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Congratulations to Team Real LIFE for successfully completing the 102km Bataan Death March Ultramarathon! Not only did all 5 team members complete the 102km course, but with your help we reached 100% of our goal of raising P500,000 for our Real LIFE scholars!
Thank you for giving to LIFE!!!
Click here to check out the photos from LIFE March on our Facebook fanpage.
We'd love for you to join in our conversations on Twitter and Facebook!
Last year, a very determined Joshua Suarez decided to run the grueling 102 km Bataan Death March Ultramarathon for the benefit of the scholars of Real LIFE Foundation.
Joshua finished the race in 16 hours and raised P132,000 for Real LIFE. According to him, there were times when he wanted to quit but he kept telling himself, “This race is bigger than me. It’s about putting deserving young scholars to school.”
Joshua’s fortitude inspired four other runners to join him in the 2011 Bataan Death March which, for these four men, will become our LIFE March 2011.
On March 5, starting at 9:30 in the evening, Joshua and his team mates, Ferdie Cabiling, Junn Besana, Paul Pajo and Alden Meneses, are running the ultramarathon.
The race route is arduous and will involve running non-stop for hours under the moon and the sun. Nonetheless, the men are taking up the challenge for a worthy cause.
Their collective goal is to raise P500,000 to help send scholars to school.
At the end of the day, we will have turned the infamous Death March into a (we believe) soon-to-be-famous LIFE March!
Each man as different as they are, come with two major things in common: a deep love for God; and passion for helping the poor and disadvantaged.
Josh was never really into running, or any sport that entailed a lot of physical exertion. But he began to feel convicted when he realized his health was being affected by his lack of exercise and the people who would suffer for this would be the people he loved the most – his wife and his “miracle” son. Before Josh took running seriously he could barely run one kilometer. The decision to do something and stand by it was the hardest part – once Josh made that decision, he and his wife, Jaja, joined a group called the Fort Striders and the rest is history.
Joshua is running his second 102 kilometer LIFE March ultra marathon not only for the scholars of Real Life but also for John Philip Cabiling and, Raissa Laurel*. He hopes to be able to run more ultra marathons here and abroad for what he calls “The Purpose Driven run.”
* San Beda Law Student who lost both her legs in a bomb explosion along Taft Avenue in 2010, who came out on television praising and thanking God that it was she and not anybody else who got hurt.
Pastoring one of the largest churches in Metro Manila, Ferdie started running when he was still a teenager, and found out it was something he was good at. He stopped when his busy schedule got in the way. But things became different for Pastor Ferdie when his son John Philip was born with a neurological condition which affected his small and large motor skills hindering him from running properly, something his Dad can do very well. Pastor Ferdie picked up the sport again a few years back – this time making each step count for John Philip and for the disadvantaged in life.
Click here to read Ferdie's inspiring blog entitled "From Death (BDM102) to LIFE (BLM102)"
When Paul found out that Josh Suarez ran and completed the 2010 102-kilometer ultra marathon he was inspired to do the same for two noble reasons – first, to honor his grandfather, Jose Belviz, who survived the 1942 Death March, and, second, to raise funds for the scholars of Real Life. Paul knows that this race will not only test his physical ability but his mental preparedness as well. And what better inspiration to finish the race when he knows each step pounding the pavement is one step closer to changing the life of a young scholar.
Pastor Junn Besana, fondly called Junn B. by his colleagues, never knew running would consume him when he picked up the sport. He had no difficulty progressing from running a distance of 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers in a span of 2 years. Being a busy husband, father to 4 young children, and a pastor, Junn B. trains twice a week and the occasional holidays so that’s not much if you compare it to most runners who run daily to train for an ultra marathon. His reason for loving running so much – it’s the best time for worship, when he can empty his mind from the daily clutter of life and be filled with the joy of the Lord.
A long time fan and friend of Real Life, Alden has had many firsts with us, starting with our first Race for Life in 2009. Since then, he has been a big part of planning and executing our annual Race.
Alden started running four years ago upon the incitement of his gym buddies. He tried it once and found he enjoyed the challenge of going against the limits he set for himself. He launched his serious running “career” completing a 21-kilometer race in Manila. Inspired to do more, Alden joined a 42-k marathon in Hong Kong, Australia’s Gold Coast and Malaysia. This will be his first time to join an ultra marathon but is confident he will finish because of his reasons for running in the first place: 150 young men and women who are the scholars of Real Life.
