Runcations spice up running life

Runcations spice up running life

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By DR. SANTIAGO R. TIONGSON


What running feat did you recently accomplish?

It was quite an achievement personally for me to have had the chance to participate in a major international marathon competition amongst 40,000-plus runners from around the globe.

You see, the Berlin Marathon is one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six-Star Journey, a very prestigious and sought-after race. This series of races, considered as the “Mt. Everest of marathon running”, consists of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: the Tokyo Marathon in Japan, the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, the London Marathon in the UK, the Berlin Marathon in Germany, the Chicago Marathon in Illinois, and the New York City Marathon.

Just getting myself to the finish line in Berlin was an emotional one for me, I was wishing deep inside that my parents were there to see me running through the Brandenburg Gate to complete the race.

How did that become your goal? Who have inspired you with the idea?
I actually had no idea about this. My running friends and I only mainly wanted to join a “full mary (42-kilometer) out of the country” — something I had done for the first time with an all-male Dumaguete team in Hongkong.

My North Carolina-based high school buddy Dr. Arnold Olegario introduced us to the very tempting idea that when a runner is able to complete all six Marathon Majors, he is awarded a special medal from Abbott. Arnold has completed the six Marathon Majors, and is actually doing a second round of the races in New York, Chicago, and Berlin.

I have also been greatly inspired by the feats of my friends: Irwin Ramas Uypitching was doing his second Marathon Major after Tokyo; and Michael Chua was on to his third Marathon Major, after Tokyo and London.

My joining my first Marathon Major in Berlin was just an excuse to fulfill a part of my bucket list to tour some parts of Europe.

What did it take you to finish the Berlin Marathon?
Nothing much, actually, having been able to complete quite a few full marathons and ultramarathons in the past. I relied mainly on muscle memory and some mileage runs. No speed works for me. My goal was simply to beat the cut-off time of six hours and 15 minutes to run 42 kilometers — which I believed was not that difficult. My running buddies and I just trained for a comfortable pace we could endure for the next 42 kilometers (seven to eight minutes per kilometer), and at the same time, I just wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenery that the historic city of Berlin has to offer. I knew it was going to be a fun sightseeing tour for me.

No special runners’ diet for me, either. We had almost an entire year to prepare so as much as possible, we just planned to join almost every local fun runs the Province had to offer.

What’s the downside of training for a major race for busy doctors like you?

I’m fortunate I did not encounter any downside to training inspite of my busy schedule at the hospital since I have been actively running the last nine years, although not as frequent now as when DARS (Dumaguete Adventure Runners & Striders) started in 2010. I believe that one year of training preparation specifically for this major race was more than enough time. I made sure I would run about three to four times a week, with long runs on some weekends. Again, my goal was just to train to be able to beating the cutoff at Berlin.

Tell us about runcations. How did your travel agent arrange your tour-running goals?
A runcation is a portmanteau for a vacation abroad or outside your hometown that is planned around a race or a running experience in some iconic route. It could be regarded as an incentive to get physical and start running. The destination — Europe in our case — motivates the runner during hard training days. Travelling to the desired destination offers one the opportunity to tick off a major race from one’s bucket list.

But first, to join the World Majors, one has to show evidence of having run a full marathon within Abbot’s specified qualifying times. The qualifying time for my age bracket is to have run a full marathon of 42 kilometers under 2 hours 55 minutes. That has never happened to me in my running life.

An option was to go through the lottery, for which anyone had a slim chance competing with about 44,000 others wanting to get a slot for running.

A third alternative was this proposal from runcation organizers who have an official tie up with the Berlin Marathon, offering a package of a guaranteed slot in the Marathon Major, hotel accommodations, and a tour of particular countries in the Schengen area.

So some of our running friends decided to grab this opportunity to join an international event, while at the same time, fulfilling a bucket list of a European holiday. We formed a runcation team, and for the next three months, planned our itinerary in Europe. Fellow local runner Janeth Gravador, who manages Grandeur Travel & Tours, helped our team connect with Europe and the runcation organizers abroad, making it more convenient for us during the planning stage.

I encourage avid runners who also love to travel to do runcations; it’s something that can also be done with family. It’s doable as long as there is long-term planning, and is something that will be done with a tight group of friends or family sharing in the decisions and efforts to help bring the cost down, and save on some aspects of the trip.

How did the run part of the runcation go?

The actual Berlin Marathon was indeed fun. It was a flat scenic course, with thousands upon thousands of spectators cheering us on until the finish line. It rained hard during the race and it became a bit chilly, but we had to do what we had to do. We just enjoyed viewing the different historical sights along the Berlin streets, like the Victory Column, and of course, highlighted by the Brandenburg Gate towards the finish line. Two months after the race, memories of that fun-filled race remain crystal clear in my mind.

And tell us about the tour.
After the marathon in Berlin, we toured some countries in Europe for the next 16 days. We had different itineraries among the team. Some of us took a plane south to Munich to get an actual feel of Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival and funfair with lots of parades, endless food, music, and merry-making. Then we took the train southeast to Salzburg in Austria. Then we took another train west to Zurich in Switzerland. And finally, we rode the plan south to Rome in Italy for some historical getaway.

What’s next?

Personally for me, having recently participated in just one of the six World Majors was already an amazing and memorable feat — enough to cherish a lifetime. But what’s to stop anyone from checking out what could be next in the 2020 calendar: March 1 in Tokyo; April 20 in Boston; April 26 in London; Oct. 11 in Chicago; Nov. 1st in New York City.

Who knows? Well, nothing is impossible.

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