FWD sends off runner Louie Sangalang to North Pole Marathon
For someone who has overcome the dreaded Cancer, there’s something
inside of Luisito “Louie” Sangalang wanting to throw caution to the wind and just
do what he wanted, “just as long as it isn’t illegal,” so he said in interview
during the FWD send-off party that was recently held at the Bonifacio
Technology Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Luisito “Louie” Sangalang is set to fly to the northernmost point
on Earth to represent the Philippines in the FWD North Pole Marathon. Made
possible by Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life Insurance, one of the fastest-growing
insurance companies in the Philippines, FWD is sending off the country’s lone
representative to the FWD North Pole Marathon.
The multi-sport athlete and cancer survivor Luisito “Louie”
Sangalang is set to fly to the northernmost point on Earth to represent the
Philippines in the FWD North Pole Marathon the Marathon, which will be held on
April 9. He will join ten (10) other FWD-sponsored runners from Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan in the grueling marathon.
Collectively, the 11 runners are dubbed “FWD Team Asia”.
The FWD North Pole Marathon runners, hailing from all over the
globe, will be running on ice sheet measuring 6 to 12 feet thick which is above
12,000 feet of Arctic Ocean, literally on top of the world. They will be
traversing a 42-kilometer path with an average temperature of negative 30
degrees centigrade, even going as low as negative 40 degrees centigrade at
times. The marathon is unique because it is run on a small 4.22-kilometer
(2.62-mile) loop about 10 times, over hard snow or ice. The FWD North Pole
Marathon is recognized by the Association of International Marathons &
Distance Races (AIMS) and is the only certified marathon that is run entirely
on the frozen water of the Arctic Ocean.
FWD Life
Insurance prepares Louie Sangalang for this once-in-a-lifetime experience
To prepare for the race of a lifetime, Sangalang has joined
various local marathons to keep his body in top physical shape. To enable his
body to adjust to the extreme cold weather, he has continuously trained inside
an industrial freezer with a temperature that mimics that of the negative
30-degree centigrade temperature in the North Pole.
Sangalang says the support given by “The FWD Squad” helped him in
preparing for the FWD North Pole Marathon.
Triathlon coach Ani De Leon-Brown as well as Sangalang’s running coach
Ige Lopez provided the athletic training and guidance. Romi Garduce, the first and only Filipino to
have completed the Seven Summits in 2012, gave valuable advice on how to
survive the extreme cold.
Other members of the Squad include celebrity mom Maricel
Laxa-Pangilinan and son Benjamin, who gave motivational support for Sangalang,
and radio DJ and host Sam YG, who joined Sangalang in his rigorous training
sessions.
From overcoming
life challenges to conquering the world’s summit
According to FWD Life Philippines President and Chief Executive
Peter Grimes, Sangalang’s resilience in overcoming different challenges is one
trait that resonates well in Filipinos and this made him the perfect choice to
represent the Philippines in the marathon.
“Louie's inspiring story of being a cancer survivor and his
passion for fitness, which he uses to inspire Filipinos to live an active
lifestyle, also best represent what FWD stands for: embracing the opportunities
in your life without hesitation,” said Grimes.
Apart from Louie, FWD is also sponsoring runners who have their
own life challenges but are pursuing the FWD North Pole Marathon experience
nonetheless. Representing Singapore and
Hong Kong, respectively, are para-athlete Shariff Abdullah, dubbed as Singapore
Blade Runner, and the visually impaired Leung Siu Wai.
Also, this is the second year that FWD has sponsored the North
Pole Marathon.
FWD Life Philippines Head of Marketing, Roche Vandenberghe shared,
“FWD saw the North Pole Marathon as a unique and important platform to
communicate the idea that everyone should live life to the fullest, stay true
to their passion, and not give up their goals, because FWD will always have
their back!”
The
FWD-sponsored send-off event was attended by FWD executives and team members,
North Pole Marathon campaign collaborators, Louie’s friends and relatives, and
his support squad.
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