Pia… a runner by heart!!!
“I am first and foremost a runner”
Like most sports enthusiasts, Pia started running to shed off the pounds she gained after staying in the United States for a couple of years after graduation. To compensate for the training time taken from volleyball, Pia ran, joined fun runs and eventually, her first marathon when she was 21.
“After my first marathon, I told myself, never again!” she chuckles as she vividly recalls her first foray into long-distance running.
As the adage goes, never say never, for Pia ran all throughout three of her pregnancies, and even did her next marathon thirteen years after her first. The gap in between marathons grew closer with every race, and even as she ran for a senatorial position in 2004, Pia continued running, even broadening her horizons through duathlon and then eventually, triathlon.
So how does a very busy senator and mother juggle a disciplined training program? “What I do is I eye a big race ahead of time,” Pia shares. “Then, if I have to go out of town, and there’s a Milo race in the locality, I run the 21k.”
Pia’s zest for an active lifestyle has been positively contagious. Apart from inspiring and empowering women through her Pinay In Action advocacy and holding an annual multisport festival in memory of deceased son Gabriel, she has also involved her siblings and daughters into the world of sports.
“My brother Lino and I both did NY and Amsterdam marathon in late 2008,” Pia relates. “We have always shared similar interest in sports [as we] were both members of the UP volleyball team. He got into triathlon, and then I did.” Another brother, Ren, has gotten into running recently, and has just successfully completed a 5k race.
Her young daughters Maxine and Nadine are regular fixture in their mother’s running and multisport events, and even go as far as running with their friends during weekends.
“As for my kids, only time can tell how much influence I have had on them as far as running goes, but I know for sure that sports is already a part of their life which I am very proud of,” she beams.
To date, Pia has ran a handful of marathons, half-Ironman triathlons, and even an Ironman distance triathlon at Western Australia, but Pia, at the heart of it all, still staunchly identifies herself as a runner. “I like triathlon because of the variety, but I am, first and foremost, a runner.”
Tags: a true runner
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:56 am
I’m really inspired by your activities, Sen Pia. You’re one of those people that makes me proud of being a Filipina. I love running too, although I have not participated in a marathon. I am just a beginner, can you suggest how I can prepare and join a marathon? thanks.
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I am 50 years old and been running for Milo ,Subic ,Clark, Pinay in Action last year and so many to mention…I used to live in Hongkong and have passion in running but due to the pollution i flew down here in Manila whenever there is Marathon competion…not that i want to compete but just being a participant and be able to reach the finish line. I run 10K everytime i participate running events…Now I moved and live in Dasmarinas Makati, I get more active in my training and inspired more especially if I drive around the fort to pick up my early morning coffe in Mcdonald on sunday morning and watch marathon competion…. very contageous atmosphere….. I run after my mcdonald coffee of course…… I run anywhere,…even when i travel anywhere in the world… . you only need running shoes and a comfortable running outfit….