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ANYTIME
you think you’ve seen enough, think again, dolls and
guys.
A while
back, 10 hardy souls ran 94 kilometers on foot.
Ethiopians they were not. Boston marathoners they were
not. Penal colony escapees they were not.
Filipinos they all were, yes, but they were not really
of the Olympic-type runners. Believe it or not, they
ran for a cause.
“At
first, my target was 45 km. But, after running 45
kilometers, I realized, konti na lang. After 45
kilometers, my target moved up to 70. So when I reached
70 kilometers, I said, mga 20 kilometers na lang, kaya
pa.”
Thus
said Pen Nepomuceno, one of the 10 runners in the recent
94-km ultramarathon from Tarlac to Subic.
Some
days ago, I had covered the SCTEx (Subic-Clark-Tarlac
Expressway) myself—but onboard the ninth generation
Lancer on a historic test-drive. But me negotiating it
on foot?
Nah!
NOTHING
compares with the poignancy of the runners’ mission:
They did it for kids afflicted with cancer. And they
did it three days before the commercial opening of the
SCTEx, the latest architectural road wonder in Luzon.
If only
for its sheer beauty and world-class appeal, the SCTEx
is yet another of the exceedingly few face-saving
accomplishments of this deeply troubled administration.
Take a
bow, Ate Glow.
DO you
know that the marathon was one for the books?
Consider: The runners made history by being the first
to have traversed the SCTEx on foot. They covered the
mega highway for nearly 15 hours, enduring the
summer-day heat, a cold night, almost blistered soles
and sore muscles.
To Pen
and her nine pals, the run looked insurmountable—what
with barely a month’s training to prop them up.
OVER
time, though, the group would learn to overcome
overwhelming odds. For, indeed, what is pain when done
for a cause?
Others
may shun such a noble cause for one reason or another,
but not these 10 Chosen Ones. They did it for the
benefit of the Cancer Fund and Child Life Program of the
Kythe Foundation, a nongovernment organization that
provides psychosocial care for pediatric patients in
government hospitals around the country.
The
runners began their project in 2007 with the “Run for
Your Life,” a fundraising project for Kythe Foundation
by negotiating a 100-kilometer race.
LONG
after the vision and mission was hatched, the runners
looked for kindred souls donating P500 for every
kilometer run.
On its
first 100-km run in July, the group raised P250,000. By
its third race, it fetched P450,000.
The
group members are welded together by the loss of a loved
one due to cancer.
But the
Pinoy Ultra Runners also extend help to those who have
no means and resources to avail themselves of expensive
medicines for cancer.
“The
poorer patients’ fight against cancer may seem hopeless.
But just like running 100 kilometers continuously, where
there is sheer will and a solid support network, the
battle can be won,” said one of the runners.
OVER
time, Nepomuceno and her pals would plod on and on.
Then they got invited by the Bases Conversion and
Development Authority (BCDA) to run the SCTEx as a
highlight of the highway’s opening celebration dubbed
the “94-K Weekend.” The event was cosponsored by the
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Clark
Development Corp.
During
the SCTEx run, the varying temperature from one hot
afternoon to one cold evening slowed the pack.
But they
egged themselves to push on, counting falling stars
along the way and sharing ghost stories to fight seeping
weariness. Representatives of the Recreational Outdoor
Exchange (R.O.X.), the group’s sponsor, were with them
all throughout.
At the
halfway mark, some of them had shed off five pounds of
body mass. But they plodded on and were simply awed by
an expressway that “runs through mountains with the
precision of a laser beam,” said one of them.
NEPOMUCENO and her fellow runners were Neville Jay
Manaois (captain), Olive Cortez, Jose de Vera, Dean
Cunanan, Wellington Yao, Gilbert Mabasa, Paul Padilla,
Al Viado and Dr. Paolo Punsalan.
At the
finish line, they were surprised by a full marching
band, enthusiastic spectators and supporters, the media
and local officials.
These
runners are unaccustomed to hype. What they are most
accustomed to are the smiles of the children at Kythe.
A month
later, they received trophies and cash from the BCDA,
represented by Gen. Robert Gervacio, SCTEx program
manager and spokesperson; and Lanie Macasaet, BCDA
public-relations manager.
That
same day, the team motored to the pediatric ward of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center to turn
over their cash awards to Kythe Foundation.
GIVEN
that their abode is not your typical idea of what a real
home is, it was still a place as homey as it can be,
punctuated by the laughter every now and then of
children in the playroom. No chemotherapy today, so
there’s time to play.
For
Kythe’s children, these runners are their Kuyas and Ates
who help make their plight more bearable.
And, to
the rest of us, the runners have delivered a
heart-tugging message: Don’t give up on these children,
because they have not.
Pee
stop. Happy
birthday to Pareng Louie Visorde and Pareng Fiscal Joven
Florido, both from the beautiful town of Calauag,
Quezon. Louie, the proud Isuzu Trooper owner, will
celebrate tomorrow, June 21, and Joven, the coowner of
the Super Grandia with my Mareng Elvie, on Sunday, June
22. Here’s wishing the two of you many, many more
birthdays to come! |
