Mervin Guarte

Guarte's first national competition was the 2008 Palarong Pambansa in Palawan when he was still a secondary student.^[2] In the preliminaries he broke a 1997 record for the 800m with 1:55.6.^[3] He however failed to win the gold medal.^[2] He caught the attention of the Philippine Sports Commission the following year despite this.^[4]

He ran for the San Sebastian College – Recoletos in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).^[5]

Guarte was a frequent competitor in the SEA Games. In athletics, he achieved silver medals in the 800m in 2011, 2013, and 2015 editions, and in the 1500m in 2011 and 2015 editions. He placed bronze in the 1500m in 2017.^[6]

Guarte ran in the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan.^[7]

He was encouraged to switch to obstacle course racing (OCR) by Albert Agra of the Pilipinas Obstacle Sports Federation after a SEA Games gold medal remained elusive.^[8]

Now competing in OCR, Guarte won gold in the men's 5km race in the 2019 edition and another in the men's team in the 2023 edition.^[6]

Guarte also was a participant of 2013 Stags Run and won the third run of the event. The 10-kilometer race was known as "Takbo Para sa Bokasyon".^[9]

Guarte hailed from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro and was a resident of Naujan of the same province.^[8][10] Guarte was part of the Philippine Air Force. He was a non-commissioned officer (Airman First Class) and was stationed at the Basilio Fernando Air Base at the time of his death.^[11][12][13] He was married to Kristine Almeranias for 13 years and had two children with her.^[14]

Guarte died after having been stabbed by an intruder while sleeping at a friend's house in Calapan, on January 7, 2025. He was 32.^[15][13] The suspect is Dionisio Refel Calooy, a 31-year old male motorized tricycle driver who is believed to have a personal grudge on Guarte.^[16][17]