HE does not possess the lean physique of an Antonio San Juan nor has he finished the New York City Marathon like Vicente Verallo. But what this fellow doctor of Tony and Vic possesses, like the two, is a determination and willpower that cannot be bought or taught.
Dr. Ronald Navaja Eullaran joined the Cobra Ironman 70.3 race. I call him “Partner” because, together with Dr. Ronnie Medalle, we are the best of friends. Two Sundays ago, we left our homes at Ma. Luisa at 4 a.m. and did a convoy towards Shangri-La.
Our journey towards swimming 1.9 kilometers, biking 90K and running a half-marathon began 12 months ago. After we joined the IM70.3 relay event (with Rap Sios-e as swimmer, Ron as biker and myself as runner), we vowed to join again in 2015; this time, as individual participants.
Ron and I trained. We’d bike the hills of Ma. Luisa and would swim in Casino Español. Ron has no problems biking. (It was him, many years back during one of our Rotary Club of Cebu West meetings, who invited me to go mountain-biking.) So, of the three sports, biking was his strength. Last year, given only a few weeks’ notice since we registered late, he finished the 90K distance in 3:40.
Running? This was a concern. Swimming? An even bigger concern.
With running, he was convinced by his wife, my childhood friend Raycia Patuasi Eullaran--a 42K finisher of the Cebu Marathon--to join the Sunday fun runs. From 5K to 10K, he ran. Never mind if his time was not the fastest (3 hours ++ for the 21K), he endured the leg pains — all for the bigger goal to be an Ironman.
His two main challenges were his workload and his body weight. Working all day and night, often past 9 p.m., he didn’t have extra time to train, not even on Saturdays. Worse, because he loved to eat (who doesn’t?), despite the increasing hours that he spent exercising, he wasn’t losing 20 pounds like the other triathletes. Undeterred, he pressed on.
With the swim, although he came from Gen. Santos City and grew up near the sea, he wasn’t fast. In the numerous occasions when we swam — often at the Costabella Resort — though he was unafraid to swim in deep waters, his only problem was he was slow.
For the Ironman 70.3 race, this posed a problem. There was a cutoff time of 70 minutes. No matter how well-trained you are for the bike, you won’t be allowed to mount your Cervelo if you exceed the time limit.
Ron was concerned with missing the swim cutoff. The Thursday before the race, we practiced in Shangri-La together with Melbourne Ironman Meyrick Jacalan and Jojo Veloso and while the three of us had long finished, he was still on the water, toiling hard with his freestyle.
But mental strength can often work wonders. As the saying goes, “The river cuts through rock not because of its power but its persistence.”
Ron, like a rock, is persistent. He showed this last May when we joined the 8080 race in Sogod. Having slept for an hour (he was called at midnight to rush to Chong Hua and attend to a patient), he could have called to say he won’t join. He joined. He finished last in the swim and, as darkness fell and everybody else was having dinner, he arrived as the last finisher. Downtrodden? Not Ron, never. All-smiling and accompanied by his grit and tenacity, he crossed the finish to thunderous applause as Steve and Maricel Maniquis of the Cornerstone Group ignited the fireworks. Amazing determination to complete 80.8 kms. — despite an hour of sleep.
But that was just the preliminary bout because the main event happened last Aug. 2. With the swim, given the current, I thought my best friend would be cutoff.
But I saw him on the bike. I knew he was a good cyclist but I was worried with his running. With the sun so hot, he’d be cooked. But, ever the fighter like his fellow Gen. San native Pacquiao, Ron ran. With doggedness, he crossed the finish line, finishing 10 minutes before the cutoff to become the country’s only “Ironman rheumatologist.” Fitting because his name is embedded with the celebrated word:
I-Ron-man.
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