The Warrior Ultramarathon is one of the pioneering ultramarathon races in Cebu. It’s on its 3rd edition this year. It’s one of Cebu’s ultramarathon races where it attracts a perfect mix of runners: from the newbie, elite fast runners, to seasoned ultra runners. It’s a race where runners who wish to be de-virginized in the ultramarathon distance look forward to. It’s a also a race where Cebu people will get a feel of who are to-look-forward to runners in the long distance races. But for the few or many, it’s a race that we fondly remember as which gave Melinda Ponce, a legendary female runner of Cebu, her first ultramarathon championship. Now let’s get to know one of the warriors that made this ultramarathon possible, and thriving. Well, getting to “know” is actually an overstatement because how do you write about Garry Garcia?! The guy who eats pain at endurance sports, while at the same time he makes sure that everyone in his hotel (Be Resorts, info here >>) have a flawless painless experience. I guess this shows that a warrior can be in many different forms, and different
kind of battles. The Battle He was a triathlete back in his younger days. But he stopped when he got busy with his university studies abroad; then ending up working in the hotel and resort industry after school did not help much with his physical wellness. Until he was diagnosed as “clinically obese,” his story into running can be the typical that-fat-guy-who-wants-to-get-healthy battle. But it got a bit twisted when he chanced upon the stories of Haide Acuna and Bro. Carlo Bacalla’s BDM Ultramarathon, which is considered the grand-daddy of ultramarathons in the Philippines. It made the battle of losing weight through running became more than that. The Pact: 12/2011 By 2011, Garry finished the BDM Ultramarathon, and at the same year made a pact that he would run 12 ultramarathons or marathons in 2011. How did he do that? It deserves a book. It was Garry’s crazy idea of running 12 ultramarathons or marathons that gave birth to the The Warrior Ultramarathon. Having missed one ultramarathon in Cebu back then, he thought of creating one to make up for it. That one became the The Warrior 50K Ultramarathon, which started in 2011. “*Special Idiot” Battalion From the goal of going to battle 12 ultramarathons or marathons, he ended up with 18, and a battalion of more idiots “ultramarathon runners” courtesy of The Warrior Ultramarathon. (*They say it takes a special idiot to run an ultramarathon.) The Warrior It is probably a wonder why this hotelier whom we could imagine to be lying in a hammock sipping margarita at the beach instead “punishes” his self in races, in which there’s not much chance of him stepping on a podium, and he might even finish without any one waiting for him. (Read on his 1st Cebu Century Ultra Marathon 104.5KM experience, “Travails of running 104.5 kilometers alone,” featured in Sun-Star here >>.)

Photo by James Go

HRRAC (Hotel, Resorts, and Restaurant Association of Cebu)
“Never a day did I go to work , I go everyday to do my passion”
Warrior for Others In a business that requires the best of him, having an ultramarathon warrior attitude definitely probably gets him thru it. And, I guess that’s what make him separate from others. Passion. And, I guess that’s what made him a very inspiring runner — passion. Because though he was never the one to make it to the podium, he does it like he is going to be the champion. “I join ultras not because I want say to I am the best, but I want to bring out the best in me.” – Garry Garcia In a business that requires the best of him, having an ultramarathon warrior attitude definitely probably gets him thru it. And, I guess that’s what make him separate from others. Passion. Not only a good hotel but the whole hotel industry — https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150100808487724&set=a.58705937723.72794.704977723&type=1 Just like Garry Garcia, don’t underestimate a simple warrior’s battle of losing weight, we’ll never know what battle or battalion he could come up wiht. And, the battle to losing weight became a battle to getting more of the best of his self. Thus fear not those who come to the battle who wants to compete with you, but fear those people who compete to become the best of them because they can be boundless. And, I guess that’s what made him such an inspiring runner. He may not have champion’s trophy but he can be a champ at inspiring others to not only run, but dig thru But for me, Garry Garcia is that security bubble in ultramarathons. When you see his face, together with Juliet Amazona, Be Your Own warrior He specializes in non-chain hotel kind of set-up, where he can put his heart into shaping the culture of the hotel, not only for the guests but as well for the people behind it. That’s why he The best of who you are. For those joining the upcoming The Warrior Ultramarathon, if ever you feel dying, you now know who to blame! Blame Garry Garcia’s 12 ultramarathon a year pact in 2011!
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