Pinoy to run barefoot in Antarctica for a cause

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino-American from North Carolina will run barefoot in Antarctica to help raise funds for Gawad Kalinga and seek a Guinness World Record. 

Eddie Vilbar Vega will be the first man to run a full marathon barefoot in Antarctica.

The 2013 White Continent Marathon was scheduled to be held Feb. 25 at King George Island.

The first official marathon in Antarctica was held on Jan. 28, 1995 and since then there have been at least one or two full and half marathons every year.

Vega, 53, started running full marathons five years ago. His first run as member of GK’s Heroes Run Team in North Carolina was the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh in 2007.

Vega has run 66 full marathons using near-barefoot shoes with five toes or vibrams. He has set the goal of being the first person to run a full marathon barefoot in 50 US states.

An advocate of GK, Vega will continue running to help raise awareness and support the GK movement. 

A Philippine-based nation-building movement, GK’s main goal is to mobilize and engage all sectors of society to work together to eradicate poverty. 

It offers a concrete solution to the overwhelming problem of poverty through a community development template that has values-formation at its core and employs an integrated and holistic approach to empowerment, with special focus on restoring the dignity and productivity of the poor. 

GK has built over 100,000 houses in over 2,000 communities in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

In the United States, GK is officially represented by GK USA, a non-profit organization registered in California (http://www.gk-usa.org/). 

“I think it is fitting that I dedicate this run to GK, as my first marathon was for GK,” Vega said. – Edgar Allan Vilbar/Freeman