Milo Marathon 2010 – Official Statement on Remus Fuentes Incident

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Here is the Official Statement of Milo Marathon 2010 on the story of Remus Fuentes. This is a re-posted from the Milo Philippines Facebook Fan Page.

STATEMENT ON MILO MARATHON

We are deeply saddened by the passing away of Mr. Remus Fuentes, a participant of the July 4, 2010 MILO Marathon held in Luneta, Manila.

We reached out to Remus’ family as soon as we were informed. Our deepest sympathy is with his family during this most difficult time.

We assure participants that all the internationally recognized precautions had been taken by the organizer for the Manila leg of the MILO Marathon, specifically:

On hydration stations, according to the International Association of Athletics Federation (lAAF), the rule is, for a race longer than 10 km, refreshment stations shall be provided at approximately every 5 km along the race route. For mass races in a tropical country like the Philippines, the same IAAF rule recommends to have water stations every 2.5 km, The Manila leg of the MILO Marathon had water stations installed every 2 km along the race path, and in between each water station, there were Gatorade stations to ensure every runner had the opportunity to hydrate as necessary. On average, there was a hydration station around every 1 km of the 21K race path. In total, there were 13 water stations, 10 Gatorade stations, 2 sponging stations, and 1 banana station strategically Iocated throughout the 13.5 km race loop.

On first aid, all MILO Marathons are fully equipped with first aid teams to attend to runners needing assistance. In the Manila race, for instance, there were 7 roving ambulances plying the 13.5 km race loop, 15 medical stations, 5 teams of first aiders on bicycles, and nearly 500 marshals – policemen, traffic aids, and radio communicators – manning various points of the race path. These marshals were equipped to immediately contact first aid stations and ambulances with trained crew and rescue facilities.

Like any vigorous sport, the marathon involves a certain amount of risk, especially for those who participate in longer distance events such as the 21K and the 42k. We would like to remind all runners who plan to participate in the forthcoming MILO Marathons to adequately prepare before the race, ensuring that they are properly conditioned mentally and physically. This includes undergoing the necessary training. getting enough rest, properly hydrating, and eating the right food

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Remus Fuentes at this very difficult time.

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26 COMMENTS

  1. milo claims it has ambulances and medics on standby during the event. but milo has not explained why remus has to be brought to a hospital in a taxi by obviously non-medical personnel. address this first, milo, before claiming that you are not remiss in your duties

  2. If the statement of Milo Marathon is true, then how are going to call the death of Remus? are they (Milo) trying to say they did the best they can to make that marathon a successful event? Siguro yung mga marshall nila sabaysabay pumunta ng portalet para magjingle and waterstation which they claim nandun nga are run by unseen spirit na me power na tagabulag. I will not run in any Milo marathon mamatay pa ako dun. If you want to die running try Milo Marathon….

  3. I ran the Milo 21KM category, personal impression, impressive naman ang Milo organizers, siguro 8 out of 10. There are plenty of hydration stations, namigay pa nga sila ng hammer gel.

    That was my second 21KM, and compare with Remus (Rest in Peace) whom I learned already ran a lot of 21KM distance, Im just a newbie. But I came prepared. I trained, I eat well, I read books about running, I studied first aid. Kinundisyon ko talaga yung sarili ko sa race and got that top 22 slot.

    I think whatever happened to Remus, eh wala dapat sisihin, he signed up for the waiver, he was old enough to understand the details about the race. And sometime we all know that accidents do happen and that sometime help is out of hand. Hindi naman napabayaan si Remus kung tutuusin, he was brought in the hospital kaagad.

    Maraming naaksidente sa kalye, napapanood nyo sa news, nababasa nyo sa dyaryo, yet they end so unlucky dahil madala man lang sila ospital eh hindi pa nagawa. Lets not put the blame to anyone or the organizers, uunti lang sila, at hindi naman sila focus sa iisang tao lang. remember there are 27,000 runners who run the Milo Marathon at hindi naman pwedeng 27,000 thousand ambulance and medics on standby.

    Lets just say its the will of the Lord, He has his reasons, reasons that we dont know but we must accept.

  4. alexis,

    alam mo kung sarili mo lang iniisip mo wag ka na lang tumakbo, oo tama maraming namamatay kung san man at walang gustong mamatay. pero ang sabi mo wag i-blame ang MILO? who get you into the sports? where did you run? why did you run? is this free? right you signed for a waiver does that mean kahit anong mangyari sayo ay ok lang sa organizer? check mo maigi ang sinasabi mo, wag magsalita ng tapos.

  5. @Alexis,you got a point we all sign the waiver in joining the Run, but nobody have to die during the run maybe after the race. I stand to my comment "I will not run in any MILO Marathon baka mamatay pa ako" but I joined the CAMSUR and I will wear the name of Remus next to my race bibb as my symphaty to the lost of fellow runner.

  6. I agree that no one has to die after the race. But if its His will, what can we do?

    Dont blame the organizers for the death Remus, no one has to blame. Kung sisihan lang marami tayong pwedeng sisihin, but I rather not enumerate for some may misunderstood me.

    Good luck on your run, i hope you will train hard for it. I hope you attend free running clinics, there's one on Aug 4 at the ROX around 6pm. Always remember dont go in a race when you feel your not in condition, the moment that you have lots of hesitations there are signs for you not go.

    The biggest sympathy that we can give to the family of Remus is not the material things but prayers. that they maybe able to go back to their normal life and accept the we dont own our lives.

  7. Alexis – I'm sorry to read what you wrote on "don't blame Milo". Obviously you have not joined TRULY well-organized races where there is ENOUGH hydration for the runners. If you have seen videos and coverages of GOOD races, tingnan mo kung may hydration belt yung mga nananalo. WALA, kasi may gatorade na binibigay sa race route… at hindi KULANG kagaya nung Milo.

    Nakakalungkot ang mentality mo na runners have to lookput for themselves na halos walang responsibility ang organizers. The reason why we pay a fee to join the race is for the organizers to provide the right kind of support for the runners. Given that they have collected money from 27,000 participants, money should not have been an issue to provide QUALITY support for the participants.

    I joined the Milo 42KM race. It was not an easy job kasi kulang ang stations. Maybe since nauna ka, may tubig ka sa dinaanan mo. But for me, and the tens (maybe hundreds) of people behind me, we did not have enough and we struggled to finish. I finished the marathon at 4+ hours, at wala na akong tubig. Pano na kaya yung nasa likuran??

    PS – Why is it that my impression is of you bragging of your 22nd place at the 21K race, rather than truly emphatizing with the Fuentes family?

  8. What does MILO want to address the people with this statement? That they are deeply sorry and are not liable for what has happened?! My personal opinion? this is absolute b*ll$h1t! I ran the race and eventhough I was thinking this would be an easy run for me since my ave. time on both my 21k runs (Century tuna and Unilab run for wellnes) was around 2hr 20 min,I still came prepared before the event. However I wasn't able to beat the cutoff time. On my 15th km distance, my time was ave of 1hr 48 min. Having known this fact, I know I could finish the race before the cutoff since I still have roughly 40 min to run 6km remaining distance. For short distances I average 5.6 min/km( based on slimmers run 2010), I just need to give all my strength to fasten my pace and enough hydration on the remaining distance. Unluckily, I approached the nearest two water stations after my 15 km distance and there was no more water. I asked the personnel on that station " Ate wala na bang tubig? Patang-pata na ako sa init? she replied, "sorry kuya kanina pa po naubos e". At the time that she said that, I was very frustrated and just walked until near the finish line. During my walk I saw many are having cramps and was attended by the ambulances, Hilot dito masahe sa binti…I was thinking, " Kung may saging lang sana dito or gatorade or even water malamang these runners e hindi pa sana pinulikat. Yes they are claiming they put the hydration averaging 1km per distance. But was it enough for the said 27,000 runners?! E bakit ako naubusan?! Yes there were ambulances and medical first aides attending. But again my question is enough ba yung mga ambulansya to guarantee and to attend the safety of all the 27,000 runners?! E bakit si Remus dinala sa ospital thru a cab?. Medical findings he died of heat stroke, which could have been avoided if given first aid… TUBIG!HYDRATION! I hope sa mga next run ng MILO mag hire na din sila ng madaming truck ng bumbero. I think Milo and the organizer have to be blamed with this accident because of there incompetence, again that's my personal opinion. It's up to you readers to decide.

  9. I ran the full Milo Marathon 2 years ago and went through the same issues…lack of water in the course and poor course management….i literally had to go to a 711 to buy water just to make it back to the finish/start line.

    Added trivia, my cousin also died doing Milo some 24 years ago….we didn't do an autopsie but maybe his was a similar case….with all these, Milo really should be more circumspect….

  10. @Alexis In your post (#3) you stated "Hindi naman napabayaan si Remus kung tutuusin, he was brought in the hospital kaagad." Yeah right. Hindi siya napabayaan. But the dam*ing question here is, WHO BROUGHT HIM TO THE HOSPITAL? It's a slap to the organizer's face that a runner with a very serious condition such as his was not even attended to by their deployed medical crew. An earlier post said that the ambulances or medical people were attending to the runners who were having cramps. Remus was not one of one of those, but unfortunately his case was a life-threatening one. He should have been attended to immediately.

    Waivers are signed to prevent liability on the part of the organizer in case it was the runner was fault (like he's ill or pushed himself too hard, etc). But waivers don't give the right for the organizers to be skimpy on their water supply, medical assistance, and security. It is part of their job to be responsible organizers. Waivers are not an excuse for laxity on their part.

    #3 post said "Maraming naaksidente sa kalye, napapanood nyo sa news, nababasa nyo sa dyaryo, yet they end so unlucky dahil madala man lang sila ospital eh hindi pa nagawa." There's a very simple answer to this. KASI WALA NAMAN NAKA-STANDBY NA AMBULANCE SA KALYE. Do you see ambulances lined up along EDSA or any street for that matter? Of course not. Hindi naman naka-abang ang mga ambulansya sa kalye na parang nag-aantay ng aksidente, hindi ba? Ambulances are called when an accident has happened already. But the marathon is a different case. Ambulances are needed DURING the marathon, while the marathon is ONGOING, in case an accident (like Remus') happens during the course of the race. It's part of the PREVENTIVE MEASURES, which is part of the job description of the organizer to ensure that no fatality ensues. Comparing an ordinary street accident to a marathon accident is a poor analogy because the conditions are quite different.

    #3 again stated "remember there are 27,000 runners who run the Milo Marathon at hindi naman pwedeng 27,000 thousand ambulance and medics on standby." I think this is a plain st*pid statement. It's like saying we should have one doctor for every patient, one nurse for every patient in the hospital. Sosyal!!! What you're saying is UNREALISTIC. Very. You know, there is such a thing as doctor-patient ratio and nurse-patient ratio. This ensures that there is an adequate doctor and nurse for every number of patient, without sacrificing the quality of medical care given. It's not necessarily a 1:1 ratio. Can you even imagine 27000 ambulances on the sides trailing 27000 runners? It spells major traffic along the race route. Such a situation is NOT cost-efficient, time-efficient, space-efficient. We're even going to waste a lot of fuel and manpower if ever this happens, which I think is a very far-fetched idea!

    I'm not trying to argue with anyone. I just hope that ignorant statements are curbed so that the family of Mr. Remus will no be hurt by insensitive statements to add to their grief.

  11. Unang una, wag nyo na patulan si Alexis. Character lang yan na ginawa ng MILO. Para mabaling yun galit nyo kay Alexis, hindi sa MILO. Good job Alexis! Effective ang ginagawa mo.

    Pangalawa, siguro kung tatakbo tayo sa mga fun run na hindi runner(s) ang organizer, mag short distance lang tayo. Kasi sigurado, delikado ang buhay mo.

    Pag runner ka kasi, alam mo ang dapat gawin. ano ayaw mo(nakikipagpatintero sa kotse). ano kelangan mo(tubig). naiisip mo yun. pag hindi runner, anong alam nya. basta kumita at madaming streamers at commercial, ayos na. pag namatay, me waiver naman. ikaw pa sisisihin, wala ka kasing practice. mga walang simpatya. walang puso.

    Kung tatakbo ng 21K and up, siguraduhin runner ang nag organize. isa sa suggestion ko, runrio. sobrang maayos at walang problema. Sana lahat ng running events eh gayahin ang style ni coach rio.

    Pangatlo, wala bang gagawin ang gobyerno. Takot ba kasi malaking pangalan ang MILO. kung ganun, etong nalang gawin nyo para maiwasan ito. gumawa ng committee, grupo, o kung anong departamento, bahala na kayo kung ano tatawag nyo, na taga pamahala ng mga running events. sila mag aaprove at magbabantay ng lahat ng running events. gawin nyong presidente/director si coach rio dun. siya na bahalang pumili ng tao nya. syempre dapat runners din para me simpatya sa runners. tingin ko di sya mahihirapan dito dahil karamihan ng kaibigan nya runners. sa pagka perfectionist ni sir rio, sigurado ako laking improvements nito.

    Nakikiramay po ako sa pamilya Fuentes. Ipagdadasal ko po ang inyong anak.

    Sana di na maulit ang ganitong trahedya.

  12. @All

    I think Alexis is not a real runner at all

    actually marami ring galit sa kanya sa kabilang post sa ACE Hardware Blog….

    just heard the news lately sa office about sir remus, my condolence..

  13. My points

    1. To install water stations at every 2km of the race route is not enough. The organizers should ensure that water and other supplements should be readily available to all runners.

    2. There may be a quite a number of gatorade and water stations, but lets take into consideration the number of those who participated. Ratio of runner to station is approximately 1000 to 1.

    3. If there were really enough medical stations, Remus would have been rushed by an ambulance not a taxi cab.

    That's all

  14. @ Dencio, Sir The organizer of Milo is Mr. Biscocho and according to write-ups he is considered the father of marathon race here in the Phil. and it's already the 34th marathon of Milo. As far as I can remember he's been the organizer of this event since and yes he's also a runner. Maybe Milo has been overconfident of these races because they have been doing it for over 3 decades now but not with such a large number of runners who have attended this event.

    Is it mentioned if Mr. Remus was helped by a fellow runner? 27k runners nobody cared to stop and help him? Its just a question,Pointing fingers will not bring Mr. Remus back but I hope this would serve as an eye opener to us runners to be vigilant as well.

    I hope this will not happen again in any race in the future.

    Condolences to the family of sir Remus Fuentes.

  15. I remember running 10k last June 12, I think the organizers of that event was competent. They had water/pocari sweat stations scattered across the land. It was my first “official” run and I finished 1:40.

    I went there and little do I know that I WASN’T PREPARED AT ALL. All i got with me are my LG’s my cotton shirt which got really soaked (hey, it was an ESPRIT i bought from HK haha) and my tennis shorts. I have a banana with me but that’s all I have. Basically, I’m totally unprepared but because the organizers are GOOD ENOUGH for somebody like me who’s UNPREPARED, I managed to finish my first run, which is a 10km race, on 1:30. I dont know the standards but they said its pretty decent (they = =officemates/friends).

    I think for someone who have ran a lot of runs already, even if the organizers are a little incompetent, they should still be able to pull through, under this logic, someone should have absolute proof of gross incompetence for a veteran to collapse. He’s a running rockstar from what I’ve read from his father’s statement.

    Since I dont know what kind of setup MILO Marathon did or how it went, I really cant say anything concrete all I’m saying is sometimes things can be real bizarre and be accounted to bad luck.

    I wish to send out my condolences for the families of our dearly departed, and I alo hope that things like this dont happen again on a regular basis as was statistically proven.

  16. Please take note, I'm not the insensitive writer who supposedly finished top 22 on the 21k. Good luck to him.

    This incident is similar to the ULTRA stampede a few years back. The organizers (1)knew their preparations were lacking, (2)were aware that they were overwhelmed,(3)were unable to remedy the lack of resources. They simply closed their eyes and hoped nothing "worse" would happen. I believe Milo was sincere, had all the good intentions. But the Fuentes family deserve some Justice.

    Prayers sent to the Fuentes family.

  17. grabe… I am a bit late to respond to this….. alexis.. nice name, Alexis means Protector of Mankind… Sayang yung name mo.. hindi bagay sayo… I run the 21KM in the same event.. I never make it to the top, but still make it within the curfew time…. Mejo makasarili yung opinion mo… Palagay ko, hindi nagkulang sa paghahanda si Remus (may he rest in peace). This is not even his 1st 21KM. DO you know the cause of his death? If not, well read and understand carefully!
    Heat Stroke : is a form of hyperthermia, an abnormally elevated body temparature.
    Meaning, hindi abnormal health condition or sakit and cause ng death. In other words, walang health conditions/problem si remus nung tumakbo siya.
    Now, do you know how to prevent heat stroke? Another learning para sayo…
    The most important measures to prevent heat stroke is to avoid becoming “DEHYDRATED”.. siguro naman alam mo yung meaning ng dehydrated?
    Now, How can you avoid being dehydrated?
    Tama nasa isip mo! take plenty of fluids…
    Take note! “TAKE PLENTY OF FLUIDS”, which means tubig or sports drinks.. assuming totoo ang sinabi ng organizer na meron silang hydration station every 1KM (honestly hindi ko napansin na every 1KM siguro every 5KM pa).. What is the use of those hydration station kung walang supply, they are simply called stations, kasi nga walang tubig or they dont support their purpose.
    Hope 1 day, I can bump into you while running if ever totoo ka nga… baka kasi hindi ka pinagpapawisan tulad namin… 1 more thing, since marami akong balita ng cheating sa milo marathon… Naisip ko tuloy, tinakbo mo nga ba yung buong route? nagtatanong lang po. :)

  18. My heart goes out to the family that lost a loved one in a marathon created for a good cause and for the joy of running.

    I think this serves as a warning for all runners.

    You know what you need when on the route and you don't have to stand for less. Especially if you're an experienced runner, if you know you're not getting enough fluids because it's not being provided, please don't keep running. Once you feel the symptoms, or you know you're not getting the fluids you know you need, don't push it. You'll race another day.

    If you see something seriously wrong, voice out your concerns and demand that something be done about it. You will race another day, but you may save a life that day (maybe even your own).

    If you're not experienced runner, know what you need on the route. Don't settle for less. And learn how to recognize signs that you need to stop running.

    I don't think a 100% perfectly organized event is possible. The problem is, some mistakes can be deadly. Marathons cannot afford to make that mistake.

    As a warning for organizers, do the numbers and multiply that by more, alot more especially when it comes to runners' basic needs. It's the organizers' job to cover all angles and have a back up plan. Anything can happen.

  19. If there was enough hydration stations, no one would complain. Check the running blogs for reviews about this run.

    Is Milo calling The Bull Runner a liar?

  20. what i can say is that, we should only do things that we are capable of, let us not challenge our limitations. it is our duty to "listen and pay attention" to our body.

  21. i guess the organizers should have anticipated the many problems associated with race itself. it would be better if the marshalls they provide are all runners themselves. at least, they will have an idea what a runner needs and feels during a race. it was done at the takbo runfest last july. the marshalls were there every km, not only to cheer and urge you forward but also to see to it that you’re in the right direction and doing okay. they even ran alongside the last runner who came in. sana din, wag agad magligpit ng mga water stations yung mga organizers hangga’t may runner pa. this happened last may30. it personally happened to us when we joined the 21k race. we were among the last runners to finish and there was no more water station sa last 5km. it’s a good thing we didn’t collapse.

  22. //although the organizers have taken extra precautionary measures, it is always the responsibility of the runner himself to make sure that he is prepared for the race..especially for longer distances..always listen to your body — you can’t push beyond your threshold…no PR can compensate any untoward incident that might happen to you..

    ..again, too all runners – preparation is a BIG factor…let’s all run safe..

    …RIP to Remus Fuentes…we will continue to run for you…to his loved ones — may God give you all the strength you need..God bless…

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