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I actually had a rewarding but traumatic first marathon last 2007, and it took me another 3 years to overcome my fear and find enough reasons to conquer my second 42k marathon.
My first marathon was inspired by my boss, Jim Lafferty, who led the first batch of P&G marathoners to the finish line. I finished after 7 hours : 43 minutes, and I was hospitalized because of potassium and electrolyte imbalance in the body due to dehydration. This was caused by two things:
- I had loose bowel movement in Petron at the corner of Buendia/Makati Avenue triggered by the orange slice I ate.
- The marathon started at 4.30am and ended close to the hottest temperature at 12nn. I experienced sweating salt literally because there was no more sweat in my body.
My second marathon was inspired by the lady version of the inspirational “Jim Lafferty” spirit, Jaymie Pizzarro of the best running blog in the country — The Bull Runner. She organized TBR Dream Marathon for newbie marathoners who dream of conquering their first ever 42k marathon. Jim was the race director and he even confirmed that he has never seen any other organized marathon around the world exclusively for newbies.
My second marathon erased all the trauma I had with my first because:
- I achieved my personal best record of 6 hours : 55 minutes for a 42km! We started at 2am and ended just before 9am.
- No LBM this time. I really managed my bowel movement and monitored what I ate before the marathon. I learned to avoid anything citrusy like oranges or fruit-flavored gels.
- No dehydration this time around because I followed the Hammer Gel Nutrition guideline and made sure I drank water/Gatorade at every station. My favorite gel flavors are Chocolate and Espresso.
- I enjoyed every minute of the run because the entire group constantly and positively encouraged each other to finish the 42k. I didn’t see anyone quit throughout the entire race.
- Lastly, the Nuvali 42k Marathon Route was awesome! What I liked about it:
-
- the fresh air and clear sky where you can run under the stars at night;
- the turnaround in the bird sanctuary, where we could hear the birds chirping for us; and
- the gradual hill terrain, which made it more challenging.
I imagine, when the trees start to grow along the road, this will be one of the marathons worth looking forward to, especially for newbies.
It was really an awesome marathon event. Everybody who showed up at 2am was able to finish the 42km marathon. The spirit after the race was unbelievable. Jaymee was able to inspire about 240+ marathoners that day — truly amazing! (see: The Bull Runner | Thank You!)
Here are some photos from my second marathon courtesy of Photo Vendo and the Dream Chasers:
It was great to start a marathon at 2am. We ran under the stars for the first half of the marathon and then witnessed an awesome sunrise on the horizon.
Two of my P&G colleagues from Cabuyao Plant: Martin Cruz (#73) and William Marino (#172).
Happy Feet Runners: Ed Redona, The Scientist Runner (#226) and Ricky Gundran (#128).
Mark (#150) was my awesome running buddy from start to finish. He kept our pace at a 9-minute run and 1-minute walk.
We were still in good spirits after our first 23k, around the Solenad Area in Nuvali.
Pushing through “The Wall” past the 37k mark, visualizing our awesome finish.
We crossed the finish line together and finished strong at sub-7 hours.
These are my favorite Dream Chasers (Vangie Montalbo, Bobby Cruz, and Junrox Roque) who are always there to inspire you to finish your last 4k 🙂
My wife Rache and Joshua were waiting for me at the finish line. 🙂 I felt good throughout the race. In fact, my legs recovered already a day after the marathon.
Together with the other marathoners that day, I can proudly proclaim the greatest boast of any runner — “I am a Marathoner!”
I can’t wait for the next one! 🙂
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P.S. I’m challenging Rache and Jaymee’s sister, Janice, to run their first ever 42k Marathon next year (also in Nuvali). Would you like to join them?
Congratulations! May the Dream Live On!
Congrats on your strong, second marathon finish, sir! 🙂
I’m glad to be part of the TBR marathon as dream chaser. What makes TBR dream marathon different is that almost everyone at the start line were all jittery kasi first-timers and not veterans.
And as we cheered them along as they passed by our station, we could feel that they were gradually gaining confidence as they conquer more and more miles. 🙂 And during the last push–when the sun was up and melting everyone–the determination to finish kept them going. Very inspiring! 🙂 Congrats again, sir and more FMs! 🙂
Congratulations Anton! Thanks also for helping me hurdle the great mental barrier. It was an awesome finish, cramps and all. Till the next marathon!
hi anton!
wow 42k! congrats, that’s great! maybe i should join a marathon too. i heard some stories that when some finished, no one was in the finish line anymore or people are packing up but i guess it’s just a matter of getting used to running and becoming better in the future.
congratulations! i was a few meters behind you at km37 where i was walking with my hubby as i was in so much pain already. gladly, i finished too at 7h19m. wasn’t that happy with my time but still happy that i was able to conquer my first marathon with so much happy memories.
and i agree with you… “Together with the other marathoners that day, I can proudly proclaim the greatest boast of any runner — ‘I am a Marathoner!'”
Thanks for the comment! Most people crossed the finish line naman, there was only a few who arrived past the 10am cutoff.
Anton
congratulations fellow dream marathoner! i think we all agree — it was just awesome!!! -Mariel 🙂
Hi Goldie — a finish is a finish 🙂 My first marathon nga is 7h 45 mins… anyway, the best thing is to sign up for the next marathon. Yahoo!
Anton
Yeah 🙂 I'm still reliving the experience in my mind over and over again… galing!
Hi Mark, it was indeed a great marathon run! Sa uulitin 🙂
Yeah truly inspiring and I do hope that it gets my wife inspired to run her first 42k marathon in Nuvali too 🙂 maybe next year…
Hi Anton,
Tracy (tracy.carpena@gmail.com) has left you a comment:
Congrats on your strong, second marathon finish, sir! 🙂
I'm glad to be part of the TBR marathon as dream chaser. What makes TBR dream marathon different is that almost everyone at the start line were all jittery kasi first-timers and not veterans.
And as we cheered them along as they passed by our station, we could feel that they were gradually gaining confidence as they conquer more and more miles. 🙂 And during the last push–when the sun was up and melting everyone–the determination to finish kept them going. Very inspiring! 🙂 Congrats again, sir and more FMs! 🙂
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Hey Anton, congrats for finishing strong (literally and unlike the last time hehehe…) on your 2nd full mary! Even if we weren’t participants in this event, it’s really nice to be a part of the TBR DM as dream chasers. How I wish we could experience what you guys went through, this event was simply amazing!
congrats sir anton! “we are marathoners!” btw, i dont know if you still remember me, i attended one of your talks sa Fully-booked. thanks for encouraging me to write a running/travel blog. kudos and thanks!
Great run Anton!
When will the 3rd be? 🙂
Congratulations!
great anton!!! it was very nice experience. congrats again!!!
dhemz
Thanks for the comment and welcome!
Congrats, Anton! HANEP!!! 😀 Marc has been walking around the house wearing his finisher’s medal hahaaha joke lang 😛
Next year, me naman. Sabay kami ni Rache and Janice! Kayo ni Marc personal pacers namin hehehehe
Congratulations on your impressive finish. And thank you also for the encouragement and motivation you gave me and my wife as we ran along the route. I vividly remember that you mentioned that ‘tayo yung magkaka-batch na matatapos.’ That was a good, casual and friendly moment to ease the fatigue. Thank you for that!
Congratulations once again and cheers to to more marathons! 🙂
Cool! Congrats Anton! Waaaaahhh, super inggit. I stopped at 10K and am scared to try 21K, hehe.
Vanessa,
Actually, the longest run of some of the runners during the Nuvali Marathon is only 10k and they were able to finish 42k! Amazing talaga.
Anton
Hi Jan, you're welcome and congratulations too 🙂 galing!
Hi Bobby,
Tara marathon na ulit tayo? Camsur!
Anton
Congratulations! =)
Congrats on your 2nd marathon Anton!!! And thank you bro for the petroleum jelly you shared with me before the race 🙂 It really helped a lot! That’s one less pain (of getting friction in between the thighs) to worry about. Salamat talaga nang marami pards!!
There were probably 20+ different sorts of pain and injuries here and there (ex. cramps, pulled hamstring, a bit of dehydration, dizziness, exhaustion, heat, etc.) I experienced during the marathon. But in the end, we all persevered and gained a lot from all this! This TBR Dream Marathon really inspired me and taught me to “never give up”!
(I can still hear coach Jim Lafferty shouting HYDRATE!! in my dreams some times… hehe)
you're welcome, Marcvill! Tried to help / contribute as much as I can 🙂 Glad to see all of us finish! Ang galing 🙂
Congrats Anton! Hope to be part of the next TBR Dream Marathon 🙂
anton, congratulations on your 2nd & very successful marathon!
na-extra pa ako sa mga pix mo hehehe
ako naman yata tinamaan ng lbm ngayon hahaha! wait for my blog….
Congratulations Anton! You were the reason why I got in touch with Jim to think of more ways to inspire runners to do their first marathon. If it wasn’t for you, there would never have been a TBR Dream Marathon. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for inspiring me as well to dream big.
You looked so strong on the road and even at the finish! We’re all so proud of you! Congratulations 🙂