MANILA: Only 73 finishers, including two Filipinos, are in the exclusive list of an elite organization called the Official Seven Continents Marathon, Half-Marathon and Ultra Club, based in Minneapolis, that recognizes runners who have capped routes in Africa, Asia, Antartica, Oceania, Europe, North America and South America.
Former Philippine national squash player Marimil Jordana Gerhardt, 56, is in the process of gaining recognition from club founder Steve Hibbs as she has now run in Vancouver, Punta Arenas (Chile), Antartica, Ayers Rock (Australia), Beijing, Tromso (Norway) and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), reported Philippine Star.
She was introduced to running by her husband Clark nearly 30 years ago and averages two half-marathons a year, the report said.
Her dream is to bring along a horde of running enthusiasts from all over the world to participate in a Philippine marathon at a destination with as much tourist drawing power as Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Bagan in Myanmar.
Gerhardt, whose aunt Cynthia Carrion is the NSA president for gymnastics and niece Lily Jordana is with the Philippine swimming team, is in town for a visit from her home in Sun Valley, Idaho, said the news portal.
She was born and raised in Manila, studied at Poveda and St. Scholastica’s College, worked two years with Rocha and Company then left for Madrid in 1983 to join a documentation outfit providing translation services. In 1986, Gerhardt moved to San Francisco and was employed at Montgomery Securities where she met her husband.
“When I was with the Philippine squash team, my coach used to force me to run laps at the Polo Club,” she was quoted as saying by Philippine Star.
“I never liked to run. But when I lived in San Francisco, specifically Sausalito, there were beautiful trails that inspired me to run. I haven’t stopped running since. Wherever my husband and I travel, we always bring our running shoes. You can’t tie me down to a chair. I average about 30 miles a week. I’m in the gym twice a week for high-intensity workouts with weights. I also run with my coach Tiffany Larson, a former US champion, twice a week. I hike and bike with my husband and in the winter, we ski a lot. For a half-marathon, I average a finish time of two hours and eight minutes. I try to keep track of my time but it’s the joy of running that’s more important to me.”
