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The world’s biggest marathon, New York City Marathon 2012, was cancelled last weekend due to the devastation brought about by Superstorm Sandy on the city. Here’s an article written by TBR Dream Marathon alumni and friend, Vic Icasas, on his experience running his own New York City Marathon:

WE RAN IT ANYWAY
Words by Vic Icasas. Photos by Cyn Icasas.

Me and a couple thousand of my new best friends descended on Central Park today, Sunday, November the 4th 2012. This particular date was tattooed on my brain for the past six months because today was supposed to be the day all of us would be running the ING New York Marathon, the world’s largest and most famous road race.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of a brutal Hurricane Sandy and some amazingly indecisive flip flopping on the part of Mayor Bloomberg and the New York Road Runners, the marathon was eventually called off at the worst possible hour – barely a day and a half before the gun start.

Now to be clear, I had and still have absolutely no problem with them calling off the race. Large parts of NY are still without power, water, or heat (including the houses of my cousins and sister-in-law) and there’s an apocalyptic gas shortage that has armed law enforcement officers standing watch over grumpy, seething lines of cars that stretch for miles and miles. It’s just the wrong time. The public outcry and backlash against the inappropriate diversion of city resources (police, generators, volunteers, water) proved too much for the mayor to bear, and after days of protest, he eventually and belatedly conceded that running the race was indeed a bad idea and thus cancelled it.

– Statue of NYCM founder Fred Lebow in Central Park –

But by the time he realized the obvious and called it off, thousands of runners had flown to New York from all over the world. Thousands of dollars had been spent on planes and hotels. Countless miles of hard training had been logged – all for a race that was not going to push through.

So we ran it anyway.

Thanks to Facebook, Twitter,and good ol’ word of mouth, runners started assembling at the barricaded but still intact marathon finish line in Central Park at dawn. Off to the sides in the grandstands, volunteers started to collect donations, old clothes, and pledges for storm victims. A few marathoners even complained good naturedly that there was no bag check station. But heck, there were a lot of things missing. No organized schedule – no organizers, for that matter. No goody bags. No medical teams. No marshals or law enforcement. No water or food stations – this would come back to haunt me later. Nope, just a bunch of dedicated runners with a rough route (4 laps of Central Park plus a teeny bit more) and a race that needed running, with or without official support.

So we ran it anyway.

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I had my own personal support group in the grandstands – my wife Cyn, her sister Cris, and Cris’ husband Ed, himself an alumnus of the 2011 marathon. I left a stash of water bottles with them with the understanding that I would refill my solitary, tiny little drink flask every time I looped around. The crowd spontaneously chanted down from ten to one, and with a couple of war whoops and good spirited heckling, we were off.

I sailed easily through the first two loops, powered by pent up energy and an abundance of good cheer and bonhomie. My spirit was soaring seeing so many runners doing what they came to do.

I saw teams sporting flags from France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Costa Rica and Australia. A runner wearing an Indonesia shirt passed me and after seeing my shirt, hollered “Go Philippines” in a heavy accent. I replied in kind. A gigantic runner from the Netherlands lumbered past me, slowed down and looked my way and said “Oh, Philippines! Makati! I have kids in Makati!” Then he sped off.

By the third loop, I realized that I might be in a spot of trouble. The northern part of Central Park plays host to a quarter mile incline with about a 4.4% grade called Harlem Hill, and each time around Harlem Hill was definitely kicking my ass and wearing me down. At the 32K mark I reached for my water bottle to pop an energy gel and slake my parched throat – and gasped to realize that it was empty. And I was at least 5 kilometers away from my support group.

The 32K mark is legendary among marathoners for being the point in the race where “the marathon truly begins”. It’s hard enough to do that final 10K with a full complement of water and aid stations and cheering fans lining the streets. And here I was with a bone dry water bottle and nothing with which to wash down my much needed gel. I started slowing. Then I tried to speed up. Then I started slowing even more to barely a shuffle. Finally at the 35K mark, I started to walk and couldn’t start up again.

This is where my support group sprang into action. Hearing my panicked phone call, Cyn and Ed grabbed water bottles, ventured out onto the course and started making their way towards me as I was limping back towards them. They accompanied me all for every step of that last painful 7K as I staggered towards the finish, and their company and much needed encouragement even got me to manage a respectable if somewhat awkward run over the last kilometer until my Garmin’s screen finally showed the magic number: 42.2 kilometers. And right there in the middle of nowhere, at an anonymous spot in the park surrounded by trees and bikers and curious onlookers, with no real finish line other than the numbers on my watch, I fell gratefully into Cyn’s arms and I was done.

– Cris David, Cyn Icasas, the author Vic Icasas, and Edward Carrasco –

There are still people without power, food or supplies in New York, and it will take some time for the city to get back to anything resembling normal. I’m pretty certain that New Yorkers will overcome their problems and prevail. They’re strong, resilient, tough minded and have a lot of heart, which not coincidentally are the same attributes one needs to cultivate in order to run a marathon.

Yes, even if that marathon was cancelled – we ran it anyway!

What? The long Halloween break is over?  Where did it go?

The day after Run United Philippine Marathon, I was down with the flu.  (That’s what I get for running it despite the sore throat!)  For three days, I lay in bed dying of boredom when I wasn’t sneezing, cursing the high heavens about so much wasted time (I should’ve been out training!), and hoping that I didn’t resemble Gordon Ramsay after watching way too much Masterchef episodes.

As soon as I recovered, I ran 10k, biked 35k, swam 1k, and ran 15k in the next four consecutive days.  All I had been doing the past couple of months was running…and I loved it.  But, I must admit, that I was starting to miss the pool and, of course, my boyfriend, the Shiv.  It was wonderful to ease my way into swimming and biking again (despite the saddle sores for such a short distance teehee!)

With the kids on semestral break, we had more bonding time too.

I took them out biking a couple of times.  TBR Jr. wants to start biking around with me (mwahaha, my subtle hints to lure him into triathlon seems to be working…albeit at turtle pace) and Li’l Miss Bull Runner will hopefully learn to bike without her training wheels soon.

We went trick or treating.  I mean, Li’l Miss Bull Runner went trick or treating in the homemade costume she insisted on making (She’s a blue dog, by the way), while TBR Jr. felt too old for such silly traditions.  Sob sob.

On the last weekend before school, we stayed overnight at the kids’ favorite hotel for a well-deserved staycation. We were bums for two days (if you don’t count my long run that morning)…and we loved it!

– Pillow fights are a must at every hotel stay. Right on top of the list with playing in the tub –

– Gameboards are a must too. Game of Life! –

– Can you guess who won?  –

Now it’s back to reality for all of us! Boooo!  Hope you had a good long break too.

I woke up this morning to news that the New York City Marathon was cancelled.  Instantly, I heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Just the night before, there was much controversy over the decision of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Marathon Director Mary Wittenberg to proceed with the race despite the devastation in New York City brought upon by Superstorm Sandy.  That decision was met with a huge public uproar.  Some called Bloomberg and Wittenberg greedy and insensitive.  Some said the marathon would be a symbol of resilience and would help raise millions of dollars for the victims.  The issue caused heated debates all over the world—even between me and a friend!  By this morning, Bloomberg reversed the move and cancelled the marathon. (You can read more about it HERE or HERE.)

– New York City Marathon 2010 –

The NYC Marathon is a race that’s close to my heart having run it both in 2010 and 2011.  It is, for me, one of the best marathons ever because the entire city comes out to celebrate the marathon.  It is the people of New York, all two million of them that come out to cheer, that make the marathon extra special. I have a few friends who flew into race it this year and I was thrilled for them.   But, after Superstorm Sandy and witnessing its destruction upon New York, I questioned how the race could push through when there was so much suffering.

I felt that it was simply wrong to have people running a marathon through a city that was still grieving over the losses of the storm.  I just couldn’t imagine starting the race at Staten Island where twenty people lost their lives to Sandy, or drinking water from the hydration stations when many don’t even have water yet, or running through the boroughs of New York with people cheering when many are still shedding tears over their losses.

I sympathize with the runners who saved their hard-earned money for a trip to NY, trained for months, and made other sacrifices all for the marathon only to find out so close to race day that it was cancelled. It sucks.  It could’ve been handled better.

If I had signed up for this race, I too would’ve shed a tear or two for all my wasted efforts and cash.  But, I’d probably quickly dry my eyes and remember that, in the greater scheme of things, I didn’t lose much compared to the victims of the storm.  At the end of the day, it’s just 42.195km.  There will always be another race—even another NYCM—to run.

If you’re one of the 47,000 runners registered for NYCM, click on race2recover for one way you can help.

If you’re looking for alternative races to NYC Marathon, Adam Howitt of WalkJogRun compiled a list of alternative marathons that are scheduled for the remainder of the year. check out WalkJogRun.Net

Around 12,000 runners gathered for one of the most anticipated races in the country, the Run United Philippine Marathon with distances of 500m, 3k, 5k, 10k, 21k, and 42k.  The event was part of the Run United series by Unilab Active Health organized by RunRio. It was the first time the race offered a marathon with thousands of runners eager to join the inaugural 42k.

I participated in the 21k event which, for me, was very well organized in terms of hydration stations, including bonuses of sponges and bananas, road marshals and traffic enforcers, portalets, kilometer signs, Finisher’s loot bag (love the messenger bag!) medal (a humongous one at that), and post-race activity area.  The route—a fast 21k course from Bonifacio High Street to SM Mall of Asia—was the same as other Run United Half Marathon events, which one can either think of as redundant (What? The same route again?!) or challenging (Do I beat my past Run United 21k times?)

Perhaps the only things I noted that needed improvement in the 21k course were these: 1) The need for more floodlights near the end of Buendia and 2) High traffic until Buendia Flyover.  While the latter is a minor issue, I only hope that if or when the 21k event increases (3,000 runners in this race if I’m not mistaken), the organizers consider wave starts to reduce traffic in the narrow Bonifacio Global City areas.  That way, we can at least aim for a PR without having to weave through a sea of runners.

As for the inaugural Run United Philippine Marathon, I did hear from friends that hydration ran out for the last 10k of the race. I’m sure organizers are ensuring that this won’t happen again.

TAMING THE BULL

Not a lot of people know that I initially planned on running the inaugural Run United Philippine Marathon.  Fresh from Berlin Marathon, I had the bright idea of joining Run United’s first 42km almost as soon as I stepped on Philippine soil.  Three reasons: 1) I found myself goal-less. Gasp, what do I work for now?! I thought in panic. 2) I was bored. Y..a..w..n.. and, last but not the least, 3) How cool would it be to run the first Run United Philippine Marathon?!  I had visions of myself 50 years from now telling tales of this inaugural marathon to my grandchildren as I sat on my rocking chair barely able to lift my head with the oh-so heavy gargantuan medal around my neck.

Then, I recalled how I got injured immediately after running New York City Marathon then California International Marathon just a month apart last year.  Was I stupid enough to let this happen to me again?  So, two weeks before race day, finally being smart about my running, I opted to run the half marathon instead.

SORE THROAT? SO WHAT?

I stood in the assembly area with running buddy Lit who I basically bullied into running fast with me for the day.  No breaking PRs because we definitely lacked speed training.  But, hey, no kwento pace either because we had more than enough of that the past months.  As agreed, we were to push hard for as long as we could.

Just one problem: I woke up with a cold. My throat was itchy and my nose runny the night before.  I committed to try my best equipped with what I needed the most: five pieces of Kleenex rolled up and tucked neatly into my Spibelt arm sleeve.  Hah!

The first 15k went, well, fast.  We ran mostly below 6 min pace and we knew we could sustain it. But, ooooh boy, things soon changed after we crossed the 15km mark.

RUNNING ON FUMES

It was no surprise that I was starting to tire out.  In truth, it was just as I had expected with the lack of training. Starting from 15k onwards, I struggled to keep the pace.  I stopped at every station to hydrate, pour water on my face and arms, take a long deep breath followed by a loud grumble, then plod on forward.

Lit suggested we slowed down.  I nodded my head in a daze, then thought: No way. I’ve gone this far. I can suffer some more.

And so, I zoned out pushing my legs to maintain the pace I committed to. In my mind, I reminded myself that the pain was temporary and it would soon end. Just a few more minutes.  Just a few more kilometers. I could do it.  Keep the pace.

BULLISH AWAKENING

It was probably at around 18k when a lady runner runs by my side at Roxas Boulevard.  She chats me up at a time when I could hardly even breathe.  “Ganda naman ng pace mo. Sabay tayo ha.”  I nod my head unable to speak. I think it was pretty obvious in my face that I was dying, but for some reason she chose to chat even more. “21k ka?”  For her, I managed to mumble a “Oo.”  She says a couple more things and repeats the same question: “21k ka?”  On better days (or maybe when I’m not trying to survive the last 3kms of a race I didn’t train for!), I’m usually a nice person.  But, at that moment, I replied “Uh huh” again while thinking: I don’t need this crap now.  Get the hell outta here!

I lose her at a station.  Thank. You. Lord.

Unbeknownst to me, Lit overheard the lady runner and her friends saying that they would run along with us, then leave us behind at the last few meters of the race.  Lit then told me: “Save a little then let’s take these guys at the finish.”  Unaware of their devious plan, I replied to Lit: “I don’t think I can do it. I’m running on fumes.”

At the last few meters, true enough, the lady runner and her friends were ahead of us by a few meters. Lit could’ve overtaken them (he actually did, but had to slow down to wait for me), but I definitely couldn’t.  I was pushing as hard as I could.

We crossed the finish line unofficially at 2:04 according to my Garmin. I was ecstatic.  We finished ahead of our target and without training.  Imagine what we could do if we trained harder!  Perhaps I can target beating my half marathon PR again soon!  Goodbye boredom. Hello speed!

– Happy to be running fast again. Photo: Tong Pascua Photography –

After the race, I learned about the “secret devious plan” of that lady and her friends.  Are you kidding me?!  Had I known about this, I would’ve pushed 10x harder if only to send two special messages to that group: 1) Never ever talk loud enough for your targets to hear your plans.  It doesn’t only spoil your scheme, but it’s also quite rude! 2) I’ll get you in the next race, baby! Tsk tsk.

The bull is back.  Raaawr.  I mean: Rrooor snort snort.

– Breakfast at Sentro with my running buddies! Congrats to Tatang Jun for finishing the Run United Philippine Marathon! –

– At home, Li’l Miss Bull Runner says she could hardly lift her head with the 21k medal around her neck –

5 schools…4 distances…1 historic run…

For the first time ever, High School Batch 1988 from 5 schools – Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), La Salle Green Hills (LSGH), Maryknoll College (MC), St. Scholastica’s College (SSC) and Xavier School ( XS)– have banded together to create an event that underscores their commitment towards a united, healthy community in our city.

A Portion of the proceeds of the Run shall be given to support the “Kariton Klasrum” of Efren Penaflorida.

Also, to commemorate the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of Batch 1988, all distances have an extra 0.88 km added on. Aimed at providing whole families a healthy activity to share and to encourage people new to running.

Event: United Colors of 88
Date : Saturday, November 10, 2012, 4:30am
Venue : Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City
Participants: OPEN to the PUBLIC

Distances / Fees:

• 3.88K = P500
• 5.88K = P600
• 10.88K = P700
• 21.88K = P800

Special Categories:

• 10.88K Vibram Five Fingers Barefoot
• 21.88K Vibram Five Fingers Barefoot

Registration Centers:

• MIZUNO – Eastwood / Trinoma / Galleria / Shangrila / ATC /
• Bonifacio High Street
• SECOND WIND – Greenhills G-Strip / Ortigas Home Depot /
• Teacher’s Village
• A RUNNER’S CIRCLE – Roxas Blvd., Manila