Takbo Para Kay Troy: Run for a Cause

I was up at 4am in the morning preparing for the run that my friend invited me to join. it was held at Filinvest Alabang and so I decided to join since it was near our place and also, it was for a cause.

The head of security in Filinvest Corporate City was diagnosed of leukemia and so this run was organized. It was called Takbo para kay Troy, named after him. Also, there was another beneficiary in this run aside from Sir Troy and it was nice to have helped even in small ways.

Ponciano “Troy” Rosales, is the current Head of Security for Filinvest Area in Alabang and other Filinvest properties in the Philippines. And recently, he learned that he has Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, a cancer of white blood cells. Another beneficiary of this Run for a Cause is Mr. Edwin Nuñez, Security/Transport Staff of Festival Supermall, Inc., who has Renal Failure, a kidney disease. The proceeds of this Run will help support the medication of both beneficiaries. In addition to our prayers, this is our way of helping them on their recovery.

I registered for 10K the last minute since my friend also registered for the same distance. We didn't expect to finish 10K however I would try to do it if I can. The race was not like the other races I know. They lack a bit of preparation since the singlets and race bibs were only given a day before and at the race itself. Another is the race bibs were named and so, claiming it means searching for your name on the thousands of participants. They should have just recorded the bib number upon claiming it, lessening the hassle of searching it. Also, the map/route was given the night before the race. However, despite all the hassle it was still okay and the event pushed through successfully.

Start/Finish line with all the racers ready

As the gun start was fired, the 10K racers started to run. It was composed majorly of the security personnel in Filinvest. There are only a few of us in green singlets that ran with them.

As I reached about 500m, I need to leave my friend behind because I will be so lazy to speed up if I stayed in that pace. I get to run in the Filinvest area for the first time and it was a nice place to do it. There are a few vehicles and the roads are nicely paved. My running shoes will survive another day with this, unlike the terrain on Greenheights (the subdivision besided ours) that I usually run on weekends. I instantly made a mental note to run there if ever I learned to drive and go there anytime I want (how I wish :P).

As I got near the U-turn of the 10K run (5K marker), I decided to stop and finish the race. There are only a few 10K runners that continued and if I continue, I may be the last to finish. I waited for my friend before getting to the finish line. I got my time at about less than 30 minutes using my phone timer, which is good because even I haven't run for a week because of the trips that I had, I still had the stamina to run. I just wish there were a lot more runners so that I could finish the 10K distance. I promised to myself that I would have a revenge run for 10K so I need to train for it! Just kidding! I aim for 10K but I'll do it in time, when I am physically ready.

After the race, there is a mini program where Sir Troy had a small speech. He thanked all the runners for the funds raised. According to my friend, he is a good man, a jolly one. He was generous to them when they were working together in Filinvest. It was good to know that his treatment is working and he is in good condition now. I think he is a good man to have given another chance to live and I am more than thankful to have helped even in that small way.

There were also some raffles and dance numbers in the program but we already left since we haven't had breakfast yet. As I got home, my bed was my best friend for the whole day! I slept for hours to recover the sore leg muscles from running along distance. I'm looking forward for my next race, whenever that may be. And soon, I will run for 10K and finish it!

Congratulations to the organizers of the Run For Troy for have raised a good sum of money from the event. I hope it helped the beneficiaries in their treatment so that they may still be with their families for years.

Takbo Para Kay Troy