Pilgrims on the run: Takbo Maharlika

MANILA, Philippines - Last year, Fr. Melo Diola and retired police general Sam Tucay took the first step towards their dream – to traverse the Maharlika Highway, share their advocacy of good citizenship, and bring hope to all they encounter, in what they dubbed Takbo Maharlika.

The marathon started in Laoag City on August 8, 2011, and the two noble men – and the thousands they met along the way – reached the finish line on March 23, 2012, about seven months later.

“It is sheer joy that one experiences in realizing a dream,” says Diola on completing the marathon. When STARweek first featured the project, he remembers, “Takbo Maharlika was still a good intention waiting to be realized.” He adds, “Things went as planned and even beyond expectations.”

Takbo Maharlika took Diola and Tucay through 11 regions, 20 provinces, 13 cities outside the National Capital Region, and from Valenzuela City to Muntinlupa in Metro Manila.

Throughout the marathon, Diola reports that they ran and walked with some 30,000 police officers, soldiers, barangay officials, students, pastors, priests, and other concerned citizens.

Fr. Melo Diola speaks at the closing ceremony of Takbo Maharlika at the PNP regional office in Zamboanga city, with running buddy Sam Tucay at his side.

Diola says they met many interesting people along the way – in fact, he says, one could write a whole book about them. “Our youngest runner was a boy of about five or six who ran with his parents in Ilocos Norte,” Diola shares. “The oldest one we met was mid-70s,” though there were reports that a participant as old as 90 years joined the run in Davao del Sur.

“There were people who wore slippers. There were policemen and policewomen who had stopped exercising – oftentimes running is associated with punishment by the rank and file – but who promised to run again.”

Diola also recalls Chief Inspector Nelson Vallejo who approached Tucay in Isabela, promising to quit smoking and start running again. It was Vallejo’s birthday.

“He persevered and finished the 150-plus kilometer run through Isabela about nine days later,” Diola says. “He ran morning and afternoon and his beaming face showed that he was experiencing the joy of taking care of God’s temple, his body. It is never too late to start again.”

Diola and Tucay were also able to share the Takbo Maharlika advocacy with at least 50,000 through some 160 fora conducted throughout the run. Diola notes that the participants really started appreciating the purpose behind the race, and in turn became more motivated once they had attended the seminar.

Members of the PNP provincial office of Zamboanga Sibugay show their support for the marathon.

Aside from meeting many new people throughout the race, Fr. Melo and Gen. Sam – the two men who started with a dream and saw it through each step of the way – have forged an even stronger friendship. “This is one of the miracles of the run: Gen. Sam and I are still friends despite being two beyond-middle-aged, headstrong men sharing lodging for nearly seven months,” Diola quips.

“He represents running; I represent prayer. But he makes me run and I make him pray more. In our daily fora, we called on Filipinos to bring together prayer and fitness into their lives as foundations for good citizenship and leadership.” Diola and Tucay’s friendship is a living testament to their advocacy.

Diola adds, “In Takbo Maharlika, I discovered the deepest meaning of a ‘buddy’ but not just any buddy – a real companion in the journey towards integrity.”

The marathon, of course, had its share of difficulties. Diola shares that the biggest challenge for him was the daily routine of waking up at 3:30 in the morning. Diola and Tucay would wake up early for water therapy, say prayers at 4:15, and start running at 5 a.m. “This was like a daily death and resurrection experience,” Diola says.

It was also a challenge to adjust to new hosts and new environments on a daily basis as the two made their way down the highway. They got a lot of energy from the groups that joined them along the way – energy that helped sustain the two as they continued the marathon. “A group energy was felt that bore us forward even when individually we felt tired,” says Diola.

Despite the difficulties, Diola, Tucay, and their supporters forged on, fueled by prayer, laughter, the beautiful scenery, and thoughts of home. “We were expecting the worst, hoping for the best, but God, in his goodness, always gave us the best.”

Finishing the marathon strong has left Diola with much to be thankful for. “We are grateful for many other blessings from God. We finished the race in one piece. There were no major or minor accidents despite running through major thoroughfares with vehicular traffic. No untoward incident. No ambush either.”

“We were awed by the alluring natural and man-made beauty of our countryside and felt very sad at how we have become our worst enemies by throwing garbage everywhere and by conflicts we continue to have,” Diola reflects. “How broken is our motherland!”

For Diola and Tucay, the dream – and the marathon – goes on. “Who knows, we may continue running, since many other places in the Philippines are not laced with the Maharlika Highway,” says Diola. The two noble men have fire in them yet, ready to reach even further. “We continue to be pilgrims.”