Another informative running talk brought to us by Pinoy Ultra Runners:

July 16, 2009
7pm
R.O.X Fort Bonifacio
Admission is Free

Speakers:
Dr. Paolo Punsalan – Running Form and Technique
Hector Yuzon – Running Shoes 101

- The place was packed! -

– Attendees got free The Bull Runner Magazines…well, at least, the early ones! -

The success of the Running Aid series never fails to amaze me.  Each session is bigger than the last with over 150 people present last night vs. the first talk’s 15 attendees.  The entire floor area was filled with people, so I found my own balcony seat on the 2nd floor stairway along with a few other runners.  (TBR idea: Maybe they should do Running Aid 5 in a movie house next time complete with popcorn, cotton candy, and of course, Cheetos Jalapeno. What say you, Neville?)

- Special balcony seats -

The first speaker, Dr. Paolo Punsalan, gave a comprehensive talk on training programs, which was very informative even for a voracious running reader like me.  He discussed the different types of workouts (LSD, intervals, tempo runs, etc.), training using your heart rate, and even showed a sample marathon training program.  Great job, Doc Pao.

The next speakers were husband and wife team, Al and Joie Viado, Pinoy Ultra Runners and fitness instructors.  Actually, it was Joie who did all the talking while Al  demonstrated the exercises for core strengthening.  It was a dynamic talk, a lot of laughing, movement, and sweat (well, at least for Al who followed every single order of Joie—now that’s a husband for you!)

Once again, congratulations to the Pinoy Ultra Runners for another successful event.  Looking forward to the next one!

- Nice to see good friends Marga, Ben, and Jun there!  They don’t look like they’re listening though -

WHAT: RUNNING AID 4

WHERE: R.O.X., BONIFACIO HIGH STREET

WHEN: APRIL 29, 2009, WEDNESDAY, 7 P.M.

HOW MUCH: FREE

The 4th Running Aid will be structured into modules.  First speaker will be Dr. Paolo Punsalan, orthopedic doctor and Pinoy Ultra Runner, who will discuss the basics of running.  He will also talk about how to train and structuring your program.  Second speaker will be the Pinoy Ultra Runner’s fitness instructor tandem, Al and Joie Ligaya Viado, to cover  core training for runners.  They will focus on different exercise routines to strengthen runners. This will also involve warm up,  cool down, core and gym exercise.

See you there!

- preparing for the presentation with Neville and Margaloo -

Beth discussed ultramarathons for women, which is where her passion lies as evident in her beaming smile during her entire talk. She gave practical tips on running on the road and trails, discussed running gear, and inspired women to take up running even beyond 50km as she has done over the years.

- Beth inspires future ultramarathoners -

Beth and I are very different: she’s been running since highschool, I only started in 2006; she runs up mountains while I’m allergic to them; and she loves ultramarathons while my ultimate dream would be to run a sub-4-hour marathon (and, knock on wood, run fast marathons annually after that) rather than to run 100km.  

It was because of the contrast that I thought it was such a clever idea for the Pinoy Ultra Runners to have featured us on the same stage. I saw  running from the eyes of a veteran runner and I realized that, despite the differences, we shared one major bond: our passion for running. 

And, when I looked at the audience, it was pretty much the same thing.  We had various levels of experience in running, but that was insignificant.  One was not better than the other for running faster, longer, or better.  What mattered was that we all loved running or, at the very least, wanted to fall in love with it.

I won’t tell you how my talk went; let the participants be the judge of that.  But, what I can say is that I had a great time talking about one of my greatest passions to an audience that was so eager to listen (I don’t get that too often at home…kidding!)

- That’s me dropping beans into reluctant volunteer Car’s shoes -

To Pinoy Ultra Runners: congratulations once again for a successful event.  Looking forward to the next one.

- with my favorite reader, CougCat, soon after he finished his homework. Thanks for both the virtual and real cookie! -

- Dinner at Pancake House after the talk. The place was filled with runners! -

More pics to follow in the next post.  I gotta leave now for the Nike Training Clinic at Ultra…

Click here for more details.

See you there!

Mark your calendars: November 13, Thursday, 7 p.m. is the next date for Running Aid 3 at ROX, Bonifacio High Street.  This time, however, it will be for the ladies!  Guys are welcome to attend as long as they behave and pretend to be interested in girl talk.

Speakers will be: Elizabeth Siojo, founding member of Pinoy Ultra Runners, and The Bull Runner (who the hell is that?!)  Seriously, I will try to my best to give a comprehensive guide on everything women need for running and attempt to answer questions that I myself was afraid (or embarrassed) to ask a male running friend or coach.

It should be yet another informative and entertaining talk. If not, let’s all just go out to BHS and run…tsk tsk. See you there!

If you’re free next Thursday, I suggest you drop by ROX for Running Aid 3.

I was pretty impressed with the wealth of information provided at Running Aid 2. According to my sources—okay fine, it was Pinoy Ultra Runners team principal and speaker of this session who informed me—that this session will be even more interesting.

They are bringing in treadmills to have lecturers comment on the running form and technique of some Pinoy Ultra Runners. If there’s time, you might be one of the lucky few who get your form critiqued by the experts (and audience as well). Hmm…now I’m not so sure if I’d like that.

Hope to see you there!

P.S. Don’t you just love their posters? Bayani Fernando should hire their designer.

- Neville Manaois on anything and everything a runner needs -

Neville Manaois, team principal of Pinoy Ultra Runners, gave a comprehensive talk on Running Essentials enumerating each item a runner needs—from shoes to petroleum jelly—for distance runs. Neville was very knowledgeable about the topic, not just discussing items he’d picked up from a book, but obviously drawing from his own experiences as an ultramarathoner.  

- Dr. Paolo Punsalan on the proper form for runners -

The next speaker, Dr. Paolo Punsalan, a Pinoy Ultra runner and Orthopedic Surgeon, discussed Running Form & Technique for distance runs. I was in and out of the session but I did pick up a number of important points. He emphasized mid foot landing which is consistent with Coach Jo-Ar’s training with me. Dr. Punsalan also mentioned leaning forward, minimizing arm swing, high cadence (90 per leg per minute) and maintaining balance while running.  He even dissected the form of Haile Gebresellasie for all of us to attempt to emulate…yeah let’s keep on dreaming.

I highly recommend this talk for runners. I hope the Pinoy Ultra Runners and ROX will have another run (no pun intended) of these talks as it promotes running to non-runners and gives us runners the opportunity to improve ourselves while avoiding injury.

To all those I saw last night—Marga, Jeremy, Hector of Nike, Philip and his wife, Felipe of SOS Village, Andrew of Epic, my TI coach Nonoy B., dad and mom of CougCat, bugobugo, Mel, Irene, and Omar—it was nice seeing you. Neville, nice chatting with you again. Hope to run with you on my side of the world.