By Mark Cabrera
An unusual thing happened one cloudy afternoon.
As I was biking on the main road, someone in his 40s was smiling at me. He looked familiar but he was wearing slippers, and he was walking.
If you know Joe Tindog, you know what was so unusual about seeing Joe actually walking!
The epitome of a running man, one would hardly see him (or hardly see his face smiling at you) because he would always be sprinting past you.
Last December 22, 2019, Mang Jose as others know him, ran 164-miles from Baguio City to Luneta Park in Manila in 44 hours and 55 minutes straight, all by himself. With this remarkable run, he was crowned Overall Champion in the Baguio to Luneta 164-Mile Endurance Run, a race participated only by elite endurance runners.
A native of Culasi, Antique, Joe migrated to Boracay more than a decade ago. He is married to a nurse and has three beautiful daughters who are based in Patria Pandan, Antique and San Pedro, Laguna. When on Boracay, Joe wears many hats. In his spare time, he is a personal gym trainer, a dragon boat paddler/steersman, an event organizer/officer, a swimming instructor, and he volunteers as a lifeguard.
Joe Tindog is one of a handful of Filipinos who were enthroned into the Endurance Challenge Philippines’ Hall of Fame.
In order to be a part of this elite badass group, Joe had to finish five evenly challenging crazy endurance races. The first race was the Crazy 32-Hour Endurance Run back in 2017. In 2019, he joined the Negros 134-Mile Endurance Run, the Manila to Baler 155-Mile Endurance Run, and the Siquijor 100-Mile Endurance Run.
His Hall of Fame qualifying race was the Banahaw Loop 100-Mile Endurance Run. He had a couple podium finishes in these five crazy races but the Baguio to Luneta 164-Mile Endurance Run was the most memorable for him because he was the overall Champion in this race. He passed the race’s top seed runner in the early stages of the race so he did not look back, and ran like Forest Gump to the finish line.
Multiple Sports Athlete
Joe always insisted to be described as a simple man with a basic lifestyle and a simple dream of doing something no ordinary man has achieved before. And that he did in every sport and activity he embarked on.
He tried surfing, paddle boarding, basketball, bodybuilding, dragon boat, kite surfing and swimming to name a few. I personally witnessed his determination in training and conquering his challenges in swimming. He struggled at first because his muscles were too hard from bodybuilding that he would sink every time he swam. But he persisted on training his muscles to relax in the water until he overcame this challenge. He even won a cross channel Swim Marathon Competition in Antique. That’s how determined Mang Jose is when he sets his mind to something.
Recently, he shuffles Endurance Run Races and Obstacle Course Races in his schedule. His yearly calendar is already booked with races and training sessions.
Joe’s grit is sometimes at a crazy level because he is laser focused with his goals. He wants to improve and be better than his former self. His discipline is unmatched even in his eating habits. Joe eats healthy. His diet consists of mainly fruits and vegetables. His favorite beverage is buko juice. He only consumes power bars and energy gels during races when he is exposed to extreme conditions.
Well this is Crazy Joe: crazy hair, crazy outfits, crazy workouts, and an extreme sports fanatic.
When you see him jogging by the road or along the beach, don’t hesitate to say “Hi!” He will even invite you to join him and he will share with you stories of his amazing adventures.