I.T. Park. The highlights of the route include the Capitol, Sto. Nino Basilica, Magellan's Cross, the scenic South Road Properties (seaside portion), Cebu Business Park and the three flyovers along Archbishop Reyes Avenue. The route will be certified by PATAFA.

The organizers have not set a cut-off time for the race.

The Marathon Foodie will post the route maps in the next few days.
For more information and updates, please log on to www.cebumarathon.com.

Pain Pain Go Away

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"Agay!" Marathon Foodie gets help from running friends Madelyn Carter, who placed 2nd, and sleepless call center agent Paul Zafico who placed 5th. Congrats Guys!(Photo courtesy of John Mark Lim Causin)

Pain has a purpose. -Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

In all of Cebu’s road races, only CDU’s University Run can manage to gather more than 3,000 participants. Never mind that many of the kids (students of Cebu Doctor’s University) were there for extra credit. The more important thing is that young people are exposed to the great sport of running and hopefully take up the sport more seriously someday, even without prodding from a PE teacher.


Because the University Run is one designed and organized by prominent Cebuano runners – Dr. Yong Larrazabal and Dr. Peter Mancao, the Marathon Foodie had high expectations, and they did not disappoint.


The Start/ Finish Area with the Turtle Runners Club


The start and finish area was big and expansive occupying all four-lanes of the road fronting CDU campus in Mandaue City. This is important when you have more than 3,000 runners and participants. However, the organizers missed the inclusion of a holding and check-in area, which delayed the start of the race.

The organizers also provided a courtesy booth where runners could leave their things. For those who did not know about this, the courtesy booth was located near the CDU swimming pool and was ably manned by student volunteers. The Marathon Foodie thinks that all organizers should include this in their race plan and logistics.


The water stations did not run out of water and cups and there were student volunteers who not only handed out the cups to runners, but cheered enthusiastically as well. One thing about the volunteers at the water stations though, they were sometimes in the way, standing on the runner’s path. This is dangerous to both the volunteer and the runner. I guess the volunteers needed to be briefed to just stand at the side of the road and not in the middle of it, when handing out water.

There was food at the finish line. (Yey!)

Cesar Montano, Sunshine Cruz and Donna Cruz made the University Run a star-studded event, but it was the Atan Guardo Runners who stole the show and “brought the house down” (even though we were outdoors). Wearing their Cory tribute singlets and short-short running shorts, Guardo led a cast of all-male runners in a surprise dance number – Nobody But You by the Wonder Girls. (Click here to see video)

Just like in the Run for Sight Series, the organizers used the same two loops of 5-kilometer asphalt roads. The race course was flat, fast and free from vehicular traffic. It was so fast in fact that many runners broke their PR’s. In fact, the Marathon Foodie clocked 59:58 despite running with an injured foot. This was my fastest 10K run, my best time being 1:01. There were concerns about the race course being a bit short – Garmin wearers noted a deficit of 200 to 500 meters, which confused the Marathon Foodie since this has never been an issue in the previous Run for Sight Series which has been using the same route for five months now. I

In any case, this should not diminish the effort of the runners and the organizers, although the organizers should address this.

Frankly, the Run for Sight Series and the University Run distinguish itself for being two of the regular running events in Cebu where runners (especially the new ones) can be assured that the organizers truly care for the welfare of runners. Maybe because Drs. Yong and Peter are runners too and they know exactly what it feels like on the road. Congratulations to the organizers and Joel Baring who directed the technical aspect of the race.

Marathon Foodie and Drum and Run a.k.a Carlo Serrano of Takbo.ph meet Donna Cruz for the first time. Donna placed 3rd while Carlo recorded his first sub 60 finish in a 10K race (57 mins).

The 4th University Run will always be memorable for me, not because I finished 10K below sixty minutes for the first time, but because of its valuable lessons about pain and foolhardiness.

For about a month prior to race day, I’ve been bothered by a nagging pain between the heel and arch of my right foot. I would later learn this to be plantar fasciitis. I ignored the pain and told no one about it. I thought, I needed to hit my mileage goal for the week and will run even in pain if I have to. I just adjusted my stride and form in order to hide the fact that I was running in pain.

Then on Thursday prior to the race, while Coach Precing and I were doing intervals at the track, the pain transferred to my forefoot. The pain was sharp, like a hammer striking my right forefoot every time I hit the track. Suddenly, there was no hiding the pain. Not only were my strides much shorter, I also limped when I walked.

The track workout was cut-short and Coach had explicit orders for me to rest the foot and if possible, skip the University Run. But I told myself I was strong and can deal with all kinds of pain. Besides, I really really wanted to run 10K below 60 minutes. And so against Coach Precing’s advice, I still ran the University Run.

In the morning of Sunday, the Marathon Foodie took 500 mg Ponstan SF, which dulled the pain a bit, but did not totally eliminate it. The hammer strike on my forefoot was no longer as sharp as it was on Thursday, but my heart was beating fast, not from exertion but from fear. Each time my right foot struck the pavement I had this graphic imagination of my running shoes exploding with my ligaments and bones on the right foot smashed to smithereens.

Throughout the race the Marathon Foodie ran and did not walk. While I was resigned on not breaking my PR, I was also determined not to DNF, even if I had a perfect excuse for dropping out of the race. But it was such a slow and agonizing run. All the while I was kicking myself for not taking the day off. After the race, the Marathon Foodie could hardly walk and hobbled to and from work like an old lady on Monday and Tuesday.

Pain has a purpose. It is often a signal that something is wrong. "The key is to have a sense of when the pain is just soreness or a signal of something more serious. Good indicators that something isn't right include a sharp, localized pain that doesn't improve as your run progresses, and any ache that alters your running form," says Kara Goucher, the current rising star of American marathon running.

Mary Valero, Arlene Acuna, Cattski Espina and Marathon Foodie.

I know runners try to run even while in pain, hoping that it would just magically go away. But for new runners who have very limited experience with injury, ignoring the pain may lead to more serious injuries. What we can do is try to understand what caused the pain and seek (professional) help if you have to.

The Marathon Foodie learned that resting for a day or two or even a week from running is not a mortal sin. Training schedules are not set in stone. A week or two off is much better than not being able to run for three months because of an injury.

It was such a foolish decision to run while injured. Although I hit my target of running below sixty minutes, it still felt hollow because I was not one hundred percent on race day. Who was I trying to impress anyway? I know I will pay dearly for this. I just hope it won't cost me my dreams of finishing the QCIM or SCHKM.

Next stop: Cebu Doctors Rehab Med Dept.

P.S. Congratulations to Dr. Raymund Reel Bontol a.k.a. Reel Running for placing 3rd in the Doctor's 10K Division and to Abby Ponce for shaving 8 minutes from her previous record at the Run for Sight. It's not the Lunarglides Abs! Thanks to Drum and Run for the Photographs.

Come Hell or High Water

Remember that if you don't go to the starting line, you will never view the whole course with all its possibilities. And you will certainly never see the glories of the finish line.

-Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life


The sound of a thousand horses galloping on the roof woke up the Marathon Foodie at 4:30 in the morning of August 16, 2009. You would think that the sensible thing to do would be to curl up in bed and enjoy the rain on a lazy Sunday morning. But no, it was the day for Rock and Run -- a race organized by the Spa and Wellness Association of Cebu to cap the province’s 440th Founding Anniversary.

It was all dark and gloomy and wet. A perfect day for running!

The Marathon Foodie was running in the 10K category and I wondered whether this rainy and gloomy Sunday morning would be a good day to finally finish under one hour in a 10K run. The Marathon Foodie’s best time is 1:01 set last June at the Kapamilya Run.

Cattski and Mary on their first 5K race.

It was also a big day for my friends Mary and Cattski as they would be running in their first 5K race. The week before, Mary and Cattski had burned rubber soles at the I.T. Park, and experimented with how music and beats per minute can be a tool for setting your race pace instead of the split times on a chrono watch.


When my posse and I reached the start/ finish area at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City, the rain was as fierce as it was at 4:30 AM. It was already 6:15 and the race should have started 15 minutes ago. We were afraid that the run would be cancelled due to inclement weather, but the runners who showed up were all willing to wait another hour for the rain to stop. And it did stop at 6:45.

Starting time and race course

All three categories – 3K, 5K and 10K all started at exactly 7:00 in the morning. The Rock and Run used a fast and mostly flat course traversing the North Reclamation Area, Plaridel Street in Umapad, United Nations Avenue leading to Super Metro Mandaue, part of MC Briones and back to CICC where we all started. The runners ran under heavy overcast skies and a light drizzle. The road was slippery, but there were no known mishaps during the entire race.

Road Marshals and water station

I’ve been hearing stories about how the Traffic Enforcement and Management (TEAM) of Mandaue is uncooperative when it comes to road races in their jurisdiction, but for this particular race, the road marshals from TEAM did a good job of manning traffic making sure that runners are given right of way at busy intersections, regardless of whether the traffic light was green, red or yellow. Maybe it helped that the motorists were behaved and mostly gracious during the Rock and Run. Yes, there were still tricycles (a permanent fixture in Mandaue City traffic), but there were no tricycle drivers from hell. Nope, even the notorious D’ Rough Riders bus drivers were behaved on that day. Except for one water station located along Plaridel St. right after the traffic light at U.N. Ave., all water stations had ample supplies of water and water cups.

There were just a few things that the Marathon Foodie wasn’t too happy about. The organizers could have done better with the singlet. It was atrocious. A woman runner wearing it would look indecent as it was too see-through, almost like wearing a net bag.

Also, I have yet to see a local race organizer provide a place where runners could securely leave their bags and change of clothes. This is the one thing organizers always miss out on -- not all runners have cars where they can leave their things.

All in all, the Rock and Run met all the minimum requirements of a well-managed race.



To entertain ourselves, we held our own aero dance party at the CICC parking lot. The organizers set up a kickass sound system for the mini rock concert, which was canceled. Disco music was blaring instead. Kinahanglan ug photoshop ako pits!

The organizers had originally planned to feature a mini rock concert at the finish line to entertain the runners after the race, but it was canceled due to bad weather. But trust runners to have as much fun with or without a mini concert.

That plan was all well and good, but personally, the Marathon Foodie thinks that they could have done better if the organizers (spa owners and wellness entrepreneurs) played up to their strength and expertise, by providing free hilot and massage at the finish line for let’s say, the first one hundred finishers.



Stuffed with pancakes

So how did the Marathon Foodie fare in this race?

The Marathon Foodie treated the race like a usual tempo run at the track. Slow start at the first two kilometers, moderate speed at the next four kilometers, faster at the 7th, 8th and 9th kilometer till the finish line. I only found my kick at 1.5 KM to go. Maybe I should have pushed harder.

The Marathon Foodie clocked 1:01 with an average race pace of 6 minutes 10 seconds per kilometer. Exactly the same length of time it took me to finish 10K at the Kapamilya Run last June. I would have wanted to register a time of 59 minutes or less, but it was not to be. I wanted to race Donna Cruz, but she was way too fast for Marathon Foodie. Donna is such a beauty on the road and makes running look so easy. Donna Cruz placed 6th while the Marathon Foodie placed 10th.

My BFF Mary Valero did much better at improving her time. Her previous record for a 3K is 38 minutes. At the Rock and Run she finished 5K in 42 minutes. Although the distances are different, her average pace greatly improved. Cattski, Cebu’s rock goddess, finished her first 5K in 37 minutes despite her constant sleep deprivation.

"This is the size of your stomach. You eat more than this, you're overeating." -- channeling our inner Cynthia Alexander

We capped our morning with brunch at Bo’s Coffee Club at the I.T. Park. We drank coffee, ate pancakes and omelets and contemplated on the size of our stomach.

Next race: 4th University Run on August 23.

Photo credit: All photos are courtesy of Mary Adrienne Valero-Lood

Cebu Registration for QCIM

There is good news for Cebuano Runners who want to join the 1st QC International Marathon.

Registration for the QCIM will start on August 20, 2009 and the registration venues include ALL Fitness First Branches nationwide. Fitness First - Cebu is located at the 3rd level of Ayala Center Cebu. You may also register online through www.finishline.com and www.runnex.org/qcim2009/.

The registration fees, race and assembly time are as follows:

Race *Regular Reg *Late Reg Assembly Time Gun Time
5k P 350.00 P 450.00 5:30am 6:00am
10k 350.00 450.00 5:15am 5:45am
21k 500.00 600.00 4:30am 5:00am
42k 650.00 750.00 4:00am 4:30am

Regular Reg: August 20 – Sept.27, 2009
Late Registration: September 28 – October 2, 2009

All the aforementioned information can also be found on the Jazz Runner blog or the Runnex website, but the Marathon Foodie relies on the Jazz Runner for information on the QCIM as he is more updated compared to the official website!

Fourth University Run

23 August (6AM)
4th University Run

Organizer: Run for Sight Foundation
Race Directror: Dr. Peter Mancao

3K, 5K and 10K run around the CDU campus at the North Reclamation Area, Mandaue City.

Last year's run attracted 5,000 runners making this a premier running event in Cebu.
Category includes -- open, doctors, Cebu Doc Group employees, CDU students.

Registration fee is P200.00 which includes singlet and Sun Cellular SIM pack

Registration at CDUH Rm. 104, CDU Sappro Office and Cebu City Sports Center

Ready, Rock, Run!

Save the date, August 16, 2009, for the first Rock and Run. The race starts at 6:00 in the morning. Assembly time is at 5:00 AM at the Cebu International Convention Center. For those who still don't know where the CICC is, it is that huge building that looks like a woman giving birth at the North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City. You can't miss it.

The Rock and Run will feature the 5K and 10K categories and a 3K run for kids.

You may register at any of the following sites:

-All Body and Sole outlets (2545026)
-Coach Pacquiao Wellness Center
-Langkawi Discovery Spa
-Holiday Gym and Spa
-DTI
-DOT
-Casa Ilonga (Robinson's Place Cebu Foodcourt)
-Alibyo Boutique Spa (2388654)
-Grand Royale Spa (Banilad Town Center)
-Cebu City Sports Center
-Philippine Sports Commission (Audie or Lerma)

The registration fee is P200.00, which includes singlet.

The top three runners for the 10K division will get 5K, 3K and 2K Pesos respectively. Fourth to tenth finishers will get P500 each.

The top 3 5K division runners will get 3K, 2K and 1K respectively while 4th to 10th finishers will get P300 each.

The winners of the 3K kid's run will receive 2K 1.5K and 1K while the 4th to 10th finishers will get P300 each.

This race is organized by the Spa and Wellness Association of Cebu and the Cebu Health and Wellness Council in cooperation with DOT and the Province of Cebu.

The Race Director, Raffy Uytiepo told the Marathon Foodie that the organizers wanted this run to feature something new, hence they thought of having a live band to entertain the runners at the start/ finish line.

The Marathon Foodie has a suggestion -- since the organizers are spa and wellness entrepreneurs, maybe you can provide free massage and hilot at the finish line too? Paging Sir Raffy! Hehehe.





Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of the Run for Sight Foundation

Tribute Run

Profound grief, like love and affection, needs to be expressed.

Although the Marathon Foodie was just a small kid in the early eighties, I could still remember what it was like to live in fear during the waning days of martial law. We used to live very near the Malacanang Park where the PSG personnel also lived. When Ninoy died in 1983, even the simple act of tying a yellow ribbon outside our window – a simple expression of protest and defiance -- took a lot of courage on the part of my mom who was pro-Ninoy. My father was a Marcos loyalist then, so you can just imagine the tension at home.

I was only eight years old when the 1986 EDSA revolution happened. In February that year, my family was getting ready for the big move to Cebu that was to happen in March. All our things were packed and crated, except for one transistor radio and a few clothes. When news of people gathering at EDSA broke over Radyo Veritas, I told my mom that maybe we should just leave Manila ASAP and go to Cebu ahead of schedule where it was safer. But my mom, who was then two months pregnant with my brother Alex, told me that there was a revolution and we had to stay and contribute.

Photo by Drum and Run, taken along Biliran Road CBP, at the back of Ayala-FGU Center. Starting point of he Tribute Run.

And contribute we did. All the women living on our street took out all their big woks and cauldron and made batches after batches of chicken pospas and champorado in a make shift dirty kitchen outside a neighbor’s house; while the men and the unmarried women with no children to look after took the lugaw to EDSA for those who were keeping vigil outside Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo. It was community spirit at its best – a collective display of generosity, heroism and courage from simple folk, which I’ve not witnessed again since then.

Now that the Marathon Foodie is 32, I wonder why the passing of a woman so distant can have such a profound effect on me. From where does this grief come from? Thus, when fellow runner and blogger Drum and Run a.k.a. Carlo Serrano proposed that we do a tribute run on the day of President Cory’s burial, I did not hesitate to say yes. I thought that running was the most tangible thing I could do to honor the passing of a great woman and statesman, since I could not join the throng of men women and children lining up to pay their last respects at the Manila Cathedral. And just maybe, this pre-dawn run will help me put this grief in perspective.

Tribute Run Route

Thus, on Wednesday I found myself awake at 3:30 in the morning and getting ready for a tribute run for Tita Cory. Clad in our identical I Am Ninoy Runner’s shirt, Carlo and I began our tribute run at Starbucks in Ayala with the route traversing part of Archbishop Reyes Avenue, I.T. Park, Salinas Drive, Gorordo Avenue, Excario Street., M. Velez, V. Rama, B. Rodriguez, Fuente Osmena, Osmena Blvd., Escario Street and back to Ayala where we started. The tribute run spanned a total distance of 11.5 kilometers and we ran it at an easy pace ranging from 6:50 min/km to 7:20 min/km.

Training splits courtesy of Drum and Run. Thanks Carlo for sharing your Garmin!

Truth to tell, even after a great tribute run, I still can’t figure out exactly why I’m grief-stricken. Maybe I’m sad for my country and all the wasted opportunities for greatness. In 1986 anything was possible for the Philippines, but look where we are now. It seems nothing has changed. Maybe I feel ashamed of myself, a supposed true child of the EDSA Revolution becoming cynical and disillusioned about my country. Maybe I am mad at myself for giving in to the stupor and apathy in the face of great corruption. While I do not condone evil, I feel so utterly powerless to stop it. I forget how a simple housewife stood bravely, even in the face of death, and led a nation against a seemingly invincible dictator.

As a journalist, broadcaster and now a new blogger I have so much to thank Tita Cory for. I know I owe so much of my freedom to this woman. Without her, the freedom we take for granted today (including all the ranting and raving on Facebook and Twitter) would not have been possible. The least I can do to give back and honor her legacy is to shake off my own cynicism and apathy.

I guess this running and taking stock while I run is a good start. The mere fact that I’m feeling all these things and writing about it must be a prelude to an awakening. All true revolutions really do start from within.

The Lonely Life of a Wannabe Long-Distance Runner

In distance running, “base training” or just “base” is the foundation on which you build the rest of your running. It’s the core strength that allows you to build the ability to go longer and faster. With luck, it also will help prevent injury. – Marathon Woman by Kathryn Switzer

Like a headless chicken the Marathon Foodie was running from one place to another, beating deadlines at work, fulfilling duties at home and squeezing-in an intense first week of training. The Marathon Foodie is on the second of three cycles of 12-week training programs.

The first cycle which started last May and culminated with the Milo 21K in July was relatively easy consisting of 33 to 40 kilometers per week with the Marathon Foodie running only three times a week (one easy run, one tempo run or speed work and one long run on Sundays). The first 12-week cycle was more diagnostic than anything. It was spent correcting my stride and form and gauging how fast I could run at a given distance.

The first 12-week cycle ended with the Marathon Foodie logging a total of 506 kilometers, with a race-day pace of 11 minutes per mile or 6:50 per kilometer. With this pace, the Marathon Foodie is expected to finish a full marathon in 5:00:14.

Coach Precing and I both agreed that the Marathon Foodie is ready to take on a more challenging program and decided to step up the mileage, frequency and pace. From running only three times a week, the Marathon Foodie is now on the road for five days with mileage ranging from a low of 65 kilometers to as much as 90 kilometers per week before tapering.

If I stay focused and stick with the program, the second 12-week cycle will add 877 kilometers or a total of 1,383 kilometers to the Marathon Foodie’s base mileage. That’s like running the island of Cebu from end to end, from the southernmost tip at Santander town to Bogo up north, seven times.

This much increased mileage is to be the cornerstone of my training for the Hong Kong Marathon in 2010. By the time I stand at the starting line on Nathan Road on February 28, 2010, I should have racked up a total of 2,260 kilometers and hopefully finish the HK Marathon in 4:41:00. The cut-off time for HK is 5 hours 30 minutes.

This all looks good on paper, but what does it really take to make my marathon dreams come to fruition?

It means running 11 kilometers four days of each work week, which consequently means sleeping by 8 every night so that the Marathon Foodie can hit the streets for training runs the next day at 4 in the morning and still have enough time to prepare for work at the office or in court. It means long slow runs of 22, 26 and 32 kilometers on Sundays, which means no more Sabado nights with friends, nor long weekends spent in Sta. Fe in Bantayan or Panglao, Bohol. It also means suffering from wounds, blisters and chafing not just on my feet but also on parts of my body that touch the seams of my running gear. Body Glide and petroleum jelly do not seem to work for me. It means no more nails on four of my toes. They died around the time I hit 400 kilometers in my training program.

But the Hong Kong Marathon is still six months away, why work so hard now? For a first time marathoner, that’s just how long it takes. More so for someone like the Marathon Foodie who does not possess an in-born gift for running long distances. There is no short-cut, no magic potion, no cheating your way to it. You just have to earn your miles. I learned this the hard way, also in Hong Kong, but that’s for another blog.

You might ask, why go through all that? Truth to tell, I still don’t fully understand why. I just know that preparing to run a marathon has given me a new sense of direction, commitment and a renewed purpose in life. When I’m running I feel that I can be more, achieve more, give more.

Sometimes I get this crazy idea of taking a really radical sabbatical and just spend a year or two doing nothing else except training and running. Who knows, if I take this new passion as far as I possibly can, maybe I can be really good at it and even run for the Philippines someday. I tell myself that it’s never too late. The champion of the women’s marathon at the Beijing Olympics was a 38 year old Romanian – the oldest gold medalist in Olympic history. But then reality interferes with my running dreams. There are bills to pay, pleadings to write and duties to fulfill.

In the meantime, the Marathon Foodie continues to run no matter how very little time there is to spare, and no matter how difficult and painful it gets. That’s just how it is when you love something or someone. You invest time, put in your heart and soul and learn to have patience that can run for miles and miles and miles.

Photo Credit: Marathon Foodie, directional signs at the Ting Kau Park under the Ting Kau Bridge. The directional signs (toilet, office, fitness station, jogging track) pretty much sum up the Marathon Foodie's life for the next six months.