I am really happy that, like so many people today, my mate’s family members and their several cousins in South Cotabato have discovered a keen interest in running; thanks to the almost-monthly ‘fun run’ activities that have cropped up there and of course, all over the country. On our end here in Davao, my partner and my son have likewise gotten road fever, but much earlier, when the quarantine ended. It goes without saying, I too have participated in all their scheduled weekend events, with me waiting at already-countless finish lines and dutifully serving as water and bag carrier. If that were given a modern-day tag, these days, my official designation would be “Technical Support”.
During one of the several Fun Runs held here in the city, just right before the Kadayawan festivities, I was happy to bump into one of our closest office-mates back in the 80s. As our respected mateys hurried for the starting gates, we had a great time catching up on the whereabouts of our former office buddies. When at last we turned to the event at hand, just about when I boasted my partner must be way ahead at being active in the new craze, he told me his wife had actually been at it for five or more years, so much that, she had already amassed a cabinet full of running singlets and more than a hundred finisher medals. Sheepishly, I intimated in the end, “but that means nothing really”. For all their combined running events, we were still going to be “technical support”. And boo-hoo, we laughed at that.
True enough, we might as well have for the likes of us, personalized Tee shirt/uniforms printed in front with “Looking out for number two”, to officialize our being tech support. Who’s to complain, I might even add at the back of the shirt, “happy wife, happy life”. Or perhaps, “peace on earth, don’t forget to bring the water” to rub it all in.
Anyway, even with all that those minor jabs, I admit we’re all actually having great fun during such activities, much more so than spending weekends eating out or going around checking the blossoming new food establishments in the city. To think, when the three of us started actively exercising, it was just a few minutes jog around the uni for them two and wall tennis for me during Saturday mornings or long walks for us all at the then-closed coastal road every other Sunday. Now, my mate and son are already contemplating if they could run the more demanding (for them) 10K and higher categories. Again, so happy for them and the excited crew in Gensan. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, tech support is still what it is, 10K or more.
