How motherhood became fuel,
not an obstacle, for this year's top finishers
The women's 21K podium at this
year's EastWest Dream Run Manila leg told a story that had less to do with race
times and more to do with what it took to get there. All three women who
finished on top were mothers, and each one's path to the podium ran straight
through the demands of raising a family — not around them.
Marickz Camacho — Running While Raising a Five-Year-Old
This year's women's 21K
champion, Marickz Camacho, didn't grow up chasing a running career. She picked
up the sport at 26, mostly because her husband thought it might help her get
healthier. What started as a fitness habit gradually became something she trained
seriously for, and the podium finishes followed years later.
At 38, she's still competing at
the top level of the sport — and she's doing it while breastfeeding her
five-year-old son, which says something about how little separation there needs
to be between being an elite athlete and being a present mother.
“Ang aking anak ang biyaya sa
akin, ang aking inspirasyon sa pagtakbo,” she said — her son isn't a
complication to her running, he's the reason for it.
Jocelyn Elijeran — From Recreational Runner to 50K Finisher in a Year
Second place went to
48-year-old Jocelyn Elijeran, whose jump into the sport moved fast by anyone's
standard — she started running in 2013 and was finishing 50-kilometer marathons
within a year of that first run.
Credit for that goes partly to
her husband Nelson, a former Palarong Pambansa runner who once competed for
Cotabato. What began as a shared push toward better health has since turned
into something the whole family does — their daughter is now studying Sports
Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman and running competitively
on the Women's Track and Field Team under Coach Rio de la Cruz.
Ask Elijeran what she's
actually chasing, though, and the answer isn't another medal.
“Maging healthy kaming family
para mahaba-haba pa kaming magsama-sama. 'Yun ang pinaka-dream ko. Makaabot
sana ng 100!” she said.
Nikka Panlaqui — Setting the Pace for the Next Generation
Rounding out the podium was
37-year-old Nikka Panlaqui, a full-time mom whose motivation to keep running
now has less to do with her own goals and more to do with what her son sees.
Watching her stay active nudged him into swimming on his own — a small but
pointed reminder that kids tend to pick up habits, not just advice.
Panlaqui's hope is that other
mothers watching her story take something similar from it: that making time for
your own health isn't selfish, even when parenting already eats up most of the
day.
What the Podium Actually Represented
Camacho, Elijeran, and Panlaqui
got to the podium through very different routes, but the throughline is the
same: none of them treated motherhood as something to work around. If anything,
it gave their running more purpose, not less. Each is chasing her own
milestones while quietly making the case, just by showing up, that women don't
have to shelve their goals once they become mothers.
The EastWest Dream Run 2026 continues through the rest of
the year, with stops in Clark on August 30, Iloilo on September 20, and Cagayan
de Oro on October 18. Registration is open at eastwestbanker.com/dream-run-2026.
About East West Banking Corporation
East West Banking Corporation (EW) is one of the
Philippines' leading consumer banks, offering a full range of retail and
commercial banking products and services. Listed on the Philippine Stock
Exchange, EastWest is a member of the Filinvest Group, one of the country's
most diversified conglomerates. The Bank is committed to making banking
simpler, more accessible, and more meaningful for Filipinos. It is not
affiliated with any foreign financial institution which may bear the same name.
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