Senior citizen candidate defies Father Time in Milo race

CEBU, Philippines – At times, age doesn't matter in the highly competitive stage of running. This was proven true by Tessie Escasinas, a 58-year-old grandma who was among the successful faces out of the record-breaking 27,000 plus participants during the Cebu leg of the 38th National Milo Marathon over the weekend at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Research shows that aging brings negative changes in the tissues and organs of the human body that affects running performance. But Escasinas somehow defied science as she navigated the grueling 21-kilometer distance with an impressive time of two hours and seven seconds.

That vaulted Escasinas at seventh place overall, a remarkable feat for the oldest runner in a strong field of women's 21K qualifiers. As an added bonus, she also came out the fastest in a handful of runners under the 50-59 age group.

“This is the fourth time I qualified for the 42K National Finals, but I honestly didn’t expect to be in the seventh place with these fast and younger runners competing against me,” said Escasinas.

A mother of six and a grandmother of eight, Escasinas started running only five years ago, but in that short span of time, she has joined in dozens of fun runs in Cebu. She has also conquered international long distance races including the Guam International Marathon.

When pressed on her secret to success, Escasinas said she just enjoyed what she is doing, much more that her daily practice also serves as bonding time of their family. Mother Tessie admitted that she was hooked to running after her husband, Nemecio Escasinas, introduced her to the sport.

“My husband has been into running long before me," Escasinas said. "But I was more addicted to it that resulted to me being faster than him,” she added in slight jest.

The Escasinas couple has also introduced running to their children and grandchildren as their means of enjoyment and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and robust physical well-being as well.

“As a mother and grandmother, I tried to be a good example for them. Aside from nurturing an active lifestyle, I also make sure that I also influence them to have a clean and healthy diet,” she said.

While waiting for the Milo National Finals scheduled on December 7 in Manila, Escasinas will keep herself in tip-top shape by taking part in some races including one in Florida, USA.

Even if she is just two years away from being considered  a senior citizen, Mother Tessie said she has no plans of slowing down, even vowing to run as long as she can.

“It never crossed my mind that I would stop running soon. I think this is now a lifetime commitment for me,” she said.

Her achievement wasn't left unnoticed by National Milo Marathon race director Rio de la Cruz, a well-renowned running coach who was inspired by the indefatigable athletic spirit of Escasinas and the other 'old' runners who took part in the highly successful event that was made possible by Nestle Philippines.

“It was really very inspiring to see old runners joining in the race, much more that some of them qualified for the National Finals," said De la Cruz. (FREEMAN)