PH warmly welcomes home North Pole Marathon finisher Louie Sangalang and the rest of FWD Team Asia
Being on top
of the world is a great feeling, but if that top of the world, literally,
consists of snow ice and frozen Arctic water, how would you feel. To FWD Life
Philippines representative Louie Sangalang, as well as the rest of the runners
who joined the marathon, the freezing condition of North Pole, is something of
a place they needed to conquer. Can they do it? Is it possible? Each of them
might think this way. But Louie managed and conquered the North Pole.
We, Filipinos have another source of national pride as FWD Life Philippines representative Louie Sangalang conquered the FWD North Pole Marathon, the world’s coolest marathon.
We, Filipinos have another source of national pride as FWD Life Philippines representative Louie Sangalang conquered the FWD North Pole Marathon, the world’s coolest marathon.
Multi-sport
athlete Louie Sangalang, the first Filipino cancer survivor to conquer the FWD
North Pole Marathon, was given a homecoming party by Pan-Asian insurer FWD Life
Insurance after successfully completing the marathon held on April 16, 2018.
Sangalang’s triumph
is an amazing testament to the resilience of the Filipino spirit, having
finished the race in 11 hours and four minutes amid severe weather conditions.
Sixty two participants
from 23 countries took part in the marathon, which marked the second year of
FWD’s title sponsorship and the first region-wide participation of 11
FWD-sponsored runners, dubbed FWD Team Asia.
The entire
trip to the North Pole was approximately two weeks long as participants needed
to acclimatize and train before the race. FWD Team Asia raised over USD32,000
as they completed the race for the organizations they support, including
Special Olympics, the largest sports organization for people with intellectual
disability.
The marathon
participants ran on a 42-kilometer path in a terrain with temperature ranging
from negative 30 to negative 33 degrees centigrade. Adding to the challenge of
the race was the icy path which was in parts soft and powdery and sometimes
solid and slippery. “Around 75% to 80% of the course was in snowy, uneven terrain
which made it difficult to find firm footing. As a result, we had to walk on
some parts of the race course,” Louie said. “We had great weather
with clear skies and minimal wind. However, the extreme cold made
the race very challenging.”
Louie also said that the hardest part of the race was managing the cold and running at nighttime with the midnight sun. However, despite the highly challenging marathon path and the freezing weather, not once did he ever think of giving up during the course of the race. He faced the challenges before him, embraced them as he was determined to live his life to the fullest!
FWD Life
Philippines President and Chief Executive Peter Grimes extended his
congratulations to Louie for completing the run. “We are very proud of
Louie! His healthy lifestyle and background as a multi-sport athlete made him
the perfect choice to represent FWD Life Philippines in the North Pole
Marathon,” said Peter.
“How Louie
overcame all the challenges in his life, including this latest one, truly embodies
what FWD Life Insurance stands for. FWD believes in grabbing the things
you want out of life, to not let anything stand in the way of living your best
life. Louie was determined to finish this marathon despite all odds, and
he did it!” Peter added.
Roche
Vandenberghe, FWD Life Philippines Head of Marketing, said, “The FWD North Pole
marathon was a great and equally unique platform tocelebrate living, which is
what FWD is all about. As the country’s most exciting insurance brand, we
are here to encourage people to overcome their fears and fulfill their
biggest dreams!”
“That may be
as extreme as fulfilling their bucket list by running a marathon on the North
Pole or as simple as planning for their future today with proper insurance
protection. If it helps them live their lives to the fullest, FWD Life
Insurance definitely has got their back!”
0 comments