“THE very first thing a religious has to learn is to obey. I don’t have that reputation.”
Just the very sort of thing we have come to expect from Father Robert Reyes, the man whose runs for a variety of causes has captured the imagination of the public, who knows him more as 'The Running Priest'.
At the age of 58, Reyes said he’s not running as much as he used to but still maintains his advocacy as much as he can.
Taking a quick break from his duties, the outspoken activist-cleric-sportsman sat down with Spin.ph and shared some insights from his 43 years of running, a good portion practically spent as an ultrarunner.
Union with the Divine
One reason the 58-year-old Catholic priest credits to maintaining his running advocacy is yoga.
The Running Priest admits that he is now beginning to feel the mileage on his body as a result of decades of pounding on uneven pavement and dirt roads and so took up measures to address it.
“I have complemented my running with serious yoga. Before I entered the seminary I have already discovered yoga at the age of 15 (but) I never declared I was a yogi,” he laughed.
Doing it quietly and behind closed doors, so as not “to scandalize the young and the old that I’m into New Age," Reyes said he discovered the benefits of the actually “very old” discipline from ancient India.
“Because you’re forced to flex everything from head to toe and the flexing of your muscles is very important to muscle health - the stretch and flex. After running you have to be very gentle to the muscles, ligaments and joints. Yoga is very particular about the health of the whole system - from muscle, ligaments, sinews, bones and cartilage. If I am not running, I’m into yoga everyday,” said Fr. Robert.
When he was assigned in Hong Kong, Reyes said he became a devoted practitioner of hatha and bikram yoga, and even became an accredited instructor.
“In March 2011 I did another yoga class for one month, a 200-hour accreditation course under Yoga Works - an American yoga instructress came to the Philippines to teach yoga classes," he explained.
And if you have experienced what he has on the Philippines’ roads, you’ll find yoga and its efforts at attaining permanent peace a necessity for survival.
Running: More Fun in the Philippines?
“It is very dangerous to run in the Philippines. It is not fun at all. I’m one of the few Filipinos who had run in all kinds of roads,” the Running Priest said.
“Let me tell you some routes that I have run (in Metro Manila): UP to Malacanang - I did this several times in many protest runs and is around 15 to 16 km. The stretch along Commonwealth Road from the university campus to the Quezon Memorial Circle is actually quite nice but everything changes when you reach Quezon Avenue. I know first-hand the pollution and traffic there; Ayala Avenue to EDSA Shrine is not so bad; UP Diliman to Antipolo City and Monumento to Crame."
“As I mention these routes, none of them appeal to me. They all seem to be unpalatable!” remarked the activist-priest.
“I prefer running in the most remote areas. Try running in Metro Manila’s roads - you might end up stepping in an open sewer or step on a “yucky” part.
Reyes, who has run all across the archipelago, said the provinces afford some of the most scenic views.
“The Visayas in particular, there’s the Bohol coast, they still have mangroves, the sound of the waves early in the morning is truly beautiful - there is a lot of that in the Visayas,” he recalled.
One of his most memorable runs was a run for peace and unity from Cotabato City to Cagayan de Oro, which proved to be ironic since the military had to provide him with an armed escort - an ambulance carrying five soldiers.
“A week before that run several Chinese businessmen were kidnapped in Cotabato City and I look Chinese. One of the soldiers said to me, ‘Father, we will try our best to secure you but are you rich?’” Fr. Robert remembered.
“Maybe Cardinal Sin would have paid for my ransom?” he asked in jest.
Running as Therapy
After each long-distance run, the media quickly captures the moment Fr. Robert finishes and says a prayer. What is rarely seen are the moments between destinations.
“It’s more the idea of the solitude of a runner. When you’re running you are alone with God. The run gives you an opportunity to really think of Jesus in a very personal way because nobody is talking to you.”
“First, I have conversations with myself. And with people I don’t like. Issues would surface - running is psycho-therapy. I’m supposed to be celibate and the funny thing they tell me that’s how you deal with your libido - running eliminates it - therefore you don’t struggle with your vow of celibacy. On the contrary the libido is higher. If you’re a runner the libido is very healthy!”
As part of his fuel for the long runs, Reyes says he uses a lot of the “interesting, wonderful and crazy people on the road.”
“I mull over the encounter. It encourages me, it makes me laugh. At a point when I’m really exhausted, I recall a funny memory and you forget the memory for 10 minutes. And also because we’re Christian, when I’m about to give up I meditate on the Passion of our Lord," he shares.
Fueling the Running Fire
Father Robert advises that “the running focuses everything - whether my thoughts (which are mental energies), my feelings (emotional energies), my sexual energies - if they are properly channeled they help you get through the run.”
While running, he considers “prayer” as energy.
“During a run I get distracted by a lot of thoughts, feelings and needs. Then I will always defer to something deeper. You’re looking for that quiet space with the Lord and that really helps a lot. If you’re not distracted, you’re focused and you’re not thinking of a problem or an issue, somebody you like or don’t like but if you’re focused, at peace and filled with the Spirit of the Lord you really reach a point of praying while you run. Then running becomes a prayer. Without thoughts, without words but God is really very present.”
Preparation.
Time. Distance. Speed.
“You have to increase your time everyday. You have to increase your distance and you have to vary your speed - not so much increase,” said Fr. Robert.
“You learn how to run faster in the morning and then slightly slower when the sun comes out and slow when the sun is really beating on your skin. And you have to be very patient with yourself. You have to be able to shift gears when necessary, if you don’t you either injure yourself or exhaust yourself too soon. You have to pace yourself, listen to your body all the time.”
The Running Priest said an ultrarunner requires at least a year’s preparation since the risks are pretty high.
“Number one, it’s not healthy if you’re not prepared, you might die and number two, it’s not healthy if you’re obsessed by it.”
The priest explains that “running should be a passion, not an obsession. They are two different things. In obsession you’ll drop everything, even relationships, to the point of being mentally, emotionally and spiritually unhealthy. A passionate person has not lost his head. An obsessive person wants too much. But runners are obsessive people. I obsess over my personal goals but not to compete with others.”
A Good Pair Can take You Anywhere
The Running Priest goes to about three pairs of running shoes a year and has tried popular brands Saucony, Nike and adidas.
“Of the three, adidas was good for me because it has good heel support - I am flat-footed so I need a good pair of shoes that is sturdy to carry my imperfection. Some runners have arches, they prefer light shoes that are fast shoes that are for competition. I look for sturdy shoes which tend to be heavier so adidas has a line-up for people on the heavy side."
He considers comfort as very important since ultrarunning is very painful. The most comfortable part of your body should be your feet. Your feet need protection so it will suffer a minimum of injury.
Just Do It
For those interested in taking up running, the priest quoted the infamous Nike slogan and urged runners to “just do it."
“If you keep on thinking and thinking about running you’ll never do it. Runners do not think. There’s a time in the day that you wake up, prepare yourself, put on your runners and shorts then you hit the road.”
“If you think about it then you won’t do it. Priests think a lot - I’m a rare breed - I think and I run. Once you get into the groove of running, you learn to do things without thinking, to think without doing," he said.
He explains that running is not difficult.
“You just have to start it. We’re all runners - God created us to use our feet.”
Spoken like a true believer.
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