hurdler49

Note: This section will be updated soon. I’ve just recently hung up my spikes!

Thanks for dropping by!

I used to be a college-level sprint hurdler. More than two years after my last track race for the good ole Alma Mater, I’m dusting off the cobwebs of my two-year hibernation. I train mostly at night. By day, I’m a bond trader for an independent investment house in Makati.

In my spare time, I day-dream about being an Olympic gold medalist and a jet-setting billionaire.

Career

I’m still at a loss on what to do with the rest of my life. I’m on a vision quest.  Although I do love track & field and the hurdles, I know for a fact that a career as a professional track athlete is one helluva long heave.

Why did I start this blog?

Once I made the decision to return to the track, it was inevitable that I start writing again, albeit at a more mature train of thought.

This site is my blog’s new home.  I’ve been blogging about track & field since 2004. I started off with a simple Live Journal account (remember those days?) and migrated all of my stuff to Multiply. I stopped blogging altogether when I joined the workforce in 2008. Back then, I shelved all of my track & field aspirations. I retreated from the sport that I love, believing that Track and Career are mutually exclusive.

Reading the sites of Rick Olivares (Bleachers Brew), Jaemark Tordecilla (Fire Quinito), Yell Carreon (Pinoy Miler) and Jaymie Pizarro (The Bull Runner) gave that forceful push for me to start writing again. Elite athletes David Oliver and Derval O’Rourke, who actively interact with fans through the net provided a unique glimpse of life in the athletics mainstream, helping stoke the fires of track & field passion yet again.

Why “hurdler49″?

In high school, my events included the 110m high hurdles and the 400m dash. Back then, I harbored dreams of smashing Aparicio Mequi’s hand-timed Men’s 400m dash record of 49 seconds; hence, the name “high_hurdler49.” I just shortened it to “hurdler49.”

110m High Hurdles

I specialized in the sprint hurdles in college. Although I wasn’t able to clock a legitimate, automatically-timed Sub-15 time because of injury, breaking the 15 second barrier (and the National Record) is one of my life-long dreams. In light of my 8 to 5 day job, I’m at the end of my wits on how to do just that!

Automatic Timing:

• 15.52s – 70th UAAP – Manila (Feb 2008)
• 15.65s – Philippine National Open – Nueva Ecija (Jun 2006)
• 15.78s – 68th UAAP – Manila (Feb 2006)
• 15.85s – 68th UAAP – Manila (Feb 2006)
• 16.67s – 67th UAAP – Manila (Feb 2005)
• 17.46s – 66th UAAP – Manila (Feb 2004)
• 17.55s – Philippine National Open (Juniors) – Manila (May 2003)
• 18.99s – 65th UAAP (Juniors) – Manila (Dec 2002)

Hand Timing:

• 16.5s – Philippine National Games – Bacolod (May 2011)
• 14.9s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Oct 2007)
• 15.2s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Sep 2007)
• 15.2s – National University Games – Bacolod (Oct 2006)
• 15.6s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Sep 2006)
• 15.8s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Aug 2006)
• 15.8s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Sep 2005)
• 16.4s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Aug 2005)
• 16.9s – PATAFA Weekly Relays – Manila (Sep 2004)
• 17.2s – National University Games – Dasmarinas  (Oct 2003)
• 18.9s – National University Games – Bacolod (Jul/Aug 2003)

Why did I come out of a two-year retirement?

At the start of 2010, I read a finely written Rogue magazine article about Alaska Milk CEO Wilfred Uytengsu and how he trained for a friggin’ Ironman whilst juggling family and work commitments. I was impressed – and moved – by Uytengsu’s passion. If a busy head honcho can find the time to chase after goals as lofty as competing in that man-killer event, what’s stopping a twenty something yuppie from hitting the track yet again? If running enthusiasts, badminton aficionados and surfers find the time to pursue their respective sports in their free time, certainly, there’s room for this track & field freak to thrive!

But then again, the Philippines does not have the necessary infrastructure to sustain a vibrant athletics scene. The local track & field scene is school-based. There are no honest-to-goodness athletics clubs in the Philippines (save for Coach Emerson Obiena’s Philippine Pole Vault Club) or professional track & field athletes. Once a college-level athlete graduates, the most viable option is to hang-up one’s spikes. The most promising athletes join the under-funded National Track & Field Team.

It feels good to be an exception to the rule, despite the dearth of training time and track & field meets.

I shall not wilt; I love the challenge.

“Why (do I do it)? Because we may be measured  by what we accomplish, but we are defined by what we attempt.” – Fred Uytengsu