BAND(its) ON THE (milo)RUN

“well,the rain exploded with a mighty crash as we fell into the sun.and the first one said to the second one there, i hope you’re having fun…..

….In the town,they are searching for us everywhere,but we’ll never be found….

And the county judge(rudy b), who had a grudge will search forevermore for the band(its)on the run…..”

The BEATLES-Band On The Run

(28) MILO 42k FINALS…..there was no way in this world that i would be missing the 32nd milo 42k finals.after finishing 5:43 in my first milo full last august 3, i sought redemption.it was payback time all over again.it did not matter that i did the nb25 two sundays ago and my first ultra at pinatubo55 the other saturday.it did not matter that coaches espejo and salazar were kicking my fat ass at the bald runner speed drill training at ultra last wednesday and friday.and certainly,it did not matter that i did not qualify for the finals.and much more,it did not matter that our request for exemption was turned down.no way this full would slip away from my feet.

so i sent a few text messages and there we were,all 8 “unqualified” runners posing as 42k finalists.we registered as 10k runners but all had a full in mind.

and so after barely 2 hours of sleep,i was up at 12:30am just mindlessly rolling all over the bed and waiting for the alarm to go off.then it was D day.

for security and other obvious reasons,our identities couldn't be divulge or else rudy b will run after us.

we assembled at corner tm kalaw and roxas blvd and after exchange of blah blahs and photo ops,we went to the starting line.actually,outside the pit.and waited for the starting gun and qualifiers to run past us before we would join the fun.as soon as i saw bald runner passed by,i joined in.and i told my fellow bandit,what is milo without the rains?it was drizzling but just enough to cool our yet cold bodies.and that was to be the case in some parts of the route.it was a welcome shower albeit unscheduled.and we were lucky the sun did not shine mightily throughout the race.

as in all rudy b and milo races,there was ample security,marshals,directions,water,sponges and traffic personnel.it was such a joy to cross usually busy intersections and taking time to cross it without honking from vehicles and angry stares from commuters.

making the race kinda manageable was the fact that it was exactly the same route as the august 3 qualifiers.at least for me, i knew where the more difficult segments where.and so as we doggedly pursued our running plans and knowing that we were up against at least 4 hour time limit legit qualifiers,we did our darndest best to keep up if only to redeem ourselves and show them that we got game too!

personally,i got a kick out of overtaking some qualifiers but more importantly,i was enjoying this redemption run.as i hit the mental landmarks for my timing basis,i was happy i was doing well.we arrived at our playground,the fort till bayani road and back.before i knew it ,i was in buendia and roxas boulevard with my fellow bandit.

as in movies,not all bandits make it through the end.well,that is the script but that doesn’t make them less of a bandit, does it? minsang bandit,forever bandit.

of course, the other bandits,the faster ones, kick ass too.they fared better than the other qualifiers.

for next year’s qualifier’s race,i hope to make it 4 hours at least as that is the minimun finals qualifying time.and i have my work cut out for me.as for my finish time,i did,4:32:44.i redeemed myself and cut almost 1 hour 10 minutes from my august 3 failed full.as for the faster bandits,they can only get better by next year.

after the race,i saw vener and his wife and had photos taken.i did not see any other runner-blogger.perhaps,most were resting for their own conquest in singapore next week.your turn guys and girls.good luck!

kalayaan flyover onto the fort

entering roxas blvd from buendia.ccp area.

 

overtaking a qualifier being paced by an army of pacers.aristocrat area.

trying to keep up and readying for the final push.

u.s. embassy/lest we would be mistaken for real bandits,i made a go of it.

the sight of dr. jose rizal and the marines never fails to lift my spirits.

we made it.as bandits,we got finisher medals and finisher certificates and a loot bag to go.Milo and rudy b are kind to bandits after all.

 

i made it.kinda.have 33 minutes to work on to qualify.

 

Zorro and The Zorrots.you complete my sunday dude.

 

winner's circle.we, bandits, felt like winners too.with sir jovie who did a mean sub 4(3:48) full and two of his winning runners.also,coaches capt ferdie espejo and msgt salazar whose voices,i swear,i heard in my ears in most of the full's route.and with george and jerry(highaltitude)

  

the 32nd milo finals bandits unmasked!(from left)george,jay(prometheus cometh),joe(looney runner),jerry(high altitude),philip(foreign runner),jonel,nickko,lester.run for your lives boys and lie low for awhile.i heard someone put up a bounty on our heads.

i am happy with the way my november ended.i had this full to bookend november.i did a solo 42.77 in kayapa last november 1.in between,i did my first ultra at pinatubo55.and the nb25 as a dessert run.

the HardCore President "tolerating" his minions.

                                                             onwards to bataan 102!

as bards aptly said it, today was kick-ass times!

sure was.