Who run the world? Girls. And what better example of that than Pherform Philippines ambassador Theresa Calo, a longtime domestic helper based here in Hong Kong, who will be making her way to the UK this April to compete in the world-famous London Marathon.
This is the first marathon for Calo, who hopes to raise funds (and awareness!) in Hong Kong for Oxfam, the global charity. She’s only been running seriously for 15 months, but she is no stranger to running long distances. The fitness fanatic has joined several trail running events in the past, such as the 63-kilometre HK168 race last November and the 100-kilometre Vibram HK100 in January, where she managed to get a bronze award trophy for a sub-21-hour time… all while working as a domestic helper, her job for the past 15 years.
Calo says she took up running originally to lose weight, but soon got the bug, started to love running and joined organized races.
“As a helper I work long hours,” she says, “but it’s always possible to find time to train if you are serious about getting fit. Where there is a will there is a way.”
It is this tenacity in pursuing her goals that led Calo to be sponsored by Pherform – a Hong Kong gym offering a host of services designed especially for women “united in becoming their best selves”.
“It’s a huge honor to run the London Marathon,” she said, “and I’m lucky to get a space. The London Marathon is one of the most famous races in the world, so it will be a great experience and I want this run to be meaningful by helping a charity raise money. It may sound unrealistic for someone who works as a domestic helper like me but I want to show everyone that we can do more.”
Calo will line up alongside over 30,000 other runners from around the world and some famous celebrities, selected from nearly 400,000 applicants. It’s not known how many runners from the Philippines will join the race, but it’s highly likely she’ll be the only domestic helper from Hong Kong carrying the flag for the Philippines.
As for a prediction on her time, Calo can’t comment. “I have no specific target,” she says. “The main thing is to run, have fun, enjoy the scenery, [take selfies with] celebrities, finish the race, and hopefully raise some money for Oxfam.”
Calo’s team, “Bandilang Pinas” are paying for all the costs for taking part in the race, so every penny raised goes directly to Oxfam.
To support Theresa in her efforts to raise money for Oxfam, please feel free to donate what you can at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TheresaCalo2017
All donations, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated.
Reader Interactions