Noli Torre is completely winning at life right now, successfully defending his first place 5K finish in a fun run just days after graduating magna cum laude.
Yellow gold seems to be the perfect color for the 24-year-old Noli Torre. He seems to be winning a lot with it.
In a single month, he raced towards the gold medal of not just one but two 5K races. He also won first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase of the PATAFA Weekly Relay Series.
At the start of July, he proudly wore the blue and burnt gold of Jose Rizal University, marching as a magna cum laude. A couple of weeks later, he's still wearing blue and gold--this time for National University as he takes his master's degree.
"I really want to inspire other people, like young athletes and students, that you can do more," Torre told One Sports after he received his gold medal in Manila Leg 3 of the Sante Barley Trilogy Run Asia.
@onesportsphl MORE THAN A MEDAL 🥇 Noli Torre reached new heights as he successfully defended his title in the 5-kilometer run at Trilogy Run Asia Leg 3. This athletic achievement comes on the heels of another major milestone—graduating magna cum laude in Banking and Finance from Jose Rizal University. | via Katrina Alba/One Sports #OSOnTheSpot #TrilogyRunAsia ? Let's Go! - FASSounds
On July 7, Torre participated in the Muntinlupa leg of the Metro Manila 10-Miler Series. He finished first in the men's 5K race with a time of 17:04.
He was 40 seconds faster than the second placer.
That was just a couple of days after he was hailed magna cum laude with a banking and finance degree.
A week later, he ran around Pasay and finished even faster with a time of 16:02 in the same distance. That's a full minute and six seconds faster than the second placer.
It's an average pace of 3.20 minutes per kilometer.
That was enough to secure back-to-back first place finishes in Legs 2 and 3 of Trilogy Run Asia.
[ALSO READ: Arlan Arbios, Maricar Camacho pace 12,000-strong field in Trilogy Run Asia Manila Leg 3]
How on earth did he have the time to do both?
"I always tell them na dapat you have self-discipline and self-drive for you to have a direction in life," Torre said.
"You should also have time management to be able to do your stuff on time. Kasi lagi kong pinu-push 'yung sarili ko na dapat ganito lagi, dapat ganyan. Parang nag-set ako ng goal para ma-achieve ko talaga siya."
He makes time for everything.
Torre wakes up every day at 4:45 a.m. to run. He gets back to focus on his studies at around 6 to 7 a.m., before catching a nap by 11.
Then it's time to go to class at 4:30 p.m. all the way until 9 in the evening.
Sometimes he even runs before heading to school.
"May time na pumapasok ako ng five minutes na lang before the class," he recounted. "Kahit five minutes na lang pahinga ko, gina-grab ko pa rin."
There were times he would be awake by 2 a.m. to study for exams.
"Sobrang nakakapagod, pero sobrang worth it 'pag nakita mong may progress ka," he said.
Many have marveled at Noli and where he finds the energy to run competitively while taking his classes seriously. He says it always derives from where he came from.
"'Yung nag-iinspire sakin is 'yung past ko. I came from a poor family," Torre admitted. He's the seventh of 12 siblings, and yet the first to hold a bachelor's degree.
"Siguro 'yung kahirapan lang din sa buhay 'yung nagtulak sa'kin para gawin 'yung best ko araw-araw sa pagiging athete, sa pagiging estudyante."
"And syempre 'yung passion ko sa takbo. Namahal ko 'yung pagtakbo."
It started when he was in Grade 4, when he was chosen to become the school representative for running.
"At that time, wala pa talaga akong background. Dun ako nakitaan ng potential kasi nag-first place agad hanggang sa nagtuloy-tuloy sa Palarong Pambansa."
It was enough for him to get noticed and study from Casiguran, Aurora to Metro Manila to improve as an athlete.
"Grateful din ako, kasi 'yung mga kapatid ko, natulungan ko makapag-aral," Torre shared.
A few days later, he participated in the national track and field organization's weekly relay series for steeplechase.
And he's doing so while enrolled in the National University... studying for a master's degree in business administration.
Yellow seems to suit Noli a lot. And he's not done. He's hoping he could claim gold one of these days in international competitions.
(With reports from Maureen Muarip/One Sports Digital)