MARATHONS are tough and require absurd distance for the human body to complete. You need sufficient training, strategy, and a lot of miles to convince your body that you can reach your goals. You push stamina in various ways -- some stretching and flexibility and a lot of cross training and strength exercises like yoga, too.
Not to mention, you must prepare your body to consume a lot of carbohydrates, electrolytes, and water. Eat healthy food and observe proper diet. Get some good sleep and rest to recover and/or avoid injury. Additionally, you need your feet to be in good condition when running, so you need to buy that shoes.
Running is a myriad of physiological process and lots of requirements involved that one couldn't see a shortcut. I’ve been teaching Physical Education for more than 20 years in Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS) where I ensure students gain knowledge, equip with skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity and I could say, I am not even cut out for marathons. At least not for my colleague and former student, Jenefer Paloma.
Jenefer has been involved in a lot of trainings, which helped her achieve medals and awards in the field of marathon. She’s a multi-awardee triathlete in Cagayan de Oro City, which provided her the title as the top local triathlete. In 2017, she won the Acadeo Sports personality of the year awardee, placed 2nd runner-up in 70.3 Cobra Ironman held in Cebu City, and within the same year, she also vied for the 70.3 Cobra Ironman World Championship Qualifier in Mandela Bay, South Africa. She’s been known to compete internationally even back in 2016 where she placed 2nd runner-up in 70.3 Ironman held in Vietnam and in Tennessee, USA.
Some people run for various reasons. Some want to stay healthy by removing those flabs and drenching in sweat and exhaustion. Some has health issues that they see running as a way of trimming down the belly. Some even see it as an everyday routine. For Jenefer, it is more than that. It's certainly is a lifestyle for her that she started to extend her distances after accomplishing the miles for the day. Running change people’s lives and for her, all her runs became the highlights of her life and each one gives a joyful experience; there’s no magic bullet on how to achieve bigger miles -- you just have to be that person in the room who trained the most miles to win the race.
Aside from teaching in MOGCHS, Jenefer works as a running coach at Pelaez Sports Complex. She is only 25 years old and I’m halfway through of a century. It is delightful to see someone half of my age getting involved with such difficult sport, and as a colleague, it is an honor to be one of the people who could write about her.