For Maricel Laxa Pangilinan, training for triathlons and marathons is a family affair

A seasoned marathoner, triathlete, and FWD North Pole Marathon Squad member Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan loves a good run—bike and swim. She, along with her husband, motivational speaker Anthony Pangilinan, and her five kids Ella, Donny, Hannah, Benjamin, and Solana love to travel around the Philippines and abroad to run in multi-sport races.

Team Pangilinan

Known as Team Pangilinan, Maricel and her family are constant gold medal finishers in family divisions of triathlons. The husband and wife, on the other hand, have both participated in all of the 6 World Marathon Majors: Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, and Tokyo. Their recent medal finish, the Jerusalem Marathon.

This means the entire family trains constantly to prepare for their upcoming races. How do they stay motivated? Maricel says preparations for marathons and triathlons start in the head, the minute you get registered.

“Upon registration, you know it’s for real. You must claim that you’ve been accepted and commit to it,” she says. “You must embrace the challenge, which means you have to allot at least three to times a week of running. And then cross-training in between for about four to six months.”

Sports teaches discipline and hard work

According to Maricel, training for races also means saying no to a lot of things, a lot of people, and a lot of places. But her children understand this because, at a young age, their parents have instilled in them the focused discipline required to sustain and maximize the whole duration of training.

After all, it’s not at all hard to get her kids up and ready and eager to train. “Running, and sports in general, to our family means precious time and memories made together,” she says.