Bicolano Penguin: UPAW MARATHON: My Son's 1st Half Marathon

"Until you have a son of your own ...you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son." - American author Kent Nerburn

Ever since taking up running more than a dozen years ago, I would on occassion take the opportunity to invite my son Marcel to join me in a fun run. Always felt for me that running is a heathy way to have father and son bonding time.

Indeed we have fun together joining those 5km races. To name a few of these fun runs. There was the 2011 Energizer Night Race where Marcel and me ran 5kms in support of a corporate initiative of the company where my wife Marianne worked. In 2014, we joined the Yakult Run where the both of us established our personal best in the 5kms. Marcel at 31 mins & 54 secs and me at 31 mins & 58 secs. For the year 2015, we decided to be super heroes for the day and participated in the World of DC Comics All Star Fun Run . To celebrate Happy Fathers Day in 2018, both of us jogged around the historic walled city of Intramuros for the Run Daddy Run. And in 2019, we joined the PWD Fun Run inside UP Diliman. At 2.2 kms, it was the shortest run we had together but it was most fulfilling as we were joined by Marianne and my nephew Israel who showed what grit is all about.

2011 Energizer Night Race

2014 Yakult Run

2015World of DC Comics All Star Fun Run

2018 Run Daddy Run

2019 PWD Fun Run

Early this year 2021 , around February, I decided to register Marcel and me for a virtual run. Given that the Covid19 pandemic continued to ravaged the country and the world, there weren't any physical races to be had but the virtual variety was bountiful. With the death of Marianne in January, I figured a run together will be healthy in more ways than one for both Marcel and me.

The virtual run I got to pick is the UPAW Marathon which had the 42km and 21kms categories. We registered for the latter. The reason we picked this virtual run is that the UPAW Marathon did not have a cut-off period and no specific date(s) to run it. It also allowed for finishing the cumulative distance in several running occasions. Too good to be true but after getting in touch with the Race Director - Joel Sabile, he confirmed it.

I planned to do this race with Marcel in late February or early March. But my son requested if we could do the 21kms after he is finished with the college schooling which is by early June. Education is priority for Marcel so I agreed with him.

Come the 1st week of June, we started on our joint quest to finish 21 kms. We planned to tackle it not in one day but in a number of days. And we did it mostly walking as I was nursing a recurring hamstring injury.

Injured or otherwise, Marcel and me amassed a total of 21 kms. together in 6 days of trying. A very slow half marathon but a very fulfilling one for me to see my son be active again in outdoor exercise actvities. While walking the 21 kms, we would pray the holy rosary and then I would see my son enjoying looking at the flora and fauna in our village.

Before 6am, we are up to do our walk run walk around the village.

Marcel taking a photo of the celebrated fauna in our village.

The squirrel in action on the cable above our village road. Being a nature lover. Marcel has been trying to figure out if this particular species of squirrel is endemic to the Philippines.