Comments on: A Comment From Coolrunner1009

By: marktrobbo

marktrobbo — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:44:52 +0000

Grassroots running can also develop if more and more local running and athletics clubs can be set up within your current boom to make the Boom permanent.

In the UK, there is a sub-level of intra and inter club races and leagues of all forms of running at a local level that take place where race entry costs are nil as they are run by the clubs by member volunteers that remain a legacy from our running boom in the 80′s and are still thriving.

In a City the size of Baguio and its locality it is not uncommon to have say 10 – 15 clubs in the UK

If you can see local clubs set up and develop with membership from all levels, it may improve the chances of talent to come thru.

Regards Robbo (UK)

By: coolrunner1009

coolrunner1009 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:34:33 +0000

Thanks Nolan. That’s why I love Bald Runner’s blog. It always presents a straightforward point of view on socio-economic and other relevant issues that affect us Pinoy runners.

By: coolrunner1009

coolrunner1009 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:25:31 +0000

Thank you runnerforchrist. I always turn to your blog when I need godly inspiration. By the way, I’m running for Him, too. Cool

By: nvllanora1975

nvllanora1975 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:02:34 +0000

Kuto Runner, you are absolutely right about that race by watch company. I will not participate on that one! I will just donate again to TKO250.

Coolrunner109, you are cool indeed! … and I love rock music too! I hope you will continue to be vocal about your observations – they are really useful as evident by the reception it got from BR and Marga.

By: runnerforchrist

runnerforchrist — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:46:05 +0000

Coolrunner…you’re really cool! I Wish to meet you too in some of the races.

By: coolrunner1009

coolrunner1009 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:34:11 +0000

BALD RUNNER: I appreciate your generosity in granting me ‘air time’. I only thought about sharing my thoughts but got pleasantly surprised to see my comments featured in your post for today. I wax emotional whenever people like you talk about the good old days of running in this country. The impact of the running boom then was so intense that I was inspired to train hard for years, in the hope of representing the country in the Olympic marathon. That dream died a long time ago but my love for running still lives and grows. Yes, we’ve already met before. I actually have a souvenir pic taken with you after the Condura Run last March. Anyway, I’ll re-introduce myself next time. Although I’m almost a decade younger than you, I am notches behind in terms of running prowess. I won’t be able to run a kilometer in less than 3 minutes but I’ve been regularly running at least a kilometer for 3 decades already. On the subject of socialized registration fees, I agree that this would be prone to abuse and could pose organizational nightmares. Nonetheless, it remains a big challenge how potential champions among the ‘masa’ could be lured into running (they always end up playing basketball). Again, thank you for being bold and upfront with your views.
MARGA: You and the staff of NU107 have gone the extra mile in setting a time slot for running. As airtime is expensive, it must be a big sacrifice for your station because I don’t see a very solid link between rock music and running (although I’m a lover of 70s and 80s rock music…hope you could play ‘Running on Empty’ by Jackson Browne, ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen, ‘Silent Running’ by Mike & the Mechanics, etc.). A running program in a rock station may not give you good ratings but you do it simply for the love of running. Keep up the good work!

By: kutorunner

kutorunner — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:18:40 +0000

“Others would use running to help others which is to me is a crap and cheap reason to earn more money. Others would run because they are “celebrities” and they voluntarily or get paid/rewarded to endorse some running-related products.”

This reminds of a totally ridiculous upcoming race next month by a watch company charging runners php750 to run 21km, the race has nothing new to introduce. Obviously, some entity is out there to make money, they will not succeed in anything but only isolate runners..this will be detrimental to running boom here in the country. I don’t want to single this particular race but this one is too obvious to be ignored. I hope no other company will follow the same route.

Kuto Runner

By: greencursor

greencursor — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:45:52 +0000

the way you describe our sports officials as old, fat-bellied, who cannot even run 3 kms, really gives the true picture of our philippine sports program. these officials should shape up or step out. they are sucking dry the meager funds that the government gives to sports at the expense of the welfare of our national athletes.

By: runningsalesman

runningsalesman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:23:07 +0000

I think the current running boom is a God send to all runners and especially future national athletes. Even though current races are targetted towards the so called upper and middle class, eventually, the benefits will trickle down to the grass roots level. Please indulge me in my analysis: Each race gets maybe 5000 or more runners (not sure about the numbers). So that’s 5,000 consumers that a private entity(corporate sponsor) can reach. As long as the races are well received and garners significant media mileage, sponsors are happy and will continue to sponsor races . Now, here’s the crucial part… if there’s enough media coverage, and word of mouth, running will gain more and more popularity. We’re starting to see it now…. more and more people running along the streets, celebrities joining races… its the “in” thing. Now, we all know that the “masa” is prone to doing whatever is “cool” or “in” (we’ve seen it with billiards and boxing). So eventually, interest in running will reach the grass roots level. We just have to sustain the interest…

By: nvllanora1975

nvllanora1975 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:19:23 +0000

Hooray to all of you:

Coolrunner1009 for raising this valid concern.
BR for being an impartial blogsite owner.
Marga for being a responsible show producer.

…all for the love of running. Mabuhay kayo!

Nolan