We Run We Care We Share is an intimate run for a cause spearheaded by Reyes Tacandong & Co Foundation Inc. For me, it was a chance to meet up and run with former mentors and colleagues in the audit profession.
We Run We Share We Care
We lived on a routine of meeting tough deadlines while servicing several audit clients. We’d spent hours and at times even days at the office chasing deadlines. Behind the chase are the people you get to share a laugh, a rant, and the tale of the sleepless nights. That’s the life of an auditor and that’s the foundation of who I am today. The core group of Reyes Tacandong & Co were my mentors and colleagues who I shared those sleepless work nights while sharpening my skills in the world of audit. That was years ago and we’d have our different success story to tell but being with them at the run brought back all the memories of my times spent in the field of audit.
When I got the message from Ms. Carol, whose been among my favorite managers then partner, that RT & Co was doing a run, I couldn’t pass up the chance to share my passion with my former mentors and colleagues plus McKinley West and Bayani Road area is among my favorite routes because of the rolling elevation. Arlyn, whose been my seatmate and among my closest friends in audit was also joining so I asked her to switch to 10K and promised to pace her til she finished.
I ditched the car on race day and just took the cab knowing that there are limited parking slots at McKinley West. It was good that I had an Amihan Go Lite Belt as I was able to fit my phone, my money, my home keys and an extra shirt in the belt. I arrived around 30 minutes before the start of the race and it was an intimate crowd. I could count the faces of the regular runners I see but I did see a lot of faces I used to work with back in audit. Arlyn, Paul and Joseph came a few minutes before gun start so Paul would be pacing with Joseph while I’ll be pacing Arlyn on her first ever run.
At gunstart, we joined the crowd eager to run at the start of the race but since Arlyn had to retie her shoes twice at the first 300 meters, we ended up at the back of the pack. Since this is Arlyn’s first ever run and I did want her to finish the race, we started slow but we run on the descents. From the back, we slowly passed some runners. I would encourage Arlyn to run faster on the descent and once we are approaching each water station. The first part of Bayani Road was a net descent so there were a lot of opportunities to run.
We went at conversation pace and a few runs just letting Arlyn to go at a pace she was comfortable. After all, she was just supposed to do a 5K run but I let her shift to 10K run. I would tell her some ways to pace herself or how to approach a climb. I would tell her to run and until we reach several light post or the water station. The key was to keep her moving and also keep her mind occupied of not giving up on the race.
We’d hit the 4K mark at the C5 u-turn and I told her it’s mostly uphill from here. We then shifted to running on flats and walking on the climbs. I did run the long climb in Bayani Road and just waited for her on the top of the climb since I couldn’t resist the climb. Whenever we’d see someone slowing down in front of us, I’d encourage her to run so we can move forward. Then we were back on the Lawton Area for the last two kilometers of the race.
We took the route in Lawton and Arlyn was struggling a bit but she endured a went on to finish her first ever 10K run. More than seeing her finish her run, it was nice catching up with her as due to our busy schedules, we haven’t really been able to keep in touch for a long time. We caught up with our former colleagues after the race before having breakfast and calling it a day.
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