Alfred Diacosa, the first-time marathoner who made a record at the recent TBR-Sun Life Dream Marathon after finishing first with a spectacular time of 3 hours and 27 minutes, is no stranger to physical activities. He’s been at it since he was a child growing up in Bacolod, where he and his four other siblings would always be out playing. Except it’s not the typical of play they engaged in, as it involved climbing mountains.
"My mother was a vendor and she’d always take us with her to look for siling ligaw. We would climb mountains three times a week, and it was like play for me and my four siblings,” he said in the vernacular. “I was only six years old then. Even at a young age, hard work was already ingrained in me."
As he grew older, his interests shifted to basketball and running. The latter became his favorite form of exercise, and even when he moved to Manila and started working, he would still find the time to run.
In 2010, he joined Sun Life Financial as a Logistics Staff, and there, his love for the sport further grew. In fact, his first try at racing was in the company’s annual Sunpiology Run. His wife prodded him to join the 2015 leg, and he successfully completed the 5K category.
While he enjoyed the experience, Alfred had hesitations about running longer distances. “The 21K distance scared me because it seemed too long. More so the full 42K marathon,” he said.
But when a chance to join the PSE Bull Run in September 2016 presented itself, he mustered the courage to give it a try. He found inspiration in the runners at Sun Life, especially the company’s president and CEO Riza Mantaring who has completed different marathons all over the world. "I would read about Ms. Riza’s marathon races abroad and I’d always wonder what it was like. I wanted to experience it too, so I thought maybe it’s time to give longer distances a try," he said.
As it turned out, Riza would be instrumental in helping Alfred tread the road to a full marathon. The executive wanted to help her security detail Edward Gabatin improve his running, so she gave him a program to follow. Edward, in turn, trained Alfred and helped him prepare for the PSE Bull Run. Alfred ended up clocking an impressive time of 1 hour and 32 minutes for the 21K run, landing in 7th place overall in the said race.
After a successful half marathon, Alfred felt he was finally ready for the full one. Sun Life, which sponsored this year’s TBR-Dream Marathon, gave him a free slot. He did all he can to prepare for it, and would always find time to train even if he worked full-time. "I'd always stick to my schedule no matter what. If it rains, I’d go to company’s basement carpark and run there," he said, adding that he also got valuable tips from Riza and Sun Life Health and Wellness Marketing Head/TBR-Dream Marathon Founder Jaymie Pizarro.
The night before the race, he could barely sleep due to nerves and excitement. Early the next day, he surveyed the crowd and thought about how there seemed to be a lot of strong runners among them. "My competitive side kicked in. I psyched myself to go for a finish of 3 hours and 30 minutes," he said. "I wanted to make a mark. I kept telling myself these two words: determination and commitment."
At gun start, Alfred was off to a smooth start and was able to pull away from the pack early on. But as he reached the 30-kilometer mark, the struggle began. "My leg started cramping. I didn’t do enough long runs during my training, and its effects started to show," he recalled. "Good thing the 'dream chasers' were there to push me on."
In the final two kilometers of the run, Alfred just wanted to fall to his knees and stop already. But the marshals on bikes encouraged him to go for a strong finish, and so he sprinted to the finish line, giving it all he had.
And with that, Alfred made a TBR-Dream Marathon record by clocking in the fastest time in the race’s history.
At the finish line, he was welcomed with cheers and smiles by both Riza and Jaymie, the very two women who gave him the opportunity to run his first marathon ever.
"It’s an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. The happiness is simply incomparable. I would definitely do it all over again," he said.
Revved up by his successful debut as a marathoner, Alfred has no plans of stopping. He wants to continue with his training to maintain his strength and speed, and is also looking forward to joining more races in the future.
"More importantly, I’d like to maintain my fitness so I can always be there for my family. They are my inspiration," he said. "Besides, I do the laundry at home every weekend, so I really have to be healthy!"
Special thanks to Rickpets Lens Photography for Alfred's photo (edited to black & white from original)
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