#PayingitForward
Awake already in the way too early morning hours of the 18th of February, I found myself running behind a bunch of runners dressed in funky dinosaur suits on the asphalt roads of Filinvest Alabang. Hashtagged on the back of their yellow shirts were the words "Paying it Forward." These sane individuals are, after all, acolytes of The Bull Runner herself who preached about building a running community where members pay it forward.
Paying
it forward by being a dream chaser and a pacer in the annual TBR Dream Marathon (TBRDM) which is the only full marathon in the Far East, if not
the whole world, that I know of, that is dedicated solely for 1st-time
and 2nd-time would-be marathoners (the dreamers). These dino runners were dream chasers, and
their jurassic appearance and antics never fail to elicit a positive and
energetic response from the dreamers.
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| Dino Runners in action in the early morning hours of the TBR Dream Marathon (Feb 18) |
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| TBR Dream Marathon 2024 route map |
So it was that when the TBRDM gunstart sounded off at 2am, all 4 First Balfour runners sped off strong and the BP was left with no choice but to hitch a run with the intrepid Dino runners, at least in the early part of the full mary. My strategy was to be in the rear of my fellow FB runners and observe which one of the 3 newbies would be needing some pacing. I would bid my time for the opportunity to pace.
At the 6km mark, I spotted Mark and decided to run with him. I asked him what Galloway interval he was using and he answered 5:1 ( 5 mins running & 1 min walking). Hearing that reply, I gasped as I haven't done that kind of pace since 2017, the year before I had my angioplasty. But I kept it to myself, not informing Mark about it anymore. I just asked why and he retorted better to run faster while the sun is still not out and adjust downwards when the sun starts shining. Good idea. So I tried my best to keep up with Mark as he did his 5:1.
Nearing the 9km mark, I told Mark I will be cutting corners at Filinvest Avenue so that I can see if I could catch up with Fely. This I did and soon enough while waiting at the corner just before the 10km mark, there I saw Fely about to turn right at Parkway Drive. I ran with her up to the U-turn in Pacific Rim. Fely was proving to be a stronger runner than Mark and me. I asked her what interval was she using and she replied 2kms. Say what? Fely explained that she rans 2kms and then take a walk break for about 2 mins and then ran again another 2kms. She is from Baguio so I guess Fely was doing the Cordillera version of the Galloway method.
I left Fely at the end of Pacific Rim and took a shortcut to end of Laguna Heights Drive and there I chanced upon Era, just before the Km 12 marker. Era was looking good and I asked him what run walk interval he was using at that point. He replied something about timing his walk breaks based on his heart-rate as indicated by his smart watch. Guess it was working for him as he was able to have a conversation with me while running. Kids these days, they are tech-savvy.
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| Era (Bib#0220) with the Bicolano Penguin (BP) |
Ran with Era around the Corporate World Loop, savoring some tasty lechon at the food station manned by RWP runners. Just before reaching the Km 14 marker, I told Era to go ahead while I waited for Mark. More than a handful minutes later, Mark came into view and I joined him in his run-walk, this time leveling down to the 3:1 interval. We had this going up to the u-turn before the Km 21 marker. But after the u-turn which signaled the beginning of the 3rd loop, Mark sat down on the roadside to adjust the fit of his running shoes. They were becoming tight for him and his solution was to remove his socks. Different strokes for different folks, they say.
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| Mark (Bib#0267) with the BP on the 3rd loop. |
Running now with a sockless Mark, we got back into the rhythm of walking on uphills and running on downhills. For the flat part of the route, we both agreed to employ the "poste-poste" method: ran between 4 posts and walk between 2 posts. Using this "diskarte", we made relatively good progress on the 3rd loop and by the time we hit Km 31 marker, the time in my watch read 7:40 am. This meant we had 2 hrs and 20 mins to cover the remaining distance of 11 kms and change, given the finisher cut off time of 8 hours. We needed a healthy buffer as one can never tell what can happen in the remaining distance.
We took it easy in the 4th loop. A lot more of walking than running, and a bit of sitting. Walking because Mark was feeling some cramps in his calves. A bit of sitting for me because at the Km 38 marker, there was this Coca Cola offered to me by a dream chaser. I had to sit down and savor this manna from heaven: Coke on the rocks. With added life in my bloodstream, our walk turned into a trudge and then to a canter as we neared the home stretch of the full mary.
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| Mark with family crossing the finish line. The Clareza family now has 2 marathoners. |
As Mark and me reached the last 400 meters with more than half an hour to go before 10am , there was a blessed sight that greeted us: a mother with 2 little children approaching us. The wife of Mark, Jhoy, who herself is a TBRDM finisher (Batch 2014), was there with their daughter and son. Together we ran to the finish line. Priceless moments are never in short supply in the finish line of the TBR Dream Marathon.
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| Facebook post of Jhoy. The BP paced Jhoy in 2014 and her hubby Mark in 2024 |
The Bicolano Penguin has been doing this pacing gig in the TBRDM for a number of years already. Nine years to be exact. In 2012 , 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2024. 9 years and counting. And yet, the feeling is not getting old anytime soon. On the contrary, every time I cross the finish line as a pacer in the TBR Dream Marathon, there is rejuvenation.
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| Photo Collage of First Balfour runners who tasted their first marathon in the TBR Dream Marathon, from 2010 to 2023 |
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| Era, Fely & Mark (First Balfour Dreamers Batch 2024) with the BP |
Rejuvenated because there is a kind of high to be had as a pacer. Double to be exact: Runner's High and Helper's High . Running or pacing in a marathon is a great deal of exercise and in exercise, the level of endocannibinoids (similar to cannabis but produced naturally by the body) in the bloodstream is increased. Positive emotions are known to increase after a selfless service to others of which pacing is an example.
Rejuvenated because this is fun. Recently, I watched this YouTube video of award-winning health and science journalist Catherine Price talked about the 3 elements of true fun: playfulness, connection and flow. Come to think of it, running and pacing in a marathon has all of these 3.
Rejuvenated because there is that feeling of thankfulness when I crossed that TBR Dream Marathon finish line. Thankful for the gift of running in my life. Thankful to our company First Balfour for continuing to sponsor a number of our employees to go for their first marathon in the TBRDM (with the 2024 batch in the books, First Balfour has now sponsored 65 new marathoners among its workforce). Thankful to Jaymie and her team for organizing the TBR Dream Marathon yearly for more than a decade already. Thankful to all the dream chasers, dinorunners, photographers and volunteers for adding that bayanihan spirit and fiesta atmosphere to the TBR Dream Marathon experience.
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| The Dream Team: Jaymie and the other leads of the 2024 TBRDM |
Thank you to the Bull Runner for inspiring thousands to dream. Thank you to Jaymie for teaching countless many to pace it forward.
Mabuhay!
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