Run for Reymond

Reymond's brothers in law and tri friends came up with the idea of having a Run to honor him on the 40th day after his death. As devout Catholics, this day is big for us and we usually commemorate this by having a mass and serving food after. In this case, we gathered Reymond's closest tri, run and bike friends and held a morning run serving breakfast afterwards.

In the pic below, baller IDs in Bright Yellow ( he loved bright, neon colors! ) were given out to all the runners. IRONMON is a term of endearment given to him since his nickname is Mon ( only to his friends -- I still call him Reymond ) and his obsession was to race IronMan races. 

My youngest brother Paolo led us in prayer to start the event. Seen here are members of the Team Bike King, Clear Sabak, Polo Tri, ANST and representatives of Speedo. On the far left is Coach Anthony Lozada. Reymond did not know how to swim in 2009. He couldn't even finish a 25m lap without standing up in the middle of the pool to spit out all the water he swallowed. Coach taught him how to swim and I think he did a pretty good job for someone who couldn't swim at all when he attempted his first triathlon in 2009. Coach also trained me and my brother Dondi when we did our Ironman swim relay events in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Lozada Loyalists kami! Haha! Even if we swim with different coaches now, Anthony will always have a special place in our hearts.

We had about 100 runners on the road. It was a proud moment for me. I was so touched by all these people who gathered for Reymond on an early Saturday morning just to show support for me and the girls. Truly heartwarming.

The church on the foreground is the St. James Parish inside Ayala Alabang. Reymond's ashes are kept in a crypt inside the Church. It was so fitting that the end of the Run passed through this Church. In fact, some of the runners even visited his crypt before ending their run. 

Our Army Navy South Tri Team all wore shirts in honor of Reymond. I'm so proud to be part of such a great team. They are family to me and I will forever be grateful to them for their support, their friendship and their love. 

I smiled so much yesterday. As you can see, I was picture crazy! It was such a joyous event and I just felt so much love for Reymond. How could I not smile? : )