Barefoot marathoner runs for shoeless kids

MANILA, Philippines – Leyte-born Eddie Vega holds the Guinness world records of completing the most barefoot marathons on consecutive days with 10 and the most barefoot marathons in a year with 101 but beyond the sense of accomplishment in achieving the landmark feats, what turns on the 57-year-old Information Technology consultant is he runs for poor, shoeless kids.

Vega, who is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, was recently in the Philippines to distribute 2,000 pairs of slippers to underprivileged children in Iriga City. He has now personally distributed 20,000 pairs of shoes and slippers to kids in over 50 elementary schools and orphanages in Datu Salumay and Davao City in Davao; Palompon, Hilongos and Bato in Leyte; Bulacan, Tagaytay and Iriga City over the last three years.

For his efforts, Vega was recognized by Western Union as one of its heroes in a three-minute, 25th anniversary video filmed in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire last year. Instead of receiving a fee for the commercial, Vega arranged for Western Union to donate 5,000 pairs of shoes to various schools in the Philippines. In 2014, Vega was honored with the Governor’s Humanitarian Award and named Athlete of the Year in Guam where his family migrated when he was six. Vega lived in Guam until he went to New Mexico State to earn a degree in Business Systems Analysis. He moved back to Guam after graduation and worked for the government before relocating to Raleigh nearly 30 years ago.

“As a kid growing up in Leyte, I would chuck my shoes and run around barefoot with other kids who couldn’t afford shoes,” said Vega. “My father was a merchant marine and earned in US dollars so he could afford to buy me shoes. But I chose to play barefoot until I got hookworms and tuberculosis which I picked up from a contagious neighbor who used to spit blood on the ground where I ran barefoot. When we moved to Guam, doctors got rid of my hookworms and treated my tuberculosis. That’s why I’m so passionate about my cause. I decided to run thousands of miles barefoot to honor shoeless kids and create awareness that there are 300 million children world-wide who are shoeless or do not have adequate footwear because they can’t afford it. To compound the problem, countries like the Philippines will not allow children to attend school unless they wear shoes and this contributes to the vicious cycle of poverty. Shoeless kids are at risk of contracting infectious diseases. I can bet that only a small percentage of the four to five million Filipinos living in the US are even aware that at least 16 million school-aged children in the Philippines are dewormed twice a year.”

Vega said before distributing shoes and slippers, he delivers a brief talk about his advocacy. “I’m the voice of shoeless children,” he said. “I want everybody in the world to know that we are faced with a world-wide problem. I want every child to stay healthy so kids can have an opportunity to be successful and live their dreams and maybe, one day, they will shape this world and help make it a better place. I always end my talk with a reminder never to forget where you came from, that no matter how successful you’ve become, no matter where you are in this world, you should always cherish your beginnings.”

Vega has so far completed 247 full marathons of which he ran 154 totally barefoot. He did a full marathon in all 50 US states barefoot in less than a year, starting on Jan. 1 and finishing on Dec. 7 in Tucson, Arizona, in 2014. With shoes, he went through a full marathon in 50 states starting on Nov. 4, 2007 and ending on June 22, 2013 in Alaska. In 2013, he covered the seven continents with six barefoot marathons in Arizona, Chile, Bohol, Sydney, Ethiopia and Athens and a partially barefoot marathon in Antarctica.

In the Philippines, Vega has participated in seven marathons – the I Shall Return 50K Ultra in Tacloban in 2012, the Bohol International Marathon (barefoot) in 2013 and 2014, the Bataan Death March 102K Ultra in 2014 and 160K Ultra in 2015, the Aguinaldo to Bonifacio 50K Ultra in 2015 and the Luneta to Tagaytay 60K Ultra last year.

 Vega’s most recent barefoot marathon was in Dublin last October. “I raised about $500 and $100 was donated by a stranger, one of the Irish spectators along the course,” he said. “Some of my biggest donations have come from strangers including a $900 donation from someone I didn’t know but just happened to like what I was doing. When I run a barefoot marathon, I pass out about 50 to 100 calling cards which provide information about my charity. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t worry about finishing a fast time because I talk to spectators and volunteers along the route telling them about my cause.”

For his New Year’s Resolution, Vega said he’s determined to reduce his weight from 180 to 160 pounds. “I plan to eat less and run more often during the week, combined with cross-training like weightlifting and cycling,” he said. “Since I got married (to Nilda Sergio of Iriga City) in 2014, I’ve been eating more and running less. That’s a bad combination.”