Tag Archives: Sebastian Lacson

Running ban, running boycott

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VETERAN runner and race organizer Raffy Uytiepo fired a broadside at critics of the recent Aboitiz Race to Reduce Challenge with a warning to those who called for a boycott that he will ban them from his races.

“Although it’s a person’s right to join or not, I really don’t care. In fact we have noted the names and will see to it that we will reject their entry forms next time around,” Uytiepo wrote in his column in The Freeman.

“We will remember the names of these guys who called for boycott. You might not even get to run in the other big races we will officiate.” He then listed the races he is organizing, including upcoming ultra-marathons The Warrior 50K Ultramarathon on Sept. 10 and the first ever 100-kilometer run in Cebu on Nov. 18.

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Bigger prizes at stake in Aboitiz-Capitol Race to Reduce Challenge

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This year’s edition of the Race to Reduce Challenge Visayas Leg will offer the biggest prize so far in a race in Cebu — P70,000 to the male and female first-place finishers in the full marathon, organizers announced in a press conference today.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) chief reputation officer Sebastian Lacson said this year’s run will be bigger because the event is co-organized by the Cebu Provincial Government as a highlight of the month-long celebration of Cebu Province’s 442nd founding anniversary.

RACE SINGLET. Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia with the race singlet for the Capitol-Aboitiz Race to Reduce Challenge on August 14. With the governor in yesterday’s launching are Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco (left) and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) chief reputation officer Sebastian Lacson. Click to enlarge. (PHOTO BY MARLEN LIMPAG)

RACE SINGLET. Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia with the race singlet for the Capitol-Aboitiz Race to Reduce Challenge on August 14. With the governor in yesterday’s launching are Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco (left) and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) chief reputation officer Sebastian Lacson. Click to enlarge. (PHOTO BY MARLEN LIMPAG)

In their staging of the event last year, Aboitiz was able to gather more than 2,000 runners. In this year’s staging of the run, Lacson said they are targeting 5,000 runners to join.

The run will be held on August 14 at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) at the North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City. It will have 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K categories.

For the first time in a race, organizers will be offering several registration options that include the choice of not having a singlet, which Lacson said they are encouraging. “Most runners prefer to wear their own running shirts because they are already comfortable with it,” he said in the press conference.

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Why smart companies encourage workers to run

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Companies that promote wellness among workers reap huge financial rewards, according to Brigham Young University (BYU) researchers. Utah newspaper Deseret News reported that the BYU research showed employees who participate in workplace wellness programs have fewer sick days than those who don’t.

The Wellness Council of America, according to the website PreventDisease.com, reported one study that showed a wellness program in one company caused a 19 percent reduction in sick leaves.

MANAGING STRESS. Corporate wellness and sports programs "can help alleviate depression and help employees manage their time and stress levels better," the website PreventDisease.com said. (FROM THE FLICKR PHOTO PAGE OF DAVIDDMUIR)

MANAGING STRESS. Corporate wellness and sports programs "can help alleviate depression and help employees manage their time and stress levels better," the website PreventDisease.com said. (FROM THE FLICKR PHOTO PAGE OF DAVIDDMUIR)

“Wellness programs can also help alleviate depression and help employees manage their time and stress levels better, all of which are contributing factors to missed work days,” the site said.

The website also quoted the Sales and Marketing Management magazine as reporting that “studies show employees who exercise as little as once a week incur healthcare costs that are one-third to one-half lower than those who don’t.”

The website also said exercise and company wellness programs “play a key role in maintaining and improving productivity and employee morale.”

It cited a NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) study that found a 12.5 percent increase in productivity of participants in its fitness program. “They also found that participants were able to improve their work performance as well as enhance their concentration and decision-making powers,” the site said.

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Endurance sports mold character: Basti Lacson

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Endurance sports mold character, Aboitiz Equity Ventures chief reputation officer Sebastian “Basti” Lacson told runners gathered in the Sun.Star Cebu central newsroom last Friday.

“I think endurance sports are formers of character. You go on even if your body tells you to stop. You wake up at 4 in the morning even if your body tells you to sleep,” said Lacson.

BASTI LACSON. The Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. chief reputations officer gets his exclusive ungo shirt with glow-in-the-dark paint from Michelle So, Sun.Star Cebu executive editor, Sun.Star Superbalita editor-in-chief and Sun.Star Running Club muse. Click on photo to enlarge. (SUN.STAR FOTO ALEX BADAYOS USED WITH PERMISSION)

Endurance is something Lacson has plenty of. While finishing his master’s degree in Spain, he finished the Barcelona marathon in 1995 in three hours and 56 minutes. He finished “a couple” of half-marathons after it.

He insists that he not be called a triathlete because he was “only able to finish a couple of triathlons.”

But on Oct. 6, 1996, he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar with two companions, Spaniards Gonzalo Ceballos and Pedro Vernis, by swimming for five hours and 19 minutes from the town of Tarifa in Cadiz, Spain to Punta Marroqui, Morocco.

“It was a great experience. I was scared of the water and I conquered my physical and mental handicap,” he said.

Lacson, a former team captain of the Ateneo Blue Eagles who played with Vince Hizon and Eric Reyes, said he has always been into sports.

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