My high school batch is not yet in our
golden moment but at 30, we sure are nearing it steadily and for some, creakingly painful. But we are optimistic, some even stubborn,
and we continue to challenge father time. It may take many forms and for a
dirty dozen among us 83neans, the mode of challenge is running.
Part of our celebrations for the
30th Batch Reunion of the Ateneo de Naga High School Class of 1983 last December 29
was a 14-km fun run that took us from the university campus in downtown Naga to
the high school campus in Pacol and back to the university. A fun run with no
registration, no race bibs and no official singlets. No matter as it had a lot of fun running
buddies. And a ton of endorphins.
It was actually an optional
activity as only a dozen or so of our batchmates are passionate about
running. I kind of expected less than a handful
would answer the bell on that early
Saturday morning as the night before, there was drunken revelry among the
running 83neans and their classmates.
But come 5:30 am, in front of the iconic Four Pillars, 9 batchmates assembled to run: Allen Tolledo, Bob Castilla, Ed Balcueva,
Ernie Badong, Ruben "Fards" Fajardo, Noel "Ghibz" Guevara , Ron Hemady, Ric Lozano and the Bicolano Penguin. On hand
to provide support in his bike was our classmate Jun "Erfs" Erfe together with
his kid John Michael who is a 3rd year student at the Ateneo de Naga High
School. And the number grew bigger as we
were joined by Ron's nephew Mike Hemady; Allen's gym friends She Desaliza,
Belle Romualdo, Kevin Moral and Alex Tresvalles; and Ric's running buddies Joji
Asis and Gary Castillo. And the latter
brought along his college-age son Janjo.
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| 83nean runners of the Reunion Run |
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| Running buddies supporting the 83neans |
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| Bike escorts: Jun Erfe and son John Michael |
In total, there were 17 runners
who started the Reunion Run. Thank you to all that communed with us on this
run. You guys bring the fun in the run.
It was an enjoyable experience as the photos would show:
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| Indian run |
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Reaching the Ateneo de Naga High School campus in Pacol
|
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| Group photo at the high school campus |
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| In pairs with Bob the sweeper |
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Escorts
in action |
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| Castillo father and son |
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| Endorphin – rich Fards boosting the run |
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| Ric and Ghibz taking the lead on the way back |
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| Janjo showing good form |
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| Proud half marathon finishers.What is next? |
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| All smile Ernie. Where is the Hoka? |
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| Finishing together – She and Kevin |
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| Belle and She having a photo with Bob while Allen doing a "Chris Bosh" |
At the end of the run, which
brought us back to the Four Pillars, gatorade hydration was provide by another classmate Ronel Gascon. There
was a delicious merienda waiting for us courtesy of Jun
Erfe and wife.
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| Pansit bihon and... |
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| ...ibos! |
The Reunion Run is shaping up to
be a family affair which lead Fards to
suggest that next year, we should be
inviting our children to join us in the run as what Jun and Gary have
done.
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| 83nean finishers getting wacky |
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| Group shot of all the finishers |
This is a good idea and I could not help but smile. Next year
there will be another reunion run and it will be bigger as
we will be inviting our kids along. Great bonding opportunity. No way for this run to go but younger. And
better...
P.S.
Thank
you to Karl Llorin and Gui Deblois of
the Ateneo de Naga alumni affairs office for the pictures and the warm
hospitality.
"It’s hard to lie about your age
once you've told someone you've just been to your 50th high school
reunion." - Mused Chicago-based journalist and nationally
syndicated writer Robert Koehler in a Huffington Post article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-koehler/reflections-on-a-high-sch_b_3791583.html). 
2 comments:
BP, 'hope this will be a yearly Reunion Run with our batchmates nd running comrades until our 50th alumni reunion :D
Hi Allen, thank you for your enthusiasm. Running till our 50th reunion is pretty ambitious but possible. One way to sustain this is to engage our kids to join us, per the suggestion of Fards.
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