By Peter Solis Nery, Palanca Hall of Famer
SS JAMES Maguillo, now 28, lost his aircraft maintenance job at the Iloilo International Airport in 2020 because of the pandemic. That same year, his father started a strict regimen of dialysis three times a week. Being the youngest child, unmarried, and living with the parents, he became the official caregiver by default.
“The caregiver routine can be exhausting and depressing,” confesses S-Boy, as he is known in the community. “I run to relax and clear my mind,” he explains.
And running, for him, usually means the 11.8-kilometer coastal road loop from plaza to plaza in Dumangas.
Generally fat as a child, he was advised diet modification in 2014. It didn’t really work for him, so he started running to lose weight in 2015.
In 2017, he finished his first 10K Milo run; in 2018, he ran his first 21K, the Milo Half-marathon.
Today, S-Boy is a fitness inspiration in Dumangas for his consistency and runner’s discipline. And perhaps for the visible body transformation — from 205 lbs at one point to 140 lbs these days.
I joined him for a morning run, and my 54 year-old self may have slowed him down (pace 7; 1 hour 24 min total running time), but we killed it!/PN
