Running for a cause - and in Samurai style

Last weekend, I went back to road running. I hadn’t done a race in over a year, the last one being a half-mary relay with three girlfriends. I have to admit that I missed running and, most of all, I missed my friends who had been intermittently scolding me in the past year, “Where are you? Why aren’t you running?”

Well, last weekend, I laced up, pinned a bib on my shirt, and ran beside a gorilla and, in front of us, a guy in a shower stall with the Angel of Death in his black robes hovering above him and holding a scythe. It was, after all, a Halloween fun run, where a good percentage of runners were in costumes that ranged from simple devil horns to I-can’t-believe-you-were-able-to-run-with-all-those-props.

So, for the month of November, I am marking my calendar for more races.

I’m lacing up for the HSBC Anniversary Fun Run on Nov. 26 at the Mall of Asia grounds. The HSBC fun run is special for two reasons: First, it is for a cause. All proceeds from the run will be donated to Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation (SAS), a not-for-profit organization that promotes the love and habit of reading in Filipino children. Second, the HSBC Anniversary Run’s limited-edition singlet is designed by Josie Natori. I’ve never been much into race singlets, preferring to wear my own. I remember  that many years ago, singlets were almost an afterthought, many of them being simple cotton affairs, which don’t do anything for runners. But today, a singlet is a seriously high-tech piece of clothing that wicks moisture from the body and reduces the chances of chafing. Plus, a well-designed one is a keeper.

HSBC Philippines president and CEO Tony Cripps says, “Over the last eight years, our partnership with this year’s beneficiary, Sa Aklat Sisikat, has had a significant and positive impact on the lives of 650,000 Filipino students, 9,000 teachers and 285 principals. And we are particularly excited that a world-class talent like Josie Natori has agreed to design the singlet, further ensuring that the HSBC Anniversary Fun Run 2011 will not only be a huge success, but also a truly memorable event.”

HSBC has a long history of Corporate Sustainability (CS) and volunteerism in the countries and communities where it operates. It has been in the Philippines for 136 years now and its CS programs focus on education for underprivileged children and the environment. In 2007, it started a partnership with SAS to develop the HSBC Principals Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Program (HSBC PLP) to encourage principals to create a vision and mission for their schools, help them write their School Improvement Plans (SIP) and develop their leadership skills so they can more effectively establish innovative learning communities.

Since then there have been almost 200 principals trained in the PLP. All this has directly impacted over 3,000 public elementary teachers and over 120,000 students in eight school districts — Las Piñas, Makati, Manila, Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, and Taguig-Pateros. In January next year, HSBC is scheduled to award outstanding principals in public schools.

SAS co-founder and chairman Lizzie E. Zobel says, “We were extremely happy to find out we were the beneficiary of HSBC’s run and even more excited when we heard Josie Natori was coming on board. HSBC has been a long-time supporter of education for Filipino public school children and with Josie Natori’s distinctive designs, HSBC’s event will certainly allow us to make significant headway in our efforts to improve the quality and reach of public school education.”  

SAS co-founder and president Margarita L. Delgado says, “HSBC has been a consistent advocate for improving the quality of education in our public school system and has supported us by filling the resource gaps that enables us to create innovative learning communities for the hundreds of thousands of public school children in this country. The HSBC Anniversary Fun Run has a very serious impact on nation building.”

For the fun — and style — part of the HSBC Anniversary Run, participants will be sporting Natori-designed singlets based on her Fall 2011 collection, “The Way of the Samurai.” Natori says, “At Natori, we bring art into everything we do. Each piece is designed and crafted to be a personal treasure. And speaking of personal treasures, that’s exactly what every child is, which is why I’m very happy to contribute to this endeavor that seeks to improve the lives of underprivileged Filipino children through education.”

The HSBC Anniversary Fun Run 2011 has three distances: 3k, 5k, 10k. There will also be a special 100-meter dash for children 12 years old and below. Apart from the Natori singlet, runners get a loot bag containing other premium items such as a custom-designed HSBC water bottle, HSBC baller ID, and finisher shirt.

Prizes up for grabs are non-transferrable tickets to Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific. All participants present during the run will also be eligible to participate in the raffle draw where they get to take home 2 non-transferrable tickets to London via Cathay Pacific.

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In-store registration for the HSBC Anniversary Run 2011 is ongoing at participating ROX and Chris Sports stores. Visit www.hsbcrun.com.ph for more information.