DAVAO City's Olive Firmeza seized the runner-up finish in the recently concluded Dubai Virtual Marathon despite experiencing acid reflux during her first race this year.
The 45-year-old mother, a veteran runner from Team Philhealth/RunClinic, clocked three hours, 49 minutes, and seven seconds (3:49:07) to place second to Italy's Elena Malaffo who emerged women's 42.2-kilometer champion. Malaffo timed 3:38:25.
She's glad to have survived the night marathon amid the discomfort she felt.
"Acid reflux pero na managed ra man. Natapos ko before curfew (I had acid reflux. I finished the marathon before the 9 p.m. curfew)," she told SunStar Davao in a Facebook chat interview.
The Dabawenya, however, said that joining marathons is really challenging since she is accustomed to the ultra marathon.
"Challenging ang marathon. Opportunity man gud to join sa international event bahala na virtual (Running a marathon is challenging. But I grabbed the opportunity since it's an international event although it's just virtual)," she said.
Last year, Firmeza was also second in the Virtual Madrid Marathon women's marathon; second in Santiago Chile Virtual Marathon women's marathon; fifth in the San Francisco Virtual Marathon women's marathon; and fourth in Virtual Run Gold Coast Marathon Australia.