Share this
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
On March 24, 2009, Joy
Rojas joined the World TB Day Fun Run that was part of this
year's World TB Day festivities meant “to empower individuals
who have taken part in the fight against TB.”
The World TB Day Fun Run started at 6:00 a.m. at the Quezon City High School Compound along Sct. Ybardolaza St., Quezon City. Rojas, in a simple blue shirt, led the 7 km run escorted by the largest number of policemen in a fun run. This was due to the fact that, aside from the motorcycle escorts, more than 50 policemen from the Quezon City Police District Running Club ran alongside her.
The runners were trailed by a convoy of
cars and vehicles from the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City District
378 and allied organizations of the Philippine
Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT). Water stations were
provided by hospital personnel of the Delgado Clinic, St.
Luke's Hospital, and the Quezon Institute as the runners passed
them on the way to the University of Santo Tomas compound where the
main celebrations of World TB Day were held. Souvenir anti-TB caps
and fans were given out by the runners to surprised pedestrians along
the route.
The fight against tuberculosis is close to Joy's
heart since she was stricken with this disease in 2001. After eight
months of medication, she survived the disease and began running
again. While the disease strikes both rich and poor alike, it is the
poor who suffer most because of the expensive and lengthy period of
medication. The Anti-TB program of Quezon City of the Inner Wheel
Club of Quezon City led by Dr. Bienvenida A. Crisanto is a
beneficiary of TakbongPangarap/Trans-USA
2009.
Photo courtesy of Chuck Crisanto.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Joy Rojas is the first Filipina to have run across the Philippines. A freelance writer and magazine editor who overcame tuberculosis in 2001, she will become the first Southeast Asian woman to have run across the United States once she completes Takbong Pangarap.
Mateo Macabe is a noted athlete in the local running circuit and Joy's trainer and running partner, having run across the Philippines with her in 2005. He will be her pacer and navigator during Takbong Pangarap.
Chuck Crisanto is the team manager of Takbong Pangarap. A long distance event record holder for the Ateneo, he has served in various professional capacities under four Philippine presidents.
