To run, perchance to dream

"One of the things I like about running is to be able to physically bring myself from one point to another," ultrarunner Joy Rojas revealed to bloggers during the Takbong Pangarap meet-and-greet last 18 April 2009. "My favorite thing to this day is crossing the archs of the towns and cities in the provinces. When it says welcome to Tagaytay, or you are now entering Camarines Sur, I really get chills... because I'm thinking to myself: kanina lang nandoon ako, ngayon nandito na ako (earlier I was there, and now I am here), and how did I get myself there? By running. Nakakapangilabot pa rin (It still gives me chills)."
Some of the bloggers came to show their support for Takbong Pangarap. Some of them came because they too knew the joy of running. Others came simply because they were curious about the woman who proposed to be the first Southeast Asian woman to cross the North American continent on foot.

Why would someone want to run across the United States, the bloggers wondered. Indeed, what does she get from running? Doesn't she ever get bored? Doesn't she get sick, or tired? Joy's answers to their questions were interspersed with funny anecdotes from her running partner and trainor Mat Macabe, and commentaries from team manager Chuck Crisanto, who were the other two members of the Takbong Pangarap team.

"From 1995 to 2002, I was competitive," Joy explained. She was still participating in marathons then, and found herself becoming more interested in finishing in the top ten or beating a certain time. "Parang running became secondary already," she mused. She wanted to retain the happiness she found in the sport, so she stopped racing but continued to run.

"The happiness that I get from those solitary runs is really more priceless and more special to me than racing and trying to better my run. It's more fulfilling."

Blogger Christian Banag wanted to know how she kept fit. "Kasi nabasa ko dito sa flyer, plan niya tumakbo ng 50 kilometers a day for 120 days, 20 days lang yung rest. 'Yun, kung paano niya mamaintain yung katawan niya para hindi mag-bog down. (Because I read in this flyer, she plans to run for 50 kilometers a day for 120 days, with only 20 days rest. I want to know how she will maintain her body so it won't bog down.)"

"I maintain a diet of fish and vegetables and carbohydrates. I don't eat chicken, pork or beef," Joy said. Lest people think her a paragon, however, she confessed to a weakness for diet cola and junk food. She said that she also stops every five kilometers to rehydrate, and at the end of the day she ices her legs, massages them and elevates them to bring down the swelling. Mat would be pacing her on a bicycle on the entire trip, carrying drinks and serving as her link with the support vehicle which would be parked some distance ahead of them. He had originally planned to run with her, but he had recently undergone open-heart surgery and needed to take it easy.

A member of the audience asked with some interest if Joy really did get tuberculosis, saying that she was a pulmonologist. She then revealed that she was 83 years old and in fact had run at least a kilometer of the way with Joy during the recently concluded World TB Day run!

Blogger Carlo Ople in his turn wondered whether running a marathon for 120 days was healthy. Was there any long-term danger, especially as a person got older?

Joy asserted that ultrarunning was actually suitable for people in their 40s and onwards, both for the legs and the mind. Aside from giving the legs a good workout, she said, the long distances covered gave a person more time for contemplation.

The bloggers requested that aside from blog posts and news articles on the team's progress across America, Mat would microblog his personal take on the journey because of his humorous anecdotes. They also asked for another question-and-answer session when the team returned, to learn firsthand about the team's experiences.

Many said that Joy's story inspired them.

"I really admire her effort for doing all these things," said blogger Pete Rahon. "Her effort is really something laudable." He was not a runner himself, he explained. "I just do walking, but I would like to be inspired by her example, that's why I came here."

"I tell you guys, after this session, I am slowly giving ultramarathons and long runs serious thought," blogger kulitrunner wrote in her blog. "Hey Joy, Mat and Chuck. It was great to have personally met you that Saturday. I came to the POC meet-and-greet expecting a common press brief which I thought just won't hurt for me to drop by to. But then, having heard what you three have said and shared, I came out feeling inspired and grateful I spent time sitting there and listening to all of you."

One of the bloggers asked the team what their worst fears were on this journey. Chuck admitted that he feared that they might not have enough money to buy gasoline for their support vehicle. Joy was also asked what "a person that strong" could possibly fear on the journey.

She laughed.

Before answering that she feared she might get injured, she quipped, "Karaniwang tao lang po ako. Matigas lang po ang ulo ko! (I am just an ordinary person. It's just that I am stubborn!)"

Put like that, is there still any question how her dreams come true?

Photo by Ofelia Sta. Maria; licensed under Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA-3.0 Philippines.

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