How to Avoid Pitfalls of Long Distance Running on Phil. Daily Inquirer

There’s a very well-written article on “How to Avoid Pitfalls of Long-Distance Running” by Romina Austria on Philippine Daily Inquirer today.  Click HERE to read the full article.

The article comes on the heels of the recent death of Remus Fuentes who passed away after the Milo Marathon.  It provides us with a glimpse of Remus, a runner and family man, like many of us and what exactly happened on the day he collapsed.  It also presents the side of Milo and its organizer, Rudy Biscocho.  More than that, it offers tips on proper training and how to avoid heatstroke.

As I said in an earlier post when I wrote about Remus (click HERE), I feel that the best response many of us can give at this point is to listen to our bodies and practice caution in our own runs. While it is the race organizer’s role to provide adequate support and medical assistance, it is also our responsibility as runners to train properly for the race.

If you are an experienced runner help spread the word about proper training and racing, especially to the beginners.  Let’s encourage people to run, but to do so at their own pace and to build their mileage gradually.  It took me months before I had the courage to run a 10k, and it took me longer to run the 21k.  Nowadays, it’s quite frightening to hear about newbies signing up for a 21k for their first event when they’ve never even run 5k (nor do they know how long 5k is!)

Yes, there’s a running boom.  Yes, we love it that more people are getting fit and healthy through running.  But, as I told a friend last year: We have to be careful that we don’t have a boom in injuries or worse fatalities.  This is a wake up call not just for organizers but for runners as well.

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Just one comment about Rudy Biscocho’s claim in the article.   Mr. Biscocho said: “There was a hydration station (water or Gatorade) around every one kilometer of the 21K race path for a total of 13 water stations…”

I have deep respect for Mr. Biscocho as one of the leading race organizers in our country.  But, Sir, while there were stations at the last 3km of the 21k course, there was absolutely no water left to serve when I and several runners passed it.

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These other articles may interest you:

• Remus Story as told by his Father – Pinoy Fitness
• Tips on Running Races Safely from the Experts – TBR