Run 42 full marathons before I turn 42

I'm republishing this post which I accidentally deleted. The original post was published on the 24th of May 2014. 

Hey there! I'm Mavic. Some people also know me as Bekkie.

I've recently finished my 5th marathon and I got inspired by a lady I met during the Great Ocean Road Marathon.

Her name is Erica King, and she's the founder of Running Divas. While running the last 10 kilometers of the race, she shared her story that she had been running for 13 years and that she was trying to finish 1 full marathon each month this year for her 50th birthday. It was also then that she mentioned that she founded Running Divas in order to empower women and help them reach their running goals whatever they may be.

While still on the road, she gave me this bracelet that had an inscription on it that says "Marathon Woman. Fearless". Erica said that it came from Kathrine Switzer, the first woman ever to finish a full marathon in 1967. I didn't even know who Kathrine Switzer was that moment she told me about her, but I suddenly felt so inspired about both their stories.

I took on running 4 years ago. Why? Well, to be honest, because I was bored, and I felt that I needed to do something physically challenging to keep me busy and distracted about the very trivial things I constantly worry myself about at the time. Also, I felt I've been inactive for a long time, I just needed something to get me off the bed, the couch, or any other comfortable surface where you'd usually find me then.

School of Run

I am republishing this post which I accidentally deleted. the original post was first published on the 24th of May 2014. 

In September 2010, my life was about to change completely.

Milo Philippines, in collaboration with APEX (Advance Performance Enhancement Training) founder, Coach Jim Saret and Bonifacio Global City, decided to launch a new running school. Being the pilot season for this running programme, they offered it for free! It was well-received and over 200 people signed up for its first offering. Each aspirant was given the freedom to choose which specific program they want to join depending on the race distance they want to finish, either for the first time or within a shorter time namely, 5K, 10KM beginner, 10KM advanced, 21KM beginner, 21KM advanced and 42KM. The Milo APEX Running School will run through about 12 weeks and ends just in time for the Milo Marathon races.

The Milo APEX Running clinic was first launched in September 2010

Each group has a pair of dedicated coaches, all of whom are among the fastest elite runners in the Philippines. Coach Jim Saret designed the overall program and each coach will guide their respective groups through the exercises with varying difficulties, again, depending on which group you were a part of.

This group of elite runners in the Philippines formed the coaching team with Coach Jim Saret (4th from left) at the helm

I originally signed up for this to get proper training and avoid developing injuries just because I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to keep active, and since I didn't need to pay anything for the education, I was more than willing to try it out. Joining races or getting competitive about racing didn't even enter my mind until much later.

Finding the Right Spot 

I initially joined the 5KM group thinking that since I was a beginner in running, that I should take it slow first. After the first session, I requested to be moved to the 10KM beginner group. After the 2nd session, I requested to be moved again to the 10KM advanced group, to join a couple of friends who I

Marathon #4: Second Attempt - Melbourne Marathon - 13 October 2013

Second Chances

In June 2013, I got confirmation that I will need to travel back to Australia again for a temporary transfer assignment. I will stay in Melbourne for at least 15 months, which opened a lot of possibilities for me. 

After my failed attempt to finish the 42KM event at the 37th Milo Marathon Manila Eliminations, I made up my mind about joining the Melbourne Marathon that year. When I was in Melbourne in April and May, I already knew about the annual running event that is held in the city during the month of October. It was just perfect timing! I've already been training for a marathon, so I just need to continue with that until before I leave for Australia in September. After that, I'll have a couple of weeks to train by myself before the actual race.

So on Tuesday, after the Milo Marathon, I was back at Ultra eager to get on with my training under Coach Sid's tutelage. For the next 8 weeks, I would religiously be with Coach Sid at least 3 times a week to get myself ready. I wanted redemption and I wanted it really bad.

One weekend in September, in order to add a little bit more intensity to my training, my running gurlfriends (Team Runbow Brite) and Coach Sid decided to drive up to Baguio City to get some altitude and hills training. Baguio is a city 250 KM north of Manila. It is nestled up in the mountains, at around 2000m above sea level and most people go there to escape the heat and humidity that's prevalent in the low lands. 

It was cloudy and rainy when we got there, but we braved the unpredictable weather anyway, running on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. The thin air at this high altitude made for a challenging run, and the hills we ran on were a killer! I particularly remember a 150m ascent, on one of the entry ways to Camp John Hay, that had a 70-80 degrees incline, you were almost kissing your knees as you make your way up!