RUNNING FOR EDUCATION: PRONATION RUN & EDSA RUN

Education is close to the hearts of our Ateneo de Naga High School Batch 1983.  The social responsibility initiatives of our batch are anchored in the importance of education to nation building.  Monies that our batch have raised thru its golf tournaments (3 with a 4^th coming this April) and running (our Camsur Marathon experience in 2010 became a modest fund raising venture)are utilized to fund our scholarship program at the Ateneo de Naga and community outreach to remote public elementary schools in Bicol.

It is then a delightful experience for several Manila-based Batch 83 runners to have joined this month of February a couple of fun runs dedicated to education:  ProNation Run and EDSA Run.

The ProNation Run was held inside the Loyola Heights campus of the Ateneo de Manila University last Feb 20.  It was organized by the Ateneo Management Engineering Association in cooperation with the John Gokongwei School of Management to raise funds for the Ateneo Scholarship Fund (ASF). 

83nean runners (Ernie Badong, Ed Balcueva, Ruben “Fards” Fajardo and Vicboy de Lima)  ran in the 10K of the ProNation Run.  The 10K route consisted of 4 loops around the campus.  Fards and Ernie finished together with a time of  1hr 2 mins. Practicing the Run Walk Run Method of Jeff Galloway, Ed and Vicboy ran a more relaxed pace (Run: Walk ratio of 4mins & 1 min) and finished 1 hour 13 mins and 1 hour 14 mins, respectively.

As part of the 4-day 25^th anniversary celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution, the EDSA Run was held yesterday (Feb 27).  Billed as “A people powered run to build classrooms, it was organized by the Iamninoy-Iamcory Runners in cooperation with the Department of Education.  Funds raised by this fun run will be utilized for public school classroom construction.

The start and finish of the Edsa Run was the People Power Monument at the corner of EDSA and White Plains Avenue.  The route took the runners from EDSA down left to Ortigas Ave. and then into Green Meadows down to C5 and back up to Temple Drive and then left at White Plains Avenue to the finish.

EDSA Run route 

Fards was absent but his proxy was his son who left all 3 Batch 83 runners in his dust.  Ernie finished a sub-hour 10K at 57 mins.  Vicboy finished with a time of 1 hour 14 mins while Ed crossed the line at 1 hour 17 mins. 

Running for education in the ProNation Run and EDSA run are delightful and fruitful experiences.  Our wish for their 2012 editions is that their routes be longer, especially in the case of the EDSA Run.  Why not close one lane of EDSA in its entirety on one Sunday morning of February and go for a full marathon along this historic and iconic highway of democracy. 

Imagine, for one morning, the people literally take back this people’s highway from those smoke-belching buses. 

I say amen to that.