Feature: Team Six30, 5 Years After

Looking back, Takbo.ph Forums, has been the start of many runners’ meet up that eventually turned into regular running buddies. Team Team Six30 is one of them.

Read to know more how they started, how they kept the love for running and friendships going.

It was a rainy early morning. The son of the first woman president of the Philippines is about to take an oath to be the President of the country in Quezon City Memorial Circle. After clamoring for a group in Quezon City discussed in takbo.ph forum, five (5) runners composed of Jeremi Gutierrez, Bong Alindada, Matthew Velmonte, Allan Enriquez and Luigi Munsayac met at University of the Philippines Diliman Quezon City to form six:30 running group. The group met every Saturday at 6:30am to train for races and soon, more runners joined the group. Six:30 stood out as runners who are in purple singlets or shirts every race. The mission of the group is to create a community of runners based in Quezon City, to promote running as a sport and leisure activity, to encourage more people to become running enthusiasts and to create leaders to inspire and teach running to others. Six:30 or Barneys as the running community fondly called them, became pacers, support group, ultramarathoners and even multisport athletes.

Since its inception, six:30/Barneys has encouraged its runners to join the different races whether in the metro or out of town/international races for their personal growth as a runner and athlete. Some of the Barneys have accepted offers from different teams to develop their skills other than running (e.g., swimming, biking). The main objective of six:30 is to develop its members to be better than what they have becomme.

The team has matured and soon after members found their niche and specialized in the sports they pursued. 5 years after, there have been a lot of changes. Like the running community, six:30 rebranded as Team Six30 and offered free running clinics still in UP Diliman and even in BGC. The runners are no longer just racing but soon became part of the organizers of the races. Others have established themselves as endurance runners whether on the road or trails, Ultramarathon or multisport events. So if you happen to see a runner wearing the purple singlet, say hi and for sure you will enjoy your running experience.

Thank you Allan Ray Enriquez of RunningFreeManila.com for sharing this article.

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