Any donation, big or small, will go a long way in helping Compostela Valley.
TAGUIG CITY – The Philippine running community joined forces to help the victims of Typhoon Pablo as over a thousand showed up at the Rescue Run 2012 last December 23 at the Bonifacio Global City. Each participant shelled out a minimum donation of PHP 200.00 to enter the five or 10-kilometer category, with thousands more in cash and kind pouring in on race day.
Inspired by the success of last year’s Rescue Run for the victims of Typhoon Sendong which was organized in nine days, Greentennial Events this time needed 12 days to get it going. Things were kept at a minimum, with medals and simple tokens awarded to the best three finishers according to distance and gender and with additional categories for barefoot runners.
Col. Mike Logico, a barefoot running advocate, related during the opening program how tough it has been for his 10th Infantry Battalion to conduct relief and rescue operations in Compostela Valley. He has been rarely seen in Metro Manila races because of his assignment to Mindanao a few months ago.
At first, we could not see the true extent of Pablo’s wrath because the affected areas do not have ready access to modern communication facilities unlike Sendong which hit urban areas. Apparently, it will take a minimum of six months or even longer for the province to begin the road to full recovery.
Before the gun start, a Zumba session was held to get everyone warmed up and ready. A tradition in Greentennial races, a lot of runners came in costumes, mostly Christmas-themed.
The five-kilometer course began near the football field and featured a roundtrip on the C5 flyover going towards Pasig City. The 10-kilometer runners simply repeated the same course twice.
Seen as a sort of Christmas party for the running community, fun games were held during the post-race program and awarding ceremonies. Recognition was also bestowed on personalities that keyed the success of running events in 2012.
Race Director Rovic G. Canono was pleased with the turnout. “We expect the total donations to get bigger once we collect from all the registration centers,” he said. Back in 2011, they were able to raise PHP 500,000.00 for the tsunami victims in Japan.
2012 has been a good year for Team Greentennial wherein they also organized the Green and White Run, Greenfield City Run, Coast Guard Run, Midnight Run and United Colors of 88. They will be announcing soon their 2013 events.
Unofficially, I clocked 51 minutes and change over 10 kilometers. Since there was no timing chip involved, I will not recognize this as a new personal record – the important thing is that our small donation was able to help the typhoon victims get back on their feet.
Hopefully, there will be no more need for another Rescue Run soon.
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