Jim Lafferty, President & CEO of Procter & Gamble Philippines, invited the members of the Elite Team Bald Runner for the Palms Country Club Charity Run last Saturday, August 1, 2009 and have them sponsored for the registration fees and breakfast but all the members were scheduled to have their weekend long run and I had to tell him that they could not join the said race.

Instead, he invited me and Coach Titus to watch the race, have breakfast at the Clubhouse, and receive almost “new” running shoes for my Project Donate A Shoe.

Coach Titus and I arrived at the Palms Country Club minutes before the start of the race and I was able to meet and talk to Jim and his daughter Kristen; Patrick Concepcion aka Running Shield & wife; Eric Pasion aka Runner For Change; Ian Alacar of BOTAK; Paul Calvin; and Jan Imperio.

The race consisted of 3K Fun Run, 5K, & 10K distance runs. There were about more than a hundred who joined the race and it was held without any funfare. After the race had started, Coach Titus and I positioned ourselves at the street before the entrance to the Palms Country Club compound and we, eventually, became Race Marshals as we directed all the runners if they need to run another loop or not by looking at the color of their race numbers. I also became the unofficial photographer for the Lafferty family, Patrick, and the other runners.

The best part of this event was the breakfast invitation. Although I did not run the race and did not feel hungry, the breakfast turned out to be a “heavy” one! But what made the breakfast more significant were the ideas and insights that Mr Lafferty shared on how it takes to be a Champion or Olympian in Athletics and for that matter, in any kind of Sports. The best part of what he said is that, “The best athletes are assholes!!!” (If you want an explanation of this statement, I have to explain it verbally).

Before leaving the Palms Country Club, Mr Lafferty donated fifteen (15) running shoes which to my surprise turned out to be racing shoes from Newton, Nike Racers (not available in the country), Adidas Racing Flats, Puma and Mizuno Racers. These shoes are destined to be used by Elite athletes!

Jim, thank you very much for the support!