The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
THE Philippines’ Jivee Tolentino made the country proud by finishing 13th overall out of 75 participants in the 2023 Backyard Ultra World Championship in Bell Buckle, Tennessee recently.
A well-known ultra-marathoner, Tolentino clocked 72:33.54 to finish 13th among the world’s best ultra-marathoners after running the approximate distance between San Francisco to Los Angeles.
The 47-year-old, Dublin, Ireland-based Tolentino pushed himself to the limits amid extreme heat at day and cold temperatures at night to complete the race.
Tolentino, nephew of 1992 Barcelona Olympian and 10-time Philippine marathon champion Herman Suizo, finished behind eventual winner Harvey Lewis of Cincinnati,Ohio, who clocked 96:16:36.
Merjin Greets of Wilsele, Belgium, who timed 83:20:55; and Jon Noll of Verona, Wisconsi, who clocked 86:54:59, came in second and third, respectively.
It was a fitting follow-up for Tolentino, who placed sixth overall in the Race of Champions in Rettert, German last May.
He was 12 hours shorter than the total time of winner Antonio Di Manno of Italy.
A three-time Spartathlete and winner of the Belfast-Dublin-Belfast Ultra-marathon, Tolentino earned his first World Championships qualification by dominating the 2022 Ireland National Backyard Ultra.
In the Oct. 27 report by Joseph Palmer of the Guardian, Tolentino’s performance was well-chronicled.
“The sight of the Philippines’ dehydrated Jivee Tolentino walking to the finish of his (timed-out) 82nd lap, severely dehydrated and supported on the shoulders of his support crew, prompted murmurs about the race’s lack of an on-site ambulance,” wrote Palmer.
“The absence of on-duty medical personnel is likely the consequence of backyard ultrarunning’s temporary presence at a crossroads somewhere between its DIY, run-with-your-friends roots and its (likely) formally organized future. Fortunately for Tolentino, his support crew includes registered nurse Donald Sombilla.”
In his report, Palmer noted that any footrace longer than a traditional marathon (26.2 miles, or 42.2 km) is considered an ultra, although within that designation there exist multitudes — in New York City alone, ultras can range from pop culture-themed 28-mile events to epic journeys thousands of miles in length.
Many ultras use a straightforward racing format: the race starts and the first person across the finish line wins. Others apply a multi-day, multi-stage structure similar to cycling’s Tour de France. Backyard ultras, however, employ a unique format designed to test runners’ wills as much as their bodies.
In a backyard ultra, racers must complete a four-and-one-sixth-mile trail loop every hour, starting on the hour–they must do this every hour, no exceptions.
Matters of strategy and speed are left to the participants’ discretion. Runners may take the entire hour to complete a lap, perhaps opting for slow pace to conserve energy.
Alternatively, if runners finish a lap in less than an hour, they can use any remaining time to eat, hydrate, sit, stretch, talk strategy with their support crew, or, crucially, to sleep.