Running for fun is now pandemic

It seems that running for fun —and sometimes for the fund of it — has become so common it has reached pandemic proportions.

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Here in Cebu there have been so many running events that even perhaps Raffy Uytiepo must've lost count. Not even a Raf estimate.

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Last Sept. 11, American soldiers in Afghanistan marked the infamous 9/11 attack in New York with a 9.11 kms. run.

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Last week, a run-for-women-only was held in Mumbai, India. It marked the start of the Women's Health Week.

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Also last week, a fun run was held in Pratchenburi, Thailand. It was initiated by a Cebuano retired athlete now working in a furniture factory in that Thai province.

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Would you believe that I was one of the founders of the Victor Village Joggers Club? Sad to say, the club has run out of steam as it has run out of members.

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Dubai has inaugurated The Metro, a luxury passenger train that runs without a driver. The inagural came at exactly 9 minutes and 9 seconds past 9 p.m. on 09.09.09. I don't know if feng shui has a part in this.

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The Dubai Metro, the world's longest automated train, was four years in the making, according to Gulf News (courtesy of Bobit A). The construction was a "record speed" and Dubai officials called it "a miracle."

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A Pinoy engineer working in the United Arab Emirates said: "Let's just marvel at this great transpo achievement ... Let's not even dream of having a similar one."

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Yes, indeed. Even our dream of a simple Rapid Bus Transit has remained a dream. It's all talk, talk and more talk. As Sitting Bull, the Indian chief, would put it: "It's all thunder, no rain."

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And so we're stuck with the antiquated smoke belching jeepneys. Sorry, but even a kumpadre of mine who operates eight PUJs agrees.

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