SENIOR BYAHERO
Running is probably as old as man. Our ancestors ran long distance to hunt for animals, and to discover new places. Competitive running was part of the first recorded Olympic games that took place in 776 BCE.
I never liked running. During the grade school and high school Physical Education classes, I dreaded the part when we must run around the school ovals before we start calisthenics. I was already tall for my age then, and I lacked the necessary stance and swing coordination to do the proper running gait. I also did not like that we have to run around the same place repeatedly.
During my university years, I discovered that I could fake running by walking faster. My longer legs could do the same distance as the regular-sized person walking. So, during warm-ups when we were required to do some running, I just walked faster. I also discovered that walking was more fun because I got to see many things along the way. In my five years as a student in a university in España, I walked once or twice a month to my bus terminal in Plaza Lawton passing through the many book shops of Mendiola and Recto, the hamburger shops and street foods of Quiapo and the many emporiums of Avenida before going home.
Running at Caliraya springs golf course
This habit of walking prepared me to go into mountaineering: Just like walking in Recto, but with a better view. Climbing mountains takes you to a place where the trees are greener, and flowers are more beautiful, and the air so much cleaner.
Glamping at Mountain Lake Resort
When running became popular almost two decades ago, I joined those events that take runners to places that would allow me to enjoy the sceneries along the way. I still remember joining many races in BGC when it was still filled with greenery instead of cold buildings. There were also many events in Roxas Boulevard and in Alabang. I did walking most of the time instead of running, except one particular time when I joined a race in a province where a pack of dogs came running after us.
Takbo Cavinturismo
Running is making a comeback after the pandemic, and the first event I joined was the one held recently in Cavinti, Laguna. It was called Takbo Cavinturismo, and it promised participants to get a breathtaking view of the town’s attractions while running.
The 42-km race participants took the trail leading to the underground river and caves system, the 21-km category went to Bumbungan Eco-park, while the 12-km and 6-km participants went to Lumot Lake and Caliraya Lake, respectively.
Kakanins after the race
Our group, composed mostly of leisure runners were treated to the 5-km course inside the beautiful Caliraya Springs Golf Course. This unique 5-km run used the golf cart track through Holes 1 to 9 of the Graham Marsh Golf Course. It’s not every day that you get a chance to run inside a golf course, even if you’re a golfer, so we took our sweet time enjoying the fresh air on a golf course at a 350-meter elevation, with breathtaking views of the majestic Mount Banahaw, and so we did walking most of the time.
While most running events give you a finisher shirt and medal, Cavinturismo gave us more than the usual. Aside from the finisher shirt and the medal, there was the local touch of giving each participant a pandan hat made by the weavers of Cavinti and a breakfast of local kakanins and pansit hab-hab prepared by resort owners around Lake Caliraya and Lake Lumot.
Rafting at Lake Lumot
Unlike most running events where you leave as soon as you get your medals and loot bags, the one held in Cavinti made participants stay longer to enjoy more of what the place can offer. There were participants who brought their families so that they could enjoy the facilities around the lake, while some even did the challenging vertical trail to Cavinti Falls right after doing the running event.
Our team of leisure runners did what we do best: enjoy Cavinti leisurely. We went glamping inside Mountain Lake Resort, went on a sunset cruise of the lake, tried our hand at fishing, drove an ATV, went mud-sliding, and tried the sweet and sour large-mouth bass, the fish that can only be caught in Lake Caliraya.
Our ancestors discovered many beautiful places through running. In my case, my walking often takes me to many hidden paradise like the one I discovered through Takbo Cavinturismo.