The place – Plaza de Mayor Balanga, has huge difference fourto five hours ago. As early as 5:00 am enthusiasts started to give festive mood in the anticipation of the 2nd Takbo Bataan para sa Kalikasan, Balanga City Run 2011.
Along with my officemates, we’re all anxious but excited for this new experience. We’re all first time runners. We’re on our usual sports attire – blue-satin (or jersey)-shirt with collar (remember English in high school: the arrangement of using more than one adjective), which we have worn countless times in different occasions. The difference today is the race bib on it, which I attached even the night before.
Naturally, number assignments on the race bib create big fuss. Everyone tries to rationalize numbers associated with us. I’m runner no. 20 this morning. I didn’t choose this one; it just happens that this is the birthdates of my wife and son. Anyways, there’s not much luck needed for today since we’re just running for fun and not competitively. I’m not into sports so there’s not much instances that I had numbers in competitions – except that I was no. 3 in cooking contest in elementary. Other than that, I can’t recall.
Some years ago, when at the prevalence of Marc Nelson, Christian Vasquez and other’s abs (six pack abs for that matter), I also had my ways to try to achieve it. Let’s say my voluminous collection of Men’s health Magazine is one valid proof. From that, one single article stuck to my mind. It was a feature article written by the editor-in-chief recounting a bike marathon. The narrative was excellent. For me, it is the pamantayan (standard). If at one point in my life I could write something as intense as that, it could be one great feat. That’s supposedly my objective at the moment
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My first award!
Let make things clear. This fun run is the first activity that comes to realization since I asked a favor to my former choir master (and now premier event organizer - slash everything else) to involve our office in his relevant events. This would generate good merits on our branch’s performance. Part of it is for me to write a narrative report.
Weeks later, the organizers are too busy to furnish me official results and other pertinent data of the event. Who are the winners? What is the official count of participants? Which government agencies and private companies join the event? Even what I thought to be the last resort is of no avail. I search at internet - Facebook and the likes, only to realize that they (the organizers) are too busy to even update in their webpage the information I need.
Right towards my search, one phrase caught my attention “My first award”.
It is the title of the FB photo album of Michel Angelo, my nephew (one common clarification I always have to respond on few people: that nephew is male p
amangkin and niece is female pamangkin). That’s where you can find the pictures on his first experience in Takbo Bataan para sa Kalikasan. That was last year. He won the Youngest Runner Award. Aside from the overnight stay in a local hotel (which I can’t remember, has he availed of it or was it forfeited?) as prize, Gelo was able to gain confidence in himself and motivation to do better.
He ran 5K (kilometers) last year. This year, he ran 10k – no less. I ran 5k. Anyways, I still have to recover from my sprain and excruciating muscle pains. This is why I have to underline the above – I’m not into sports.
I’m not into sports. It’s just nice to have this new experience and hopes to have more of it in the future. I just have to start saving up for new running shoes to replace the one which retired moments after the run.
I’m not into sports; this is why my first award is from a cooking competition in grade school.
I’m not into sports; however I’ve gone to the regional level in Sports Writing in High School and Higher Education Schools Press Conference, winning 3rd place in the latter. And, this is one reason why I find it hard to accept that I can’t come up with a good narrative of the race.
