McDonald’s Stripes Run: Run For Reading

Stacey Marie Baladya

It was on the 3rd of December (wow I sound like I’m trying to talk about a fairytale, but no, lol), that I participated (not run, but documented haha) in my first ever fun run!!!

The run was organized by non other than my go-to comfort food joint, McDonalds! I had to wake up real early to get to the city for the McDo Stripes Run, good thing they served breakfast and Ronald McDonald was there!

Not only were the participants running to improve health conditions or to continue a healthy lifestyle, they were running to take part in McDonald’s advocacy to improve literacy skills of Filipino students at the beginning of their stage of learning.

This is made possible through the Ronald McDonald Read To Learn program wherein public school teachers are trained on how to mentor students who have just recently learned to read.

I was supposed to run a 1k marathon with little kids and their parents but I thought that it would be better if I become a spectator instead of an actual participant, because aside from this fun run being my first one, it was the first of its kind (that I know of) to have a concept where you could run together with your little kids, upholding the spirit of family bonding.

From start to finish, you get to enjoy the rush with your little ones.

Aside from their cutie red and white striped socks and singlets, what made the fun run worthwhile to watch in the sidelines was of how families come together for moments like these.

So, thank you mommies and daddies, for not only giving your kids the chance to have fun under the early morning sun (it rhymed, yay poet me) and with the freebies McDo had to offer, but also for joining in the fun with them, no matter how childish or silly you look or feel.

Kids will remember the moments and whoever is present in those moments.

This Christmas, feel free to be as silly and as loud as you want to be with the ones you love most. Especially with kids, ’cause they make Christmas a thousand times better all because they see the goodness in everything and worry about nothing.

Though parents did struggle during the fun run to keep up with hysterically running kids, the little ones, on the other hand, remain carefree and just plain happy-go-lucky.

Here’s to cultivating Filipino children through Run For Reading, and developing your own kiddos through love, food, and bonding.