In my dream I was running a marathon – all 42.195 meters of it. I was at the 21km turnaround, momentarily pausing for a banana and gulps of sports drink. Minutes later I was running ecstatic and focused. My mind dwells on nothing but the exhilaration of running and keeping within my goal pace. At km 32 where the old notion of The Wall was supposed to be, I stopped again to take another packet of energy gel provided for by the race organizer. I downed the gel with liberal sips of sports drink. I then resumed my run. Ten kilometers more and my dream to be a marathoner will come true.
I woke up 2kms before the dream finish line. In the real world I was just off the phone with the Milo race organizer. About a week ago I was told the community of runners in takbo.ph will be allowed to have a few support vehicles alongside the official water stations. I was happy with the reasonable compromise between a group of ordinary runners wanting to have peace of mind in the form of support vehicles and the race organizer espousing fairness among runners and race orderliness. A few hours ago I was told that the private support vehicles would no longer be allowed. They would no longer be necessary; the race organization would provide for all the runners needs. That was the premise and promise.
The race organizer said the 33rd Milo Marathon is envisioned by the sponsoring company and the race organization to be a model for all marathons in the country. With its long history and tradition, indeed the Milo Marathon is the premiere marathon event in the country. The founder of the Milo marathon will be an observer of how his idea has grown into what it is now. The Milo executives will run the 21K course. Like the Boston Marathon after which it was patterned, the Milo Marathon continues to attract the cream of the country’s runners. Has it also approached the Boston Marathon in terms of runners’ support provision? I can only hope so for I will soon be part of this race too. One welcome development is the planned provision of bananas at mid-point for all 21k and 42K runners.
I do not know what to make of these pieces of information. Fiercely independent, I have usually believed in providing for my own needs in pursuit of my personal dreams. What I cannot provide myself, I am willing to pay for. When I pay a marathon fee, I pay on the assumption that the fee covers not only the race certificate and singlet, but also intangibles like road security and basic needs like water and nutrition for very long distances. When I read accounts of marathon done abroad, I only sigh with longing at the energy gels, drinks and liniments given as part of the marathon package.
I find it ironic - perhaps actually auspicious - that the independent me ends up part of race support groups. First in the Condura Run; now in the Milo Marathon. I realize people do need support. Despite our varying levels of independence, we are social beings thriving on social interaction. Running is both a pursuit of one and a pursuit of all. In Condura I have personally witnessed the power of positive thought and collective support in allowing new runners to achieve what they otherwise thought was impossible. Morale support from family, friends and the crowd continue to permeate even the most historic and hallowed of all marathons.
But is private provision of hydration and nutrition the solution? The takbo.ph experience during the Condura Run has shown that the private provision of public race support can have real challenges. The main challenge is appropriate access. Despite provisioning for all 21k runners, the support vehicles run out of supplies for a few of the slower runners because the general public (i.e. non-runners) could not be effectively and peacefully denied access to private hydration stations. Other small private support groups were able to solve this access and availability problem by knowing personally whom they were supporting and discreetly limiting access to these known members. For a larger group, it can be a logistics nightmare.
In my heart I dream that private race support groups will be a thing of the past. That all that will remain are pockets of cheering families and friends. That in its place will rise a marathon-loving and supportive public crowd. I dream that runners need not fret about adequate hydration and nutrition along the way for these have already been considered by the race organization. In my case, it is tremendous pressure enough to finish my first marathon within 5hrs. I personally hope that I would not have to worry about having water towards the finish line. I am hoping Milo the energy drink will power me all the way to the finish. I have seen how race organization in the Philippines has progressed through the years. For my maiden marathon, I hope we are getting real close to the level of support runners have come to expect. After all the preparation and training, all I can really do is hope and pray. This is what we Filipinos are really good at: preparing for the worst, but always hoping for the best.
I am trusting my childhold drink of choice will not fail me. As the singlet I will be wearing says, “Kaya natin ‘yan”
Only then will the dream become a reality.
