BY NESTOR CUARTERO
JUST A THOUGHT: Heroes and winners aren’t the same thing. – Michael Farrel
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SHOWBIZ RUNNERS: Keeping fit is a must in the time of pandemic. TV Patrol broadcaster Kim Atienza knows this by heart; he runs, or bikes, hundreds of miles every morning.
Other personalities who run for their life are Piolo Pascual, Enchong Dee, Zoren Legazpi, Kim Chiu. They believe that running is good for the heart, blood circulation, weight loss, etc.
Talk of running brings me to a post I read on Facebook recently. I’d like to share it with readers, so it may inspire people to be less self-centered and more giving.
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GIVE WAY: The post told the story of Kenyan long-distance runner Abel Mutai, who was only a few meters from the finish line during an international competition.
Abel got confused with the signs and stopped, thinking he had finished the race.
A Spanish man, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him and, realizing what was going on, started shouting to the Kenyan to keep running.
Mutai didn’t understand Spanish.
Realizing what was going on, Ivan pushed Mutai to victory. A reporter asked Ivan why he did it.
Ivan said his dream is that one day we can have some sort of community life where we push ourselves and help each other to win.
The reporter insisted, “But you could have won!”
Ivan replied: “But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of this medal? What would my mother think of it?”
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BEING SELFLESS: In this most challenging time in contemporary history, the lesson shared in this little story is one of bigness, of magnanimity.
It speaks of the values we teach our young ones, about not taking advantage of other people’s weaknesses to forward our own goals.
