Bicolano Penguin: 2020

SOUTH BAY WALKERS: Celebrating a Village with a Shirt

For many, including me, the "12 Days of Christmas" is both a popular and a perplexing Christmas carol out there. Popular, especially for schoolchildren celebrating Christmas parties in their school where often it would be a song sung in the many contests during the celebrations. Perplexing because as a young kid back in the days, I really don't know what I was singing about - just some chanting of rhymes talking about various fowls and folks. But since it was Christmas time, a time filled with joy and friends sharing gifts, the young mind in me always associated happy memories with the "12 Days of Christmas" carol.

"Nations prosper by respecting and appreciating themselves, immortalizing their national figures and by committing to values of solidarity and participation." - His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE. (National Day Message 2017).

Meleagris gallopavo is the main actor of Thanksgiving Day.

"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone, it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."

"Callinectes sapides"

Halloween is almost upon us and Pinoy Runners Global surely has a Virtual Takbo celebrating this event. And we have the established Pinoy Runners Milan hosting this tradition that dates back to 2,000 years ago.

"From sea to shining sea."

During the nascent days of my ultra running experience which saw the Bicolano Penguin (BP) join ultra marathon races from as far north as Ilocos Norte and down south in Davao , one of the more intriguing sights I have seen is a runner or 2 partaking of a bottle of beer, usually Red Horse, in the middle of the long distance event. These runners are often the hard core ones, who bereft of a support vehicle, have found ingenious ways of carbo loading and hydrating during the ultra marathon.

Looking at the poster of the latest Virtual Takbo event of Pinoy Runners Global (PRG), the Amsterdam Virtual Run 2020 hosted by Pinoy Runners Nederland, one is invariably drawn to the Coat of Arms in the middle. The curious cat in the Bicolano Penguin (BP) had me googling about it and true enough, it is the Coat of Arms of the city of Amsterdam.

Diaspora is a word used to refer to a group of people who spread from one original country to other countries.

Un plus beau drapeau pour une plus belle nation.

It is the 21st Century and there is a Kingdom that is a an independent and powerful state.

Do you remember what you were doing when you first heard of the 9/11 terror incident back in 2001?

September 11 is a day with a lot of historical significance, either bad or good, depending on one's own point of view.

In the year of the New Normal a welcome development is the newness coming out of Asics.

"Dr. Jose Rizal: The Great Malayan."

"For the safety of frontliners all over the world in this time of the global pandemic."

Population. Friendship. Beer.

Interesting evolution of the theme(s) of the Virtual Takbo (VT) series of the Pinoy Runners Global (PRG) . Last July 11-13, PRG organized the World Population Day Run. More than 2 weeks later, a PRG barangay, the Pinoy Runners Barcelona hosted the International Friendship Day Virtual Run & Walk Virtual . And now, for Aug 7 to Aug 13 there is the International Beer Day Run. Kind of like, it is a natural progression from POPULATION which is a group of people who in the spirit of FRIENDSHIP, will now be enjoying/celebrating an ice cold bottle of BEER. One can dare say that the "G" in the PRG stands for "genius."

40. Forty. Kuwarenta.

Belles experiencies surten de Barcelona. That is Catalan for beautiful experiences come out of Barcelona.

"Where America's Day Begins."

"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

The root word of "population" is the Latin "populos" meaning "people."

"O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Tomorrow, we bid our final farewell to a good man with a kind heart and a humble demeanor. Tomorrow, we bid our final farewell to Ernesto Venancio Palencia Badong.

Strong. Hardworking. Honorable.

Paradox in these puzzling times we call the Next Normal - the more we are suppose to social distance from others to stay alive, the more we need to be in touch with soul mates to keep our souls alive. There is now a convergence of Solo and Solidarity.

At the crack of dawn, with the sound of the waves in the surf serving as nature's drumbeat, I scanned the expanse below. The Bicolano Penguin was perched on a promontory and from this vantage point, the flightless bird's spirits soared high with anticipation. The view was exquisite. A view to paradise.

55 actually to be exact.

"Hi, I am afraid the last edition would be 2019."

Happy New Year. Wishing all a year of blessings aplenty. Sounds just right for the year 2020. The New Year will be a year of plenty. And for runners like the Bicolano Penguin, this divinely means plenty more run. What better way to savor more kilometers on the road than to savor the mileage aplenty with a new pair of running shoes. And not just some pair but the latest edition of my favorite road running shoes - the Altra Paradigm 4.5.

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