NOT only does running keep Bro. Carlo Bacalla physically fit and sound, it also offers him time for long reflections and meditation.
Running, especially among beautiful locales, are “moments to connect with Mother Nature and my Creator,” the Don Bosco brother told runners in Sun.Star Cebu last week.
A PHOTO FOR FACEBOOK. Bro. Carlo Bacalla before running the 102-kilometer Bataan Death March in 14 hours and 38 minutes to finish 17th.“Running gives me a clear picture of the social conditions of our cities. When I see people sleeping on our sidewalks, when I see children scavenging for food in garbage bins, when I see young girls on skimpy clothes by the roadside, lots of questions come to my mind,” Bacalla said.
While it pains him to see all these, Bacalla said it also reminds him of his mission as a brother and that there are still “so many people to help.”
He said running gives him ample time to think and view things with new perspectives.
Bacalla said his first race was a 10K in 1986 as a “freedom run” with Edsa hero and former president Fidel Ramos. His first marathon was the real Pilipinas International Marathon, a 42-kilometer race that he completed with permission and condition from his superior because he was still in the seminary.
Bacalla is a religious brother, a “male nun,” as he puts it. He is training director of the Don Bosco center for out-of-school youth in Pasil, Cebu City, where they attend to as many as 300 children.
But despite his demanding job, Bacalla has been able to juggle all his tasks and his passion for sports, particularly running and triathlons. He completed the 102-kilometer Bataan Death March last March 7, finishing the grueling route in 14 hours and 38 minutes to grab 17th place.
He did that in just two months of training. He is currently training for the CamSur triathlon.
The secret, Bacalla said, is to accommodate your work, relationships and family commitments.
Since his community holds prayers for daily meditation at 5:30 a.m., Bacalla has to wake up “really early” to build up mileage for his training.
“Running has to go with your family life, your love life and your profession,” he said.
The thing that stuck in most runners’ minds after Bacalla’s talk was his favorite quotation: “Any idiot can run a marathon but it takes a special kind of idiot to complete an ultra-marathon.”