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Ken Mendola RUNS THIS WAY

DREAM FINISH. Ken Mendola shows his medal after the marathon - and he shared his 26.2 miles experience here!


COURAGE. This is the word that for me, best explains the first person featured in my blog’s Run This Way. Courage explains how he finds happiness in his life’s path and in running.

Before running, this person has cared for hundreds of patients as a nurse. I know he has experienced nice and irate patients, but he did his work, anyway. Though he became a victim of the circumstance, an irregularity in the 2006 licensure exam for nurses made him decide to re-take it, in spite of passing it the first time.

It was courage that made him try his luck for the American Dream; it was also courage that brought him back and decided that the Dream can be fulfilled in his home country. Little by little, success has started to come in.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS. Ken (7th from right), wife Clare (in yellow) and the rest of his LSD buddies.

Last month, he crossed a marathon finish line in the 2012 The Bull Runner Dream Marathon, two years after enjoying his first 5K. If that’s not courage, I do not know what it is.

He is Ken Mendola.

He Runs This Way.  



Runner’s Name: KEN MENDOLA

What do you do?  I’m a Nurse.

I started running in April 2010.

I used to see running as a...  sport (but now, a passion).

I decided to run because... a fellow nurse encouraged me to run.


Ken Mendola (front) and other co-TBR runners tries the Nuvali roads.


My favorite pre-race meals are ... McDonald’s Spaghetti or bread with peanut butter and a banana.

My favorite distance is 21K because ... I’m starting to enjoy the distance and the challenge.
 

Ken (center) with friend and The Bull Runner.

The people I admire most or get inspiration from are ... Dennis Ong (a runner friend and confidant), Carlo Castrillo (my good friend since college), and Jaymie Pizarro (The Bull Runner).

When I’m out of the road, I am busy with ... my VMobile business or doing nursing care.

The best running advices I have ever been given were ... “Just do it” and “Never quit.”

I used to see marathon as ... too long and boring.

I chose to join the TBR Dream Marathon 2012 for my first marathon because ... it’s my dream to run my first marathon with the best Philippine marathon for first timers.


Ken (4th from right) proudly holds his bib number 342, alongside his co-TBR friends.

Ken (2nd from right) poses with co-TBR runners minutes before the gun start.

 The easiest part of the marathon (whether in training or during the race) was ... signing up for the marathon.  

The hardest part of the marathon (whether in training or during the race) was ... following the six-month program consistently, with the right discipline and attitude.

The best marathon advice I have ever been given was ... “Eat right before the race, hydrate well during the race, and start slow during the first half of the marathon.”

The last word that I thought of after hearing the gun start was ... “Game on!”

The first word that I thought of after crossing the finish line was ...
“Amazing!”

 


 My first marathon finisher’s medal will most likely be placed in ... my runner’s memorabilia box.
Marathon has taught me that ... all is possible. I got to know myself in a deeper way, too.

I have crossed out “running a marathon” in my bucket list, but I still do dream of running ... either the TBR Dream Alumni Race 2012 (event in planning stage) or The Bull Runner Dream Marathon 2013.




Photos courtesy of Ken Mendola.
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1 comment:

  1. thank you for the feature, SEC penaRUNzi! keep on running and keep on making a difference! you're next for TBR 2013! :)

    ReplyDelete