Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

LOS ANGELES – THE text message read, "We are in Great Bend, Kansas, staying on highway 50 and 56."

She followed it with a phone call to this reporter.

"We’ve made it to Kansas," exclaimed Filipina marathoner Joy Rojas to the Asian Journal last Thursday July 9. "It’s totally different running here than it was in Colorado. Kansas is flat and hot with lots of corn and wheat fields, lots of sun."

She says the Midwest sun gets as hot as Manila in the summer.

The 44-year-old Rojas is less than halfway from her goal of running across the United States of America.

Waking up at 6am everyday, Rojas has been running 30 to 35 miles a day since she began her Trans-USA run called Takbong Pangarap or Dream Run at the Eagle Rock Plaza in Los Angeles, California on May 10. She made a quick stop over in Las Vegas, Nevada where she was celebrated during Western Union Customer Appreciation Day on May 23 and another stopover at the Western Union headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Western Union is one of the sponsors of her Trans-USA run.

She says that she’s on her way to reaching her goal of arriving at the Philippine Consulate in New York City on September 8.

So far, Rojas and her trainer, Mat Macabe, have run for more than 40 days now, crossed five states, jogged over 1,000 miles, and touched the lives of many people who see the two running on highways and streets across America.

While passing through Arizona, a couple saw Rojas and Macabe running. When they found out the reason for Rojas’ run, they immediately invited the Filipina and her partner to their home for dinner. The same thing happened in Colorado. Rojas recalls how before reaching Denver, a Filipino man read the words "Can we ignite the Filipino spirit across America?" on the Western Union support vehicle. He then immediately introduced himself to Rojas and Macabe. After the day’s run, the Filipino man came over to their hotel where he cooked them dinner consisting of elk and deer that the man had hunted.

"Can you believe that? All of these strangers that we meet everyday have been so kind and generous to us," said Rojas. "I’m a vegetarian but when he asked if I was eating elk and deer I said ‘for you, I will.’ You have to be a gracious guest."

Another time in Colorado, Rojas met a group of cyclists on the road like her but they were biking across the US from San Francisco to New Hampshire.

Rojas and the cyclists took pictures and wished each other well.

The experience has been so far so good, says Rojas.

Rojas also admits that the run sometimes is a bit unforgiving. In Colorado, she had to withstand the high altitude and steep roads that at times, required her to stop and walk but she continues to persevere.

Despite being tired at times after a long day’s run, she says that by the time she wakes up the next morning, she feels refreshed and ready to go.

A survivor of tuberculosis, Rojas’s is running for her beneficiaries: a Division of the Philippine Heart Center and the Anti-TB Program of the Inner Wheel Club of Quezon City, District 378

Rojas said that after Colorado, her run should be smooth as the flat plains of Kansas.

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published on July 11, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A5 )