In celebration of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s 35th anniversary, the inaugural Benilde Fun Run 2024, held at Aseana City Parañaque on May 19, raised funds for Benilde Hope Grant Scholars.
The event was organized by the People and Organizational Development Office (PODO) along with the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Alumni Association in an external partnership with Without Limits PH, a sports and lifestyle events organizer.
Joined by Benildean students, alumni, associates, athletes, and non-Benildeans, the fun run garnered over 1,800 participants spread across running categories of 3KM, 5KM, 10KM, and a pet run. The top three male and female finishers from each running category were awarded special prizes.
The start and finish line stage is located at Bradco Avenue, with the route covering J.W. Diokno Boulevard until Cabrera Avenue. Pre-run and post-run activities were hosted by Benildean alumna, Chantal Therese Laude, and sports host, Ger Victor, with participation of the Benilde Blazers Pep Squad.
In an interview with The Benildean, Ms. KC Candelaria-Lapus, Vice President of the Benilde Alumni Association and Program Chairperson for the Export and Global Management program, shared how supportive the Benildean community was towards their process of planning the event.
“It is so great to see everyone run for one purpose, and that is to continue the vision of Benilde to give free education,” she expressed.
Besides the funds raised from the event itself, the Benilde Alumni Association donated ₱1 million for the benefit of the Benilde Hope Scholars during the post-run event.
The participants expressed their enthusiasm in joining the fun run, sharing their experiences in an interview with The Benildean. Amanda Ashley Lu, ID121 student who joined the 3KM run, said, “It was fun [...] I haven’t ran in like years. I’ll probably join another marathon someday.”
Benilde alumnus and part-time faculty, Mr. Edwin Aldrin Regnim, who ran 10KM, joined to support Benildean scholars and to bond with the Benildean community. “If I can say ‘yung tagline ng Benilde—it’s like no other, fun like no other.”
With the success of the event, Benilde organizations are looking towards curating more events such as this. They also plan on making the Benilde Fun Run an annual event.
