RUNNING WITH THE ENERGIZER FAMILY

A day before leaving  Manila for the 2014 Mayon 360 Ultra adventure, I received an email from my wife Marianne which was an invite to an Energizer Fun Run in UP Diliman scheduled for April 9.  

This was a fun run for the Energizer Core Team and their family members. I immediately said YES  thinking that it would be a fun way to bond with Marianne and my son Marcel. Plus, the April 9  event would be an ideal recovery run for me, happening 4 days after the 80-km monstrosity that is the Mayon 360.

Come April 9, and with no discernible injury or muscle fatigue, I woke up excited to run with the Energizer family.  Arriving at the UP campus  5 minutes before the 5:30 am assembly time, I was inspired  to see many Energizer employees already in the venue, several of them limbering up for the run. Were  they living up to the punctuality standards of an American multinational or were they  energized for the running? Either or, the impression is decidedly positive.

Early birds

On hand to greet us was Marl, an Energizer Philippines officer  who is my newfound running buddy. He just conquered his first full marathon at the 2014 TBR Dream Marathon last February and is gearing up to bag his first ultra marathon with the  Tagaytay 2 Nasugbu (50Kms) ultra this May clearly in his sights. He has been exchanging emails with me on the subject and I am happy (call it an advocacy) to be of help. He was clearly one of the proponents of this corporate activity that promotes wellness and team bonding.   

Likewise leading by their examples were other Energizer executives  like Noel, Joey, Alma, Cara, and Pau.  

At the appointed time of 6am, the fun run commenced around the 2.2 km oval. A youthful group of Energizer runners were evidently “hardcore” and opted to run fast with no walk breaks. An even bigger group were Galloway believers and elected for a 2:1 run walk interval. This my son and myself joined. By this time, Marianne was already in a conversation mode with a handful of fellow walkers. I expected her to go for 1 round around the oval -  a gem of an  achievement  given her health. And  hoped that she would feel better  from the cardio exercise.

Team Hardcore – Galit kay Galloway

Marl leading the Galloway fans

Walk in front of the UP Oblation

 Alma and hubby

Pau & Jojo

Malapit na matapos 1st loop

Starting them young

Starting even younger

Noel leading the troops

After 1 round of the Galloway group, I suggested to Marl that we mixed it up a bit and do an “Indian run.” Pairing the dozen or so runners, off we went again for the 2nd round. This time, the progress was a bit faster and I could hear some healthy bantering among the runners.  In no time, we finished our 2nd round and were back at the assembly area where a caterer was waiting for some delicious Filipino breakfast. I smiled knowing that this kind of “luxury” is rare for ultra marathoners like myself. Better dig the food  with gusto.

Hello food

Runners treat:  banana and Gatorade

All smiles from my family

Thank you to the sponsoring brands

My smile got bigger in seeing that my wife finished her 1 round ahead of our 2 rounds and that she was her jovial self. Clearly, she was having  a “walker’s high”. And it became official when she told me that we should have more of this fun run in the future. Another convert to running and this one is closer to home.

Thank you very much, Energizer. A lot of positives coming out of the run and the fun.