You might have already met Thysz, especially if you’re into running and cycling. Or maybe your algorithm showed you the viral video of her crossing The Bull Runner Marathon finish line in style last February. Currently a pacer at EZRC and TGRC, what else can we learn from Thysz Estrada as a trans Pinay in sports?
She recently graduated from the 2024 TBR University and is now training for her second TBR marathon happening in February 2025. I first met Thysz through cycling and I love that I bump into her during runs now. What got her into sports?
Alternative Mobility
At the height of the pandemic, Thysz lived by herself while her younger brother stayed at a dorm in UP Diliman. In our country, the pandemic lockdown felt like it lasted forever, and many people lived far away from family and friends. Mobility and moving were hard. Doing groceries was a challenge since Thysz was used to doing errands within walking distance in BGC. Like most people in the working force during that time, “The only alternative mobility I knew was riding a bike, but I never biked as an adult.” So, the thought of cycling was initially intimidating for her. Luckily, a friend gave Thysz a simple bike to use and learn with. She giddily recalled, “When I tried to bike for the first time, ang saya ko. Feeling ko long ride na ‘yung BGC to Guadalupe bridge! It felt liberating.” Thysz also felt proud that she could travel on her own with that bike. She added, “It was an incredible feeling of freedom the first time, and then I kept doing it again and again.”
What helped her gain confidence was immediately finding a cycling community. That community encouraged each other to pursue riding bikes as a daily commute and as a way to have fun and bond. As time passed, Thysz, from being a casual cyclist, soon wanted to be an athlete. She trained for an Audax 200 in 2022 (Audax is “a non-competitive time-limited long-distance cycling event. Riders are not to compete against their fellow cyclists but to compete only against their own personal best”) and finished it successfully. She quipped, “I wanted to be proud of having an athlete’s mindset. I wanted to be an endurance cyclist. First trans Filipina na nakatapos Audax sa Pilipinas.” She was shocked that there was no one else from the trans community who joined. She hopes that “sana marami ang sumunod” and use cycling as an advocacy tool like she has.
Didn’t We All Used to Hate Running?
Soon after finishing her first Audax, Thysz got into a riding accident and decided to rest from cycling. It made her restless, “Pumasok ang 2023 sobrang bored ko kasi wala akong activity.” Her other brother, who was already into running, encouraged her to run for cross-training. But Thysz admitted, “I used to hate running! The last time I ran was 2007 or 2008 sa UP haha. Ayaw ko talaga nung una.”
Thysz remarked that even though her brother gave her money to buy the best pair of shoes, the love for running did not instantly kick in. It was only something she would remember to do if she was bored or had nothing else to do. Then she eventually had a light bulb moment. She realized that she could get a sweat in such a short amount of time, “Natuwa ako sa mabilis na pawis ng short runs. 30 minutes in and pawis na ako. Ang saya.”
The Importance of Community
When she started, she was not aware of the existence of running clubs. It was in June 2023 when Thysz discovered EZ Running Club based in Pasig City (EZRC). But she shyly admitted that for four weekends, she was not attending the community runs even though they kept inviting her. She isn’t sure now what prompted her to finally attend, but she just decided to finally go. She enjoyed it so much, “kahit na sobrang bagal ko,” she recalled. And added that “the body mechanics of a 5km run is so different from a long-distance ride. But my competitive side said this can’t be meeeee kailangan kong bumilis!” She challenged herself.
She was so happy to have found a running club. She shared her enjoyment, “Ang saya ng may kasama, you encourage each other.” She continued to do community runs with EZRC during weekends, and to improve her endurance, she did weekday runs on her own. Right now, she knows that she is so into it. At the height of this self-discovery, applications for The Bull Runner Dream Marathon in 2024 started. Thysz decided to sign up after just one month of running. Who knew that among the thousands of applications, she got in? But she thought, “there’s no better way to be serious about running than to be training for a marathon. So that was my turning point.”
Running for Advocacy and Representation
Since Thysz started training for TBR Dream, she fell in love with running. She found out there were very few trans joiners – less than 1% – and instantly thought, “Dapat kong maipakita na loud and proud trans pinay ako. Kung kaya ko kaya mo rin!” It became her goal to have more trans women join because running TBR really changed her life. “It changed my mindset and health!” and she wants this for others in the trans community.
Thysz declared that training for and finishing that marathon was one of the hardest things she’s ever done. However, she recognized how the support system of TBR and the whole running community was amazing from Day 1 up to the finish line. Everything was structured around supporting each other. She made sure she had the pride flag with her as she crossed the finish line. She shared that “I wanted people to see me at the finish line proud, hoping dumami ang sumali na trans. I chose to be iconic sa aking finish. My feet and legs were aching from the long hours of running. But when I reached the last 500 meters before the finish line and I saw my friends handing me the pride flag na buhayan ako. One final energy push!” As Thysz knew, she wanted a strong finish to show the LGBTQIA+ community that “we can do this. We can do anything when we put our minds to something.”
She realized she was running for everyone watching her with that flag and said, “I think I got my message across in that sense. It was during this marathon journey when I realized wala akong hindi kayang gawin. If I did that, there’s absolutely nothing I can’t do. I could be courageous and train for something and do it.” It rewired her brain. For the 2025 TBR Dream Marathon, Thysz was able to influence four trans friends to join.
Giving Back
After TBR Dream in 2025, Thysz wants to be a dream chaser and focus on the trans community. Her main goal is to get more trans people into running or sports. We are always inspired by people in sports, and queer people have a hard time joining sports because of discrimination, stigma, or bullying. Thysz joked, “Kung ayaw mag basketball, bakla ka na. Maraming queer na hindi nakaka-experience ng physical activity because of the stigma.” Although she knows that eventually many from the LGBTQIA+ community get into fitness, like joining gyms or other sports, this has happened in their adult lives, giving them a chance to do the sports they were not able to do while growing up.
Sports is one of the last frontiers we need to break in the gender barrier as Thysz recognizes how gendered sports is in general. Because of this, she actively seeks out LGBTQIA+ in sports. Her greatest goal is to eventually organize MOVE WITH PRIDE PHILIPPINES – a national network of queer athletes and allies to promote sports and create active communities that are respectful of diversity and inclusion. Thysz emphasizes, “We need to inspire each other that we exist and to exist in this hetero-gendered world is already inspiring enough.”
The Challenge to Find Safe Spaces
When asked about her biggest challenges as a trans Pinay in sports, Thysz did not hesitate to say, “Finding spaces where you feel safe.” She is careful with the communities she builds or hangs out with, ensuring that whatever inclusion she is feeling within these communities, that inclusion is extended to others like her. In her words, “Paano ito gawin nang mas marami para sa iba? How can I ensure all queer people feel safe in sports?”
Part of the challenge is creating allies out of people who are just passive in terms of tolerance for LGBTQIA+. Thysz wants to create real allies in finding safe spaces for queers. “How do I teach others that I am not the only trans they will meet?” She is aware that as a sociable person, she is able to navigate in a world where she is considered different. But her worry is other queer people who are not as extroverted as her. She reminds her communities that we should not respect her only because she is our friend. She urges us to also extend the respect to her other queer brothers and sisters. “I don’t want to be the exception. I want my experience to be as common for everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community.” Inclusion is not just inviting people to the party but also means asking them to dance.
The Lessons You Learn in Endurance Sports
What has running taught Thysz? First, she emphasizes the value of patience and grit. Patience means knowing that progressive training is what gives you results. Nothing is ever achieved quickly in endurance training; it truly is a progression. Thysz said that at first, she put so much pressure on herself to be persistent and consistent. However, it was more important for her to be patient with herself, with the results she was witnessing compared to what she wanted to see. We need to have patience for the training itself, which eventually compounds into the results that you want.
Along with this patience comes grit. Thysz shared that she used to think there were harder things she had done before, but training for and finishing a marathon was a different beast she mastered. To her, a strong person is a mother. And “the only way a mother goes through that is through sheer grit. Hinanap sa loob na loob yung strength – just one more step, one more push until you finish,” in her words.
Thysz believes that there is nothing that she cannot do now. She feels limitless and added, “I can learn anything and achieve something. Di na ako natatakot, I am fearless in what I want to do. I know that if I am patient and I have grit, then I can do it.” She became aware of the many self-limiting beliefs she had before she ran her first marathon, but she broke through them when she finally achieved what she set out to do. She wishes for more people to feel the same empowerment.
A Message to Those Who Want to Start
We all know that it is not a requirement to join a group or a community. You can definitely run by yourself. And it is only through ourselves that we find the liberation and freedom that exercise gives us. But for Thysz, she hopes that her queer brothers and sisters find the courage to join communities for more visibility and inclusivity; visibility to somebody like them looking for the sign to join running too.
I learned something beautiful from Thysz in this interaction and I cannot express it any better: “It’s Pride Month, right? The opposite of pride is shame. Shame is what we’re trying to eliminate. We lived our lives with so much shame. Shame for how we act, how we think, how we dress, and how we love. PRIDE is the absence of shame of self, so that we can live our lives without barriers and walang feelings of second class. We all deserve a world na equal tayong lahat. Eliminate the shame, be proud, join the calls for equality. Because that’s the only way we can make our voices louder.”
To the non-queer community, Thysz’s message is to push for the SOGIE Equality Bill. She hopes that LGBTQIA+ allies – friends and families – realize our responsibility towards creating safer spaces and an equitable world. She added, “I hope you know what your role is in the fight for equality. Manguna man ang boses ng LGBTQAI+ advocating for equal rights, the support will still have to come from allies.”
