Off to Chicago

Two lucky running enthusiasts are leaving for Chicago, courtesy of New Balance, to witness the La Salle Bank marathon on Oct. 22.

Debbie Marie Bautista, 27, and Dennis Anthony Bejasa, 35, won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Windy City by topping 25 finalists in a New Balance promotion where entries submitted a 100-word essay on what the popular footwear and apparel brand means to them and how it has changed their lives.

Winners were selected based on the impact New Balance has made on their lives (60 percent) and creativity of response (40 percent). Additionally, they must have participated in the New Balance Power Race at the Fort last May.

Bautista ran the 25-kilometer course and Bejasa, the 10-kilometer distance at the Power Race.

Aside from the trip, the pair will receive a New Balance commemorative centennial package and will be featured in New Balance’s centennial website. The winners are now official members of the New Balance global centennial team running in the Chicago marathon.

Over 1.5 million spectators are expected to line the streets when 40,000 runners answer the 8 a.m. gun at Grant Park on Columbus Drive to start the 26.2-mile marathon. A wheelchair race will precede the big race.

Organizers are putting up $650,000 in prize money for the top finishers in various divisions. The winners in the open division of the men and women categories will receive $125,000 each.

A brand-new Volkswagen will be given to the first male and female to break the world records at the marathon. The men’s standard is 2:04.55 while the women’s mark is 2:15.25.

A limit of six hours and 30 minutes has been set for the marathoners although those who fail to cross the finish line within the prescribed time may continue the race outside the designated course, meaning they’ll walk on sidewalks and obey traffic signals and signs. Only the runners who complete the route in six hours and 30 minutes will be given finishers’ medals.

International participants pay a registration fee of $100 while American entries, $90. Registration is now closed although a limited number of international slots are still open through the 60 charities affiliated with the marathon.

There will be awards for the top five finishers in 14 age groups — from 16-19 to 80-and-over.

Bautista is a math professor at the Ateneo. She earned a Master’s degree in math in 2004 and has been with the Ateneo faculty for six years. The 5-4, 120-pound Bautista is a regular volunteer of the He Cares Foundation and makes regular apostolate visits to Payatas.

This is Bautista’s winning essay:

"For love or money" I have always wondered what this New Balance ad campaign meant. Then, I realized that it’s a question on what drives me. Do I run to reach a fitness goal, to attain a respectable time, to win a prize or do I run simply because I love running?

"Then, I realized that love is the best motivation because discipline, determination and resolve naturally follow. Goals may be achieved and trials may occur but only a passion for running and a focus on quality would help me last. Very much like my good ol’ New Balance 603s."

Bejasa was on the University of the Philippines track and field team and an athletic scholar from 1987 to 1991. He is a communications graduate, major in broadcasting, and now works for San Miguel Corp. as a customer development officer in the centralized key accounts group.

This is Bejasa’s winning essay:

"To me, New Balance means partnership. Last March, I was overweight, had high blood pressure, my cholesterol and blood sugar were above normal. I wanted to be my old self again, being a varsity sprinter in college. I started with a low-carb diet. Then, I jogged in the mornings and went biking in the afternoon.

"In a span of two months, I lost 30 pounds from 180 to 150. But it was running, using my three pairs of New Balance shoes, that was the biggest contributor to my weight loss. Recently, I ran and finished the New Balance run-all-you-can race."

Bautista and Bejasa will run the race of their lives in Chicago.