Being able to make it to the CEBU MARATHON this time around brings forth a lot of memories. I had signed up for the Cebu Marathon way back in 2010. I recall having trained really hard for many months, racking in the needed mileage and was physically and mentally prepared for that race. I was all set to go and fly out but was forced to cancel at the very last minute which I shouldn't have - had I been a stronger person then, but that's a different story....
Instead of feeling depressed and having all those months of preparation go to waste, I ran my own marathon in Manila on the same day as the Cebu Marathon where the only runner is me; my own personal race devoid of the crowd and all the fanfare. I finished at a time of 4:31:41 for a distance of 42.195 km. Though I have no medal to show for it, at least It felt good to have done it.
So fast forward to 2015, five years after, I finally got my chance to run in the CEBU MARATHON... this is Redemption for me.
I would estimate 1500 joined the 42.195 km Marathon event which started at exactly 3amsharp. The race route, which started and ended at the IT Park, Cebu City, had us coursing through the Cebu south costal road and the SRP (South Road Propeties) Tunnel twice. Another added bonus apart from the weather which was nice and chilly, was making our way through the cities (Cebu & Talisay), passing some historic sites, beautiful scenery and quaint towns and barrios each having it own unique character which I really loved.
I had only one game plan going into this marathon and that was to simply not have one. For starters, my training regimen was rather simple and straightforward without overdoing it and come race day, I just ran and went for it pushing myself every step of the way even ignoring that twitch in my leg that has plagued me so many times before. I then decided to pick up the pace during the last 2kms and to my surprise, finished with an unofficial time of 4.22 !!!
Perhaps it was just a good day for me or maybe it was the carbo-loading I did prior with a little bit of LECHON on the side which was key, but whatever it was that made me run well makes me truly grateful and happy. All things considered, the Cebu Marathon is beautiful and probably one of the best I've run thus far in the Philippines. I highly recommend you include this marathon in your bucket list.
Coffee Shop serving beer :-)
