Isa, dalawa, takbo!

In an interview with the Guardian in 2008, British artist Martin Creed declared, “Running is a beautiful thing. You do it without a pool, or a bike; it is the body doing as much as it can on its own.” The 40-year-old Turner prize winner was talking about Work No 850, a rather baffling piece that consisted of “a single athlete running at top speed through the Duveen galleries at Tate Britain — every 30 seconds, all day, every day.”

Because of Work No 850, which drew to a close on Nov. 16, the museum’s refined neoclassical interiors were filled with sprinter after sprinter, each completing an 86-meter dash before pausing for a token 15 seconds. As expected, traditional art critics and irritated tourists saw it as nothing more than a mad, pretentious relay.

Creed, however, saw it differently. “I wanted to use the whole space, instead of putting an object in it. The runner is like a guide showing you the whole space,” he said. “Running is the opposite of being still. If you think about death as being completely still and movement as a sign of life, then the fastest movement possible is the biggest sign of life. So then running fast is like the exact opposite of death: it’s an example of aliveness.”

‘Workout-workout lang’

It may or may not be another example of conceptual art, but it seems more and more people are lightly jogging up and down random Manila sidewalks as part of their daily or weekly routine. Is running — gasp — the new badminton?

“I first attempted to run because I was writing about it for the magazine last October,” shares Audrey Carpio, Metro senior associate editor and YStyle assistant editor. She admitted to initially hating “this suddenly trendy activity,” but eventually bought new running shoes and cute Dri-Fit apparel from Nike.

“As part of our ‘Hotness 2009’ fitness resolutions, some friends thought of creating an informal running group — whoever wants to can join,” Audrey continues. “It’s much more fun and motivational than trudging it out on the treadmill.” To prove just how dedicated they were to achieving collective wellness, they named their two-week-old club WOWOL — code for “Workout-workout lang.” 

You can find them 24/7 on Facebook (surprise), as well as Bonifacio High Street on weekday evenings. Apart from racing counterclockwise (Tuesdays) and clockwise (Thursdays) around a 1.2-kilometer stretch of prime Taguig property, they also use the time to catch up on chismis (“during the walking bits”), meet new people, and “look stupid running in packs around the mall.”

Though Audrey thinks running is really stressful on the knees — “particularly for women, something to do with hormones and joints and the way our body is built” — it’s still “literally the most inexpensive health activity you can do, and you can do it anywhere.” Wearing Adidas by Stella McCartney and looking like she means it, she advises aspiring urban athletes to take it easy and listen to your body “when it starts screaming in pain.”

‘Definitely a mental thing’

On the flipside, there are those who prefer to run solo. “I decided to ‘try’ running almost two years ago but never really got into it until late last year,” goes Kat Holigores, Metro magazine editor in chief. Sometime late last year, she realized that her fitness routine was “not enough,” so running seemed to be the next best option. “I normally run alone after work so it’s definitely for exercise, not for social networking.”

Circling her Makati neighborhood for about half an hour — a minimum of 5k — every time, Kat thinks that running is definitely a mental thing. “If I run in the evening, it becomes almost like an active meditation for me and clears away any of the stresses that I experienced during the day. If I run in the morning, it sets me up with a lot more energy and I feel like I’ve done something really good for myself.”

Unsure as to why running is more popular now — “I can only assume it’s because there are media or society figures who have started doing it so the activity has received more attention” — she has a few tips to offer. “Most injuries are caused because people forget that stretching after completing any sport is even more important than streching before. Yoga would be a great counterbalance to something as high impact as running since it will keep your muscles and ligaments from shortening.”

Up To Speed

Of course, if you really want to be up to speed with the sport, it pays to do some research first. Your favorite search engine and common sense might answer all your niggling thoughts. (Unless a footlong cleavage is the end goal, girls should never forget their sports bras. Dudes, meanwhile, must remember to keep the beans and pork swords in their proper place, a valuable lesson from Juno.) Your physician, however, should do a much better job.

Running has always been a staple sport in the Philippines, but there seems to be greater interest in it lately. One of the objectives of Takbo.ph, for instance, is “to provide an online Filipino running community for beginners and seasoned runners to share their passion for running and support one another in achieving personal running goals.”

The site’s race calendar is particularly comprehensive, listing down all events from now until December 2009, including a contest called “Takbo! Breast Friends” in October. (It’s either for breast cancer awareness or fried chicken parts. I assume, like, it’s the former.) Supporting a worthwhile cause and promoting positivity and physical benefits? If you ask me, those are totally excellent reasons for trading in a sedentary existence in front of the computer for a slightly more active one outdoors.