The email seemed innocuous enough - Celebrate the Life of President Cory Aquino, be one of 200 to take on the Heroes Run.
As a registered member of Iamninoy runners one is apt to get these emails from time to time, from an obviously well-meaning organizing committee. Held to commemorate the 40th day of her passing, it is to be held on September 9 at the Ayala Triangle where runners will be doing 1.2 km loops around the area. What further piqued my fancy was the exclusivity of the event as "only the first 200 to register will qualify for the run." Goodie, I can actually do something tangible to honor Tita Cory's legacy in my own little way.
My giddiness evaporated when I ran across the time - 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. On a Wednesday. With a nota bene stating "please come early before the 4:30 starting time". Um, okay. I guess that means that obviously.... I can't go. Along with roughly 80% of the IamNinoy runners who actually hold a 9-5 dayjob.
So what gives? It just defies the imagination that an event which essentially alienates a sizable majority of its core market would come to fruition. Let's face it, majority of those who run are working types who are in it to stay in shape and shave off the pounds. I instantly ran the scenarios in my head that would justify this unconventional schedule. Maybe it was hard to get approval from the Makati city government for a 5 am run. But then again, it's for Tita Cory, they'd be guilt tripping if they said no. Why not at night? Late afternoon say 6ish? Hmmm maybe it's too traffic? But then again, when is it NOT traffic in Makati? Maybe 4:30 pm is ripe for maximum media exposure? No that doesn't make sense at all. Okay I'm stumped. I have absolutely no idea why such a noble cause would rob an overwhelming majority of its potential participants an equitable right to join. Maybe some hardcores would skip work and all, but hey all the yuppies there can empathize with me on how hard it is to justify a leave nowadays.
So who would come then? Entrepreneurs? BPO people? Ultra-rich people who don't need to work? Political types? Professional runners? That's all well and good, absolutely cool. But then again....
How about the rest of us?
Sorry Tita Cory, maybe next time.
The rest of us can run even w/out an event if we really want to, all it takes is to discuss w/ the rest of our running mates.. :) but then you cannot expect medias to roam around to cover the run though :)..
Of course Lorie, we all know that. That's what we do everyday :) Media is not the focal point of the issue here... it's an event that is intrinsically inaccessible to most of its members right off the bat. That's my point of contention here.
Hi Luis,
FYI, I have showed your blog entry to some of the members of the iamNinoy Runners steering committee. They might address your concern. Hope all's well. :)
Hi Marga, thanks thanks! A lot of people I talked to yesterday were unanimous on this, because a lot really wanted to join thus I was prevailed upon to write about it. Hey, I really appreciate that, if only as a future point of reference :) Yup, things are great over at this end! Thanks for dropping by and take it easy! :)
oo nga i must agree! how come 430? ALMOST if not ALL working peeps are not yet out of their offices by 430PM, then why schedule it at that time? if possible, the ideal night time run might have been around 630PM man lang sana just so more people can join also. the "limit" they imposed might not even reach 100 siguro IF 430 pa rin yung time.
i hope they adjust the time so that more ninoyrunners can join this endeavor.
just my thoughts.
if i haven't read your blog, the 4:30pm call time wouldn't have sink in. =(
bakit nga ba hindi na lang 7pm mag start?
hi luis, i was actually a bit excited to join this noble run...but then, bongz told me that it was supposed to be 430...i did a double take..huwaaatt?!!! it's too early..even if my office is here in makati, 430 is still way too early..perhaps, 6-ish?
by the way, if and if, it will still be 430, can we not organize a run in BHS perhaps? for, say, 7pm? just a thought..
I got the same email. Good thing I was my old, same apathetic self and dismissed it as another running event that I can never be part of. Sorry for being grumpy but I didn't need to try to dissect the hidden agenda of why it was scheduled at that time. Maybe the organizers have their own reasons we don't know. I was at EDSA in '86, and in various rallies in the years between Ninoy's death and the People Power event. Now, I'm just doing everything in spirit, hehe! It would be great nga lang if we could actually wear our iamninoy shirt in a run that had something to do with Ninoy or Cory...nuff said!
you said it, luis. we all wanna go but... labo nga ng time. =?
You got it Tim! Sayang, would have been a worthwhile event to be part of sana.
Naguluhan din ako pareng Rod eh. I'm sure they have their reasons naman, may it be logistical or otherwise. We all know it's not easy to organize these things. Sayang nga lang talaga for all the rest of us.
Yeah Len, I think 7pm would have been just right in hindsight. Kasi wala talaga tayong habol with a 430 or earlier assembly time. Being unable to join any of the "tributes" to Tita Cory, would have been nice sana, makabawi man lang ako.
Agreed Mike, I was at Edsa Dos just for the heck of it as a college freshman. I was thinking as a more mature individual I could pay homage in whatever little way I could. Of course, work and graduate-school related stress, along with the tribulations that we face in life in general, have caused me to share the same level of apathy you had just outlined . I had told myself that I should really do something next time around. I was hoping this could have been it, but alas, maybe next time.
Nga eh Joyce. That's alright! Next time :) Thanks for dropping by!
Hi Luis. I am Mayi one of the members of the Steercom. First of all, let me say we understand your concern. The Heroes Run today is a small symbolic run for the 40th day passing of Pres. Cory. Because we are running on the sidewalks of the Ayala Triangle, a limited number of runners is all we can accommodate. I would like to say the runners don't have to start at 430--they can start at any time and run/walk until 630.
Since you will not be able to join us, I hope you can come to the after run get together. It's supposed to be at Grilla but we heard it's closed. I will try to find a way to let you know--maybe though Marga.
Thank you again. We will plan other activities and hopefully you and your readers will be able to participate. I can see the intentions of everyone to help in our cause.
Hi Mayi, thank you for taking the time out to address our concern .That is quite admirable and speaks well of the steering committee. It is appreciated that you have clarified the time element, and I hope some of the people could still make it to 6:30, specially those coming from the QC/North area. Thanks for the prompt reply and for being open to feedback, and I hope that all the insights put forth here may be utilized for future considerations. Rest assured, you will have our support in all your upcoming events.
present ako rito! just went out from a break! hehehe!
Nice on Rodel! Patingin ako pix. How was it, enjoy ba? :)
I (margalicious-the other marga), BongZ, BongYu, UltraPat, Doc Marvs, Marky Mark, Sir Mon & MaryGenie ran this last week. Yup, maaga nga and 35-40 runners participated. I think it was more of a logistical concern that's why it was done at 4:30PM. We were talking to the organizers at the after run dinner and they said so as much. From my personal experience, by the time 530pm came by, the Ayala sidewalk was crammed with people raring to go home, waiting for buses, cabs and jeepneys. We (runners) couldn't run properly anymore.
Rico, Roselle, Argo, & Ellen were there too, btw. :)
Nice that you were there Marga, hope you guys had fun! :) As I outlined in the piece, it really looked like a logistics thing. But only 35-40 runners? That sure is well short of the 200 that they were intending.