INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines – What makes running popular among business executives these days?

Outsourcing head honcho Oscar Sanez believes running appeals to the inherent nature of business people – that of being committed to a goal.

Sanez, chief executive of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the umbrella organization for the country’s outsourced services sector, was bitten by the running bug himself.

It was around 1993, he said, back when he was still working for a large conglomerate in Australia. “It was suggested to me by a fitness instructor as a way to balance work and health,” Sanez said.

While in Australia, he was also persuaded to try out outdoor sports like kayaking and surfing but admits to his preference for running because it can fit easily into his schedule.

“Running is an efficient sport for a busy person. In thirty minutes with a pair of shoes, whenever you are, you can do it,” he said in an interview with INQUIRER.net

He runs almost everyday at 6a.m. giving him just enough time to be in the office by 8a.m.

Sanez gladly recommends running as a sport for business executives like him. Not only does it improve health and fitness, it also has positive effects about one’s attitude towards life, he said.

“And especially for business people, it helps increase their commitment the goals they’ve set for themselves in and out of the office,” he said.

Like most runners, he aspired to run a marathon, which he already achieved several years ago. By his own count, he already ran three at least 10 different marathons around the world.

He is now trying to push himself even further by running ultramarathons. He joined last weekend’s 100-kilometer North Face Trail Run, which saw runners traversing lahar-stricken Sacobia River in Clark Field, Pampanga.

“Some of the business executives I know who are into running, after they have done five kilometers they would want to do a 25-kilometer (run) or progress to an even longer distance,” Sanez said.

“Business executives like challenge, and running is definitely fulfilling and provides them that challenge,” he said.