Allianz Conquer Challenge making a difference on two fronts

The Allianz PNB Life Insurance employees running alongside their Aeta counterparts to kick off their wave of the Allianz Conquer Challenge in Clark Global City

Allianz is making headway here in the Philippines into the world of Obstacle Course Racing, with its Allianz Conquer Challenge, of which its third leg took place earlier this month in Clark Global City.

This particular OCR event was a ten-kilometer race, with 25 different obstacles strewn all across its path. Among such obstacles runners have to deal with are spider web, monkey bars, tire wall, and a slip wall. A failure to overcome an obstacle would be forced to a carry around a 30-pound sand bag across a small running loop before completing the race.

It is the same path used by professional participants who are attempting to make the national team pool for a potential call-up for the SEA Games next year, which is the first time obstacle course racing will be part of the biennial competition.

Getting themselves closer for a national call-up are Jeffrey Regino, who topped the male open elite race at just over 50.5 minutes, and Sarah Lim Narvasa, who topped the distaff side with a time of just under 75 minutes.

Joining Regino and Narvasa to comprise the early national pool are Divino Manolito, Nathaniel Sanchez, Rocky Madorable, Gab Rosario, Crystal Umala, Glorien Merisco, Kat Santos, and Ali Zandra Chiongbian.

When asked about the Philippines' chances in OCR, Pilipinas Obstacle Course Race Federation head Al Agra says, "Expectations are high for us to produce because there will be six gold medals in obstacle race in the SEA Games next year That’s why we’re holding qualifying races early because we want to give our national pool members time to train and prepare.

Aside from the main race, the ACC held a special wave for twenty Aetas that were paired with an Allianz PNB Life employee, led by their Chief Operating Officer Alex Grenz. The indigenous participants are students from the Villa Maria Integrated School in Porac, a public school that Allianz PNB Life adopted as part of its CSR activities.

When asked about the experience of taking part in the event, Reyna Baclay was thankful for the opportunity, noting that she enjoyed the experience and took it as a lesson that she can take home. She shared that the obstacles are similar to what they go through in everyday life, noting that they "carry 50 kilos of camote or ube that we bring to the lowlands. If we sell, our families will have money to spend." The 18-year-old Grade 9 student has aspirations of entering the IT industry that she hopes to enter once she graduates. By entering the race, she says that she can dream, too, something her fellow Aetas aspire for as well by joining.

In establishing this collaborative activity with the Aetas, Allianz PNB Life Chief Marketing Officer Gae Martinez shares, "We recognize the strength of the Aetas. So, aside from educating them with the basics of personal finance through our financial literacy program, we would like to impart to them the value of committing to achieve goals that they have to set. We want to give them a fair chance of having employment opportunities in the future."

Martinez adds, "OCR is an up and coming sport. It is gaining popularity in the Philippines. Allianz as a company uses sports to connect with communities. The Aetas from Villa Maria is one of the communities that Allianz here in the Philippines has chosen to support.  This is, in line with our advocacy to promote social inclusion, one of the pillars of our company’s Corporate Citizenship Strategy."

Allianz PNB Life Marketing Director Rei Abrazaldo says, "We at Allianz have always been curious and wanting to be a significant contributor in bridging the protection gap and what better way to exemplify that is by giving the minority group like the Aetas a chance to compete and be a part."

Dovetailing this with their ongoing "Sanlahi" campaign, having indigenous communities engage in social inclusion activities like this allows them to have "the courage to move forward, the courage to overcome life’s obstacles, for them to have better life," which Martinez highlighted and then added, "As our tag line goes - we dare you to, because we’re with you."