In Honor of the late Patrick Concepcion, known to many as the RunningShield, the Concepcion family and Condura Run organizers present:
The RunningShield 16k Global Run: A Virtual Event from March 17-31!
Help us complete 40,075 km Once Around the World for Global Pancreatic Cancer Awareness!
Register and get a chance to win awesome raffle prizes - https://therunningshieldrun.com/
Chanced upon an unpublished writing of Patrick in my email way back in 2015. I believe he meant it for his blog but never got around to posting it. I’m sharing it here today as the final entry to his blog RUNNINGSHIELD, thus capping over 42 years of his running life. These thoughts and words are coming from a man who sought his passion and lived it. This is what he called, LEGACY.
-L.Z.
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When my daughter Patricia recently posted a "running" picture with the caption "if #runningshield can do it, I can do it too #trailrunning", I thought it would be cool if my daughters could pick up the running bug as I did and pass on the torch to them so to speak. It also got me thinking long and hard about my life, my journey thus far and the legacy that I would like to leave behind especially to the two people I love the most. I am not thinking of the financial or material aspect here but more of a personal legacy. How would I like to be remembered? Am I living the life that reflects the legacy I would want to leave behind?
My prayer is that my daughters will remember that I loved and accepted them for who they are, and supported them in all that they can be. I want them to believe that they can accomplish anything they work hard for and never doubt in their ability to do great things not just for themselves but for others. I pray they realize that they and they alone control their own destiny by staying true to their own heart and not let the pressures of those around them squeeze them into their mold. Likewise, they should also never be afraid to make mistakes and more importantly, rise above them.
I pray they have a crazy desire to embrace the moment; to laugh out loud or dance in the rain and never fail to look for the silver lining in life’s darkest clouds. I want them to seek joy for themselves; to discover their passion as I have - be it running or dancing, teaching or writing - and find in it a sense of fulfillment and purpose. In other words, I want them to run their own race, to stay focused and not let others control them or put them down; to never hold back on their dreams and find a way to make it happen.
- RunningShield
[ 17 Mar 1963 - 06 Nov 2022 ]
