Fitting Farewell

October 25, 2011

  

Last Sunday, there were three runs happening simultaneously, but runners whether veterans or newbies, knew where they had to be.

The tribute run for the late Melinda Ponce gathered a total of 1,436 registered runners after only five days of blitzkrieg organizing. 

This is made more amazing by the fact that runners were informed about the run mainly by word of mouth, runners chatrooms and online groups, Facebook and the generous column spaces given by runners columnists Max Limpag, Michelle So and yours truly.

There were several tribute runs for Melinda last Sunday.  There was one in Manila, another in Legazpi City and in Tagbilaran Bohol.  The Cebu run alone managed to race P201,020.00 in cash donations plus a 4-year college scholarship from Dr. Yong Larrazabal and his wife Donna Cruz. The cash donations (which came in the form of registration fees) were divided among Melinda’s orphaned daughter Embralaince, Roger Diniega – the husband of the Ponce family minder Anastacia, and two groups working with victims of domestic violence – Lihok Pilipina Foundation and the Haven which is a shelter and halfway house for battered women.

The organizers saw it fit to give part of the proceeds to organizations working with battered women so that Melinda’s death would not be in vain as it would seem that aside from the advocacy for running and healthy living, Melinda’s true legacy is the continuing fight against violence within the family.

Photo credit:  Sun Star Daily Cebu