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Happy New Year to my dearest Dream Marathoners!  Hope you enjoyed the holidays with your loved ones.  I hope you also had a grand time running those long runs during the long break.  We have 7 more weeks to go until the big day so it’s time we get back to business!

As you know already, all TBR ULAH Dream Marathon participants are required to submit a medical certificate from a licensed physician to certify that you are fit to participate in the marathon. This is for your own safety and this was announced in your Welcome Kit.

The medical certificate must be dated from JANUARY 1 TO FEBRUARY 6, 2014.  This means you can start getting your medical certificate from your doctors already.

To download a sample of the medical certificate, click on this LINK.  A medical certificate in a different format from the TBRDM standard will still be accepted.

Medical certificates will be collected upon claiming of your RACE KIT during the Send Off Party on February 6, 2014, Thursday at Unilab Bayanihan Center, Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City. The event starts at 7:00PM, but Race Kit redemption will open starting 6:00PM and will end at 9:00PM. NO MEDICAL CERTIFICATE, NO RACE KIT.

We will not accept any medical certificate submissions prior to the Send Off Party.

SPECIAL PROMO WITH HI-PRECISION DIAGNOSTICS

We are pleased to inform you that Hi-Precision Diagnostics, our official laboratory partner, is offering a special package for TBR ULAH Dream Marathoners. This package is optional for participants.

The package was recommended by Hi-Precision’s In-House Doctor, Dra. Lalaine Macatangay who suggests the tests below to ensure that your body is fit for long distance running or any high endurance sport. Included in the package is the medical certificate for the marathon, which we require for participation in the marathon. Total savings amounts to P750.

Runners who avail of the package must present their TBR ULAH Dream Card. Package is non-transferable and not convertible to cash. Offer expires on February 6, 2014.

For a complete list of the branches of Hi Precision, click HERE to download a PDF file.  Or visit their website: www.hi-precision.com.ph

For inquiries, please email Macel at tbrdream@gmail.com or contact our hotline 0942-477-6099

Happy New Year! May you be brave and bullish in this coming year! That’s what I plan to be! Oh yeah, those are my power words this year: Brave & Bullish. Now, don’t laugh. Just hear me roar! (although that’s kinda lion-ish)

The first blogpost of the year has got to be about New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s mine. What’s yours?

For this coming year, I resolve to…

to embrace those I love tightly and let go of those who drag me down,

to be kind and even kinder to those who annoy me the most,

to take on more adventures that scare me to death,

to work as hard as I train (or train as hard as I work?),

to drink more water and less coffee,

to cook more healthy meals at home,

to get even more people (especially my brothers and sisters) to run,

to run my own race,

to see the good even in a pile of sh*t,

to grab life by its horns and live it fully.

Happy New Year! Let’s run, people!

I can’t let this year end without thanking everyone who supported me this year. So, here goes:

THANK YOU TO…

MY SPONSORS

Thank you for the trust and the support! Mwah. Mwah.

Enervon Activ – Thank you for collaborating with me. Thank you also for giving me more energy and helping me overcome fatigue! Oh yeah!

Sun Broadband – It was a pleasure working with you for two years!

Gatorade – For all the hydration! I would literally collapse without you. Thanks G! #winfromwithin

– with Lit, Ton of GroupM, and Jun –

Specialized – For my beloved Shiv and support for riding and caring for my bike all throughout the year!

– with Joey Ramirez of Dan’s –

– with my boy, my Shiv! –

– Coach Andy Leuterio and Keshia Fule during a body geometry fits –

Oakley – Best shades ever! Thank you to Oakley for always providing me with shades for training, traveling, shopping…Yes, you get the point. I pretty much use only Oakleys all the time. Love ’em to bits.

Otterbox – For keeping my phone safe from dirt, water, kids, and most especially from my crazy, clumsy self.

– swimming with my iPhone in Cebu using my waterproof, shockproof, dustproof Otterbox Armor –

– with Anthony Kierulf of Otterbox –

Rocktape – I will forever be grateful for keeping my little injuries at bay so that I can continue to do what I love!

Peak Form – For this perennially injured runner, you were a godsend! Thank you for the countless deep tissue massages. I loved the pain. Truly!

Quaker Oats – Thank you for trusting me to help spread the word about proper nutrition for the entire family! Because of your Quaker Challenge, my kids and I were motivated to get even more active together.

Kitchen’s Best – Thank you for the delicious food and dessert!  You know that I eat healthy most of the time, but I come to you when it’s time to live a little and enjoy!

MY PARTNER

Unilab Active Health. Thank you to Clinton Hess, Alex Panlilio, Lester Castillo, Bianca Cortez, and Zeny Mejias. It’s always a pleasure to work with such an efficient and hardworking team. May we get more people to live an active healthy lifestyle.

SPONSORS OF TBR DREAM MARATHON

You guys have been with us from day one! Together, we’ve made more than a thousand runners into marathoners!

RUNRIO

– with Coach Rio at the Rappler Do More Awards –

NUVALI

– Here in the pic with Jun Bisnar, GM of Nuvali, and his wife Ofel along with Jim Lafferty at TBR Dream Marathon 2013 –

GATORADE – as always!

NEW BALANCE

– You guys are sponsors, friends, and alumni of TBR Dream Marathon! Thanks for everything! –

MY TEAMMATES

Team Unilab Active Health!  You guys know who you are. Thanks for making triathlon even more fun!

TBR DREAM TEAM

Jim Lafferty, Coach Lit Onrubia, Jun Cruz, Macel & Mike Janeo, and Neville Manaois. It is always great to be working with people who share the same passion for making more marathon dreams come true!

– with Mike, Macel, Lit, Jun –

TBR MAGAZINE TEAM

Jun, Macel, Vima Mendoza, Neil Gonzales, Patrick Diokno, and Ben Chan of Blacksheep Photography.  Thank you for working so hard to make each issue perfect!

– Ben Chan behind the scenes shooting Patrick Concepcion for our cover –

MY COACHES

Coach Andy Leuterio for triathlon and Coach Anthony Lozada for swimming. Thanks for your guidance…and patience! Haha!

– with Coach Andy Leuterio of Alpha Tri –

– with Coach Anthony Lozada of Lozada Swim School –

To my son’s coach: Coach Norman who patiently teaches the kids how to swim, bike, and run in the most fun manner.

Thank you to Nike Philippines for all the swoosh lovin’!

Thanks to Timex Philippines, especially Gemma Pagsibigan and Jose, and Timex UK who went out of their way to get me a slot for London Marathon when I almost lost hope!

Thank you to Photo-Ops who go over and beyond their work to send me awesome pics for the blog and the race. Thanks Tong, KB, and the rest of your team!

To old and new running bloggers – Thanks for the camaraderie and the friendship!

To TBR Dream Marathoners of the past and present who make TBR not just a blog or a marathon but an advocacy that goes beyond me or anything that I could have ever imagined.

To my dearest friends in running who make the roads even more pleasurable to run on.

– My dearest Jabronis: Ton, Lit, and Angel –

To my family, the reason for everything.

And, last but not the least, to YOU my ever so loyal readers who continue to visit this little blog of mine. Every click means a lot to me and I can never thank you enough. I’m hoping to make you even happier in 2014 with a better TBR!

Happy New Year to you!

PREVIOUS: Part 1: Thank You, 2013!

It’s the last day of the year!  As always, I look back on the year that was…

2013 was year of extremes for me.  The first half was a roller coaster ride coming from the high of London Marathon to literally dropping to a low with my bike crash to finishing Ironman 70.3 Cebu.  By the 2nd half of the year, I decided to take it s-l-o-w as I enjoyed my off season while maintaining my fitness (in other words, I still swam, biked, and ran like a fiend but I didn’t race LOL).

I know it’s cliche, but I must say that it’s been another wonderful and blessed year.   Sure, I had my fair share of crap thrown my way,  but each event in life will only affect you in the way that you wish to see it, either as a blessing or as bullsh*t.  I choose to view them as blessings.  Here are my blessings for 2013…

1) London Marathon (April 21)

The best marathon I have ever joined in what has come to be my favorite city in the world. I was fortunate enough to have been sponsored by Unilab Active Health to participate in this race and Timex for my slot. Bonuses? I broke my PR at 4:24.  My family got to travel with me.  And, we passed by Paris after!

London Marathon was a week after the devastating bombing at Boston Marathon.

– At the finish line of London Marathon –

– my hubby and kiddos pick me up at the race –

2) Ironman 70.3 Cebu (August 4)

This was my 2nd Ironman 70.3.  After a foot injury months before the event, a bike crash a month before the race, bad weather the day before, and a flat tire during the bike leg, I was proud to have finished this event alive!  I felt like a warrior!  Rawr!

Thank you to my Coach Andy Leuterio for training me through London Marathon and Ironman Cebu 70.3, Specialized and Dan’s for my beloved Shiv and helping me care for him.  Thanks also to my team Unilab Active Health for the support and camaraderie!

– Bike crash a month before the race. Save for several unsightly wounds, I was lucky to have come out of it without any broken bones and alive! –

– Bike leg of Ironman 70.3 Cebu. Photo by Michael Ocana –

– Hugging Sen. Pia Cayetano at the finish line. Photo by Tong Pascua of Photo Ops –

– Happy finish! Photo by James Go –

3) The Bull Runner Dream Marathon 2013 (February 22)

Last February 22, 584 runners became marathoners.  It was the 4th TBR Dream Marathon.  Every year, we hope to continue helping more runners reach their marathon dreams.

– Farrah Rodriguez, TBR Dream Marathoner –

– Marice Laxa-Pangilinan finishes her first 42k a day before her birthday. She was paced by husband Anthony –

– TBR Dream Marathon 2013 Medal –

Last August, we launched the 5th Dream Marathon. 800 slots were gone in 37 minutes. We ended up accepting a total of 900 runners who are currently training for their first marathon on February 16, 2014. Batch 2014 is a fantastic bunch of committed and enthusiastic runners. It’s been a fun-filled journey so far to train for their first marathon with them.

– with Batch 2014 of TBR ULAH Dream Marathon –

4) One Run (November 16)

We organized One Run, a run to raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, shortly after seeing the devastation in Tacloban and surrounding areas.  We were overwhelmed with the response from the running community as we collected a whopping P615,000 in cash and a significant number of in kind donations.

One Run was organized by The Bull Runner in cooperation with Unilab Active Health with the support of Gatorade. Thank you also to Bonifacio Global City, Run.ph, Simple Hydration, Proactive, Photo-Ops (our official photographer), HDSI Medic Team, Jun Cruz and Mike & Macel Janeo.

– Triathletes Kuya Kim Atienza, Raffy Zamora, and Erwan Heussaff joined by friends at One Run –

– Sen. Pia Cayetano and friends came to support –

– Triathlete friends came to help and volunteer –

5) Finalist in Rappler Do More Awards (October)

I was honored to make it as finalist in the Rappler DO MORE Awards.  It was awesome to be among a select group of Filipino achievers who “do more” than is expected of them.

6) Anton finishes his first triathlon (October 20)

As part of our Quaker Challenge as a Quaker Supermom, we made it our family goal to be more active together.  Anton’s goal was to finish his first triathlon, which he did at the Ironkids last October!  I couldn’t have been a prouder momma!

Thank you to Quaker Oats for motivating us even more to conquer our goals.

– My not so little boy showing off his medal –

7) Running, running, and more running

Sure I’ve been into triathlon the past couple of years, but running is still the sport that brings me the most joy.  I will always be a runner.  It was great to participate in local races and use these as training for my A-races.  The races that stood out for me were the following:

Run United (March 17)

– with great friends Lit, Ton, and Jun after Run United 1 (March 17) –

Run United (October 6)

– Run United Philippine Marathon –

New Balance Power Run 25k

– with friends Ton, Jun, and Maiqui –

Those were the highlights to the awesome year of 2013.  What were the highlights of 2013 for you?

NEXT: Part 2: Thank you, 2013!

Merry Christmas!

– Thanks to TBR Dream Marathoners, the BFRV team of Ricci, Jah, Sheng, Louie, Jet, Paolo and Erick for this awesome gift! Mwah! –

Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also the time for us to spread love, kindness, and cheer to our loved ones and the people around us.

For us runners, it is also the time to get out and play! Yipeee!  There’s more time to hit the pavement and train to our heart’s content. (Well, at least for athletes like me who don’t really party much!)  The cool weather in the mornings make it even more delightful!  Aaah, Christmas!

Last Sunday, I joined my good running friends in the South for our Holiday Run set up by our master organizer, Atty. Joey Torres. We came in red or green shirts or Santa hats!

Together, we ran a total of 14km around the village.  Before and after our run, I ran 10k alone to cover a total of 24km as part of my Tokyo Marathon training.

– Water break! Runners posing at the tennis court hah! –

After the run, we enjoyed a mini picnic by the field set up by Joey and Elaine. Long run, good food, and great conversation among running friends. What more can you ask for during the holidays?

Just this morning, I set out to run alone on Christmas eve. With just my iPod and yurbuds, amphipod in hand, and a whole lot of ideas for 2014, I set out to conquer hills on my own. It was a great run to burn calories in preparation for the Noche Buena feast tonight and also, as corny as it sounds, to enjoy the time alone as the year comes to an end.

As we all prepare for Christmas tonight, I’d like to wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas! May you be filled with love and laughter during the holidays!