By ALEX P. VIDAL
Inspired after being awarded with a certificate for finishing the 26.2-mile Los Angeles Marathon this year, Filipino runner Gaudencio “Nono” Casa Jr. vowed to pursue his ambition of running in the lung-busting Long Beach Marathon on October 12, 2008 this year and again in the nerve-tingling L.A. Marathon on March 1, 2009.
Casa, 43, made the declaration after he received a certificate signed by L.A. Marathon president Dr. William A. Burke and L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa extolling him for finishing 2,590th overall out of 25,000 participants in the 23rd L.A. Marathon this year.
He submitted a time of 4:16:35 for 26 miles and 385 yards, improving by some 30 minutes the record he logged last year.
“Congratulations on finishing 23rd annual City of Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda,” went the letter accompanying the certificate signed by Villaraigosa and Burke. “(Your) months of training came down to one glorious day where you exemplified the heart of 26.2. Your closed finisher’s certificate is well-deserved.”
Casa, a former seaman from Calinog, Iloilo who works in a posh condominium on Wilshire Avenue, said that his efforts and sacrifices have been recognized and appreciated. This will embolden him to train hard and do his best to land in the top 100 if not win any of the two prestigious marathons in the world.
“Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa,” stressed Casa who is married to Riza, Sharon Cuneta’s former make-up artist.
Casa said he was also particularly inspired by Tatayana Aryasova of Russia, who made her marathon debut after giving birth to her first child in 2006, handily held off the male frontrunners after a 19:38 head start, to win the Banco Popular Challenge $100,000 bonus. She received a $20,000 cash prize for her 2:29:09 first place finish, along with a 2008 Honda Accord, as did Laban Moiben, a 24-year old Kenyan who broke the tape at 2:13:50.
“If a 49-year-old woman can do that, why can’t we, the male and much younger runners?” he pointed out.
The marathon day was described by Burke as filled with heart and heartbreak. For the first time in the race’s 23-year history, event organizers allowed a relay to be held. “You could hear a pin drop on the start line when 30 L.A.P.D. SWAT team members and Chief William Bratton gathered for a torch lighting ceremony to honor the memory of Randal Simmons, the first SWAT team member in history to be killed in the line of duty. Immediately following, Simmons’ partner James Hart carried the torch for first leg of the journey. The torch was passed every three miles to SWAT team members and handed to Simmons’ 15-year old son Mat who carried it across the finish line where he was met by his mother, sister and other family members,” said Burke.
Legacy Runner Craig Chambers, one of 249 people who have run every L.A. Marathon, walked the race for the first time to keep his streak alive despite the debilitating effects of stage IV cancer. Another inspiring participant was Johan Otter, the recipient of the Marathon’s 2008 Patsy Choco Courage Award. A lifelong marathon runner, he nearly lost his life when he absorbed the attack of a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park to save the life of his teenage daughter Jenna.
The race was run for the 2nd year in a row on a point-to-point course beginning in the valley at Universal Studios Hollywood and ending at 5th and Flower opposite the Richard J. Riordan Central Library in downtown Los Angeles.
The course was designed along the Metro Red Line, which served the start and finish line areas and three points in between. Participants with bibs rode for free on race day. Spectators had the opportunity to watch the progress of the race at various points on the course.
This year, the race was highlighted by several new innovations. In the late stage of the race, participants heard more than 100 mariachis in The Mariachi Mile as the race progressed along Boyle Avenue in East Los Angeles. The final mile of the race featured large banners and inspiring quotes honoring Ernie Van Leeuwen, who ran his first of eleven Los Angeles Marathons at age 82. Also new to this year’s race was SAI Timing, a disposable computer timing strip, said Burke.
Concepcion
Holds Victory
Over Filipino Pug
Despite losing his last fight by 3rd round knockout to Juan Carlos Burgos, ring experts do not consider Adam Carrera a pushover and are not ruling an upset win over North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super bantamweight champion Bernabe Concepcion when they collide in a 10-round non-title fight on July 26 in the undercard of the Miguel Cotto versus Antonio Margarito 12-round world welterweight rumble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Carrera is not yet over the hill and is not stranger to a Filipino fighter,” said boxing trainer Hipolito Sebastian, Sr. who once handled world-ranked Hector Zaldivar and junior featherweight contender Felipe Sisneros.
Sebastian, 62, said Carrera, a natural featherweight, is only 25 years old and is itching to climb back in the win column to improve his ranking. Carrera, he said, is also eyeing a title shot at Israel Vasquez’s WBC super bantamweight jewels “and he must score a win over the fancied Concepcion (25-1, 14 KOs) to realize his dream. “
Carrera (19-3, 8 KOs), according to Sebastian, was only 19 when he pounded out a unanimous decision win over veteran Filipino prospect Ronnie Longkait on September 20, 2002 at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to post his eight straight win against no defeat.
Carrera, nicknamed “El Torito”, once fought for the United States Boxing Association (USBA) super bantam-weight title but lost on points to Mike Oliver on Sept. 28, 2006. He bounced back a year later by whipping Juan Ruiz in a 10-round non-title tiff in Ontario, California.
Carrera also once held Concepcion’s title he won by knocking out Julio Gamboa in the 7th round at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, California on June 24, 2005.
Concepcion, 20, said he does not under-estimate his opponents, including Carrera. “Pareho lang kami na marunong sumuntok kaya hindi tayo dapat magkumpiansa,” said Concepcion, who stopped Torrence Daniels in two rounds on April 26 at the Plaza de Toros Juriquilla, Queretaro, Mexico to keep his NABF crown.
The Filipino ring sensation has logged more than 50 rounds in his sparring sessions under the watchful eyes of Hall of Famer coach Freddie Roach at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood. He will be assisted at ringside by his manager Aljoe Jaro, who will plane in on July 19, and WBC ring physician Dr. Allan L. Recto who has been designated as his cut man.
WBC lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao, Concepcion’s major sponsor in the United States, will also watch the fight at ringside. /MP
Houseless Families Get P10,000 Assistance
Aklanon families rendered houseless by Typhoon Frank will soon start building their houses anew with the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
According to Evangeline Gallega of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) Kalibo, Aklan, the DSWD is set to distribute P10,000.00 each to families whose houses were totally destroyed by Typhoon Frank.
Gallega said the DSWD is currently validating the actual number of families in the province whose houses were totally destroyed by the typhoon. Presently, the validation is focused on Kalibo.
The PDCC has listed more than 10,000 totally destroyed houses in its report on damages caused by Typhoon Frank on June 21.
Meanwhile, the PDCC is currently listing names of those who perished during the typhoon in Aklan. Immediate families of these victims, according to the PDCC, will receive P10,000 each.
Some 53 Aklanons died at the height of the typhoon, mostly due to drowning. Others were landslide victims while some were hit by fallen trees.
Numancia town had the highest number of deaths with 16, followed by Kalibo with 7 and Ibajay, 6. The towns of Banga, Makato, Malinao and New Washington had 4 deaths each; Lezo and Libacao 3 each, Tangalan and Madalag, 1 each. /MP
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