A Blogger’s Marathon-For-A-Cause
Dearest Our Awesome Planet Friends,
I’m not a runner. I never imagined in my life that I can run 10k. I have used all the possible excuses I can think of — I’m too fat and I cannot handle my weight, it is so boring to run for more than an hour, it is better to sleep to regain energy than to run, it is too hot and I don’t want to get darker than I already am, etc. etc… I realized that I’ve been eating too much when I gained the equivalent weight of Aidan (around 30lbs+) ever since he was born (that is when I started blogging).
Thanks to my boss, Jim Lafferty, who motivated us to run and we formed the P&G Marathon team. I started running since January but I was not disciplined enough to follow the Marathon training plan to the letter. Not until I got Nike Plus, it changed my entire running life. It is my loving companion during my run. Nike Plus would give me statistics about my pacing and how long / how far I already run. It lifts my spirit with the power songs when my legs are already telling me to quit. It plugs me into this virtual community of runners in the Philippines and all over the world. That was good for 21K or half a marathon. I survived the 21K Run for P.E.A.C.E. and 21K Adidas King of the Road. .
On July 22, 2007, I hope to become part of the elite group of the 0.1% of the world’s population who have run a full 42 kilometers marathon. I don’t know if I will finish the 42km run since I’m running at my heaviest weight. I would like to make it meaningful and to run like there is no tomorrow. In partnership with the Pinoy Ultra-Runners’ Run For Your Life, I’m dedicating my first Marathon to Kythe. Kythe is a non-stock, non-profit organization that caters to the psycho-social needs of pediatric patients (especially those with chronic illness, such as cancer) in government hospitals around the country. I would like to solicit donations as part of my first marathon, and 100% of the proceeds will go to Kythe.
Kythe runs various activities and programs for pediatric patients, from in-house playroom activities, and bedside activities like reading books to children, to out-of-hospital trips like visiting zoos, museums, etc; With available but limited funds, they also cater to the medical needs of some indigent patients. It is currently supporting ~9 affiliate government hospitals, and has supported and uplifted the lives of hundreds of patients and their families. More difficult than running my first 42km, their task is way over challenging given the number of patients in various hospitals to support, and very limited resources and fund to support them.
We need your support. The mechanics is simple and patterned after a marathon challenge pledge. I got the idea from Christian Pobre who used to do a Marathon-for-a-Cause for Bukas Sarili. You just need to pledge an amount P10 per Km. If I finish 42km, then you just need to donate P420. If you are generous, you can pledge P100, or $1 or even P1 will do. 100% of the proceeds will go to Kythe. Please put your pledge in the comments section and I will contact you via email on the easy ways to give the donation.
For the bloggers who will also run the Milo Marathon on July 22, let us make this a blogger’s marathon-for-a-cause. You can run as short as 5k and collect pledges / donation from your family and friends. Let me know if you are joining so that I can include you in the list of the Bloggers Running for a Child’s life. We will do a simple dinner/ ceremony afterwards to give the donations to Kythe. Please don’t forget to register in the Milo Marathon this week.
Thanks for all your support in advance. May God reward and bless you for your generosity.
Sincerely,
Email me at anton@diaz.ph for your pledge or text me for your pledge at +63 928 558 8500
Hey Anton, count me in! I’ll post about collecting pledges within this week. Question: how do you collect them after the race? 🙂
Anton, I’ll support you.
Gg
Was the talk held in ICA Greenhills? The place looks familiar, it was where we had retreats, DWTL, and recollections.
wow! i’m in full support of this. pls PM me the details how to do pledges and all. i’m proud of you man! cheers!
Anton, Game ako to support. Okay ka talaga,c-i-l! Proud of you!
I’m behind you 100%, Anton. I know you can finish. And that’s a great cause! Thank you for doing that. Will text you my pledge. 🙂
Go Anton go!!! 🙂 I’ll text you my pledge too! I have every faith that you will be crossing that finish line! 🙂
I know you will be part of the 0.1%, Anton! I’ll e-mail you Felipe’s and my pledge. 🙂
Count me in. On the day that you’d be running the marathon, I’d probably be curled up in bed reading Harry Potter 7. But by pledging, I can still help Kythe and “run” through you.
Anton,
Will pledge for your cause.
I’m with you there. Rache knows my contacts.
Hi Anton,
count me on… and i know you can do that. and its really nice project.. Good Luck.. God Bless.
Hello!
That’s a wonderful organization! The Xavier Parent Auxiliary is working with Kythe and I have promised to bring Kindermusik to the children in the hospitals after September.
I am pledging Php30 per km.
Cheers!
Suzette
P.S. So wonderful to see you at the testimony.
Hi Anton,
This is nice!
I pledge 1 Euro per km!
Good luck !!!
(Please note I am out of the country till second week of August so you might need to wait for the money…) 😉
Go,go,go.
How and where do I give my pledge?
How much is the nike plus? I’m 48 yrs. old, I want to run a 42k.
Hi Anton,
I am also running on the July 22 Milo Marathon but only for the 10K. I don’t think I’m prepared for the 42K. After reading your blog, I am inspired to train for the 42K so that I can run for a cause as well and hopefully by next year’s marathon I will be ready for that. So for the meantime, I’ll run the 10K and pledge for your run. God Bless.
Take my 500 peso pledge even if you finish 10 kms.
Hi Anton! Im also a blogger-runner! When i read your entry about the 100km run i was really inspired about the team but I also know that I am not ready for it. Good thing I checked your blog entry again today and read about your plans on donating to kythe foundation.
I hope I’m not too late on this would you be so kind to give me more details on how to go about the donations. I know its kind of late already but I hope that by donating my run to Kythe foundation, I can put my running into good use.
here’s my number 0920 5610593 I hope i can still join you on this fund raising activity.
~ben
Kythe works very closely with our Migi’s Corners and they are a wonderful organization that you can really count on. Will pledge you my text. Better get all the rest you need for that marathon — load up on vitamin C and keep happy thoughts!
i’m a blogger-runner too, and will use one of my upcoming runs to try to raise funds for kythe. thanks for bringing this to the forefront.