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Thousands of student-athletes from 20 athletic associations across the Philippines gathered during the 65th Palarong Pambansa held in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte from May 24 to 31, 2025. Each of the participants may have absolutely shone in their own ways, yet there were several who indeed captured the attention of the public—one of them was sprinter Trixia Anne Arellano of the Western Visayas team.
Earning the moniker “Super Tikya,” she amazingly won gold after finishing the 200-meter dash event within 26.40 seconds, shattering the 26.7 seconds record listed by National Capital Region (NCR) bet Maureen Schrijvers in 2008. As if her historic and record-breaking victory wasn’t enough to amaze everyone—not to mention that she snagged it exactly on her birthday on May 28—what astounded us further was finding out that she actually did it barefoot!
It might be easy for us to assume that their team administrators had failed to secure donations or sponsorships for the promising young Ilongga athlete to have a pair of shoes that she would need for the competition, but there’s actually an inspiring story behind it. And we’re able to see it in the latest episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” tagged as “The Barefoot Runner,” in which Tikya was impressively portrayed by promising Star Magic artist Andi Abaya.
Being a runner is actually a dream that Tikya shares with her grandmother Teresita (Daisy Cariño) and her mother Divina (Ryza Cenon), who both weren’t able to pursue it due to different reasons. Despite her young age and small frame, she has been the dependable companion of her father, Hernan (Ketchup Eusebio), in delivering and selling the charcoal they make. Since their family lives in a secluded barrio wherein they had to tread on uneven and rocky terrains and cross a river, Tikya has been used to walking and running barefoot.
Inspired by her ultimate idol, Filipina weightlifter and Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz, and backed by her supportive family, Tikya joined their school’s tryouts for the sprint team and successfully passed. Among the 12 girls and boys that were picked to undergo training, she was the one chosen by their Coach Jetlee (Meryll Soriano) to represent their school for the 1st Municipal Sports Fest.
Due to the lack of proper track oval at their school, Tikya and the other track-and-field student athletes had to train in another school, which meant that they had to stay in one housing together and that Tikya wouldn’t be able to help with their livelihood and household chores for a while. Her parents agreed since it was the opportunity that their family had been waiting for her.
Since there was no pair of shoes that fitted her well because of her wide feet, Tikya was firm to race barefoot. This caught the attention of the coach of another team, who requested for her disqualification during the Municipal Meet in November 2024, but Coach Jetlee and a member of the sports committee argued that Tikya didn’t break any rule, so she was definitely allowed to run despite not wearing shoes. In the end, she won three medals and a P500 cash incentive from her school for finishing the race in first place.
Just two months later, Tikya competed at the Iloilo 5th Congressional District Sports Association (CDSA) Meet in January 2025, where she insisted on competing despite being sick. Coach Jetlee advised that they just forfeit the next game after she fainted in her first event, but Tikya was really determined to push through, especially when her family came at the venue to personally show their support to her. Unfortunately, not being in completely good condition had affected her speed and stamina, as she only finished 2nd place.
That defeat, of course, disheartened Tikya and lost her hope in making it to the Nationals, until Coach Jetlee called her mother to relay the good news that she still got into the Regionals. Since she was the only one from their school who advanced to the next level, Tikya had to train alongside a different set of teammates and under the supervision of another coach. Even though Coach Leone (Bubbles Paraiso) was strict, Tikya admired her being kind and fair, from whom she was able to learn a lot.
As Tikya struggled with their training for she had to live far away from her family and to get along with new teammates, little did she know that her family were, too. It was after the engine of her Papa’s boat was stolen. Upon learning of her family’s predicament, Tikya told her parents to not send money to her anymore since her food and accommodation were free, yet they still insisted that they would find ways to continue supporting her financially.
She may once again clinched silver during the Iloilo School Sports Council Meet in February 2025 but that didn’t hinder her qualification to the Regionals. That once again discouraged her, but Coach Jetlee reminded her that getting the gold would only be impossible if she chooses to listen to naysayers and give up on her aspirations. Besides, she further encouraged her to give it a shot and to prove pessimists wrong by grabbing the gold medal at the Regionals so she can proceed to the Palarong Pambansa, which would be held in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
Motivated by the possible fulfillment of her goal to board a ship going to Luzon Island, Tikya really did her best to take home three gold medals during the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA), or the Regionals, held in March 2025—and succeeded!
Since they would compete for the Nationals, in which more people from different parts of the country would watch, Coach Leone asked Tikya anew to finally wear shoes to also give her feet maximum grip and propulsion. However, it seemed that wearing the shoes during their training was still not enough for Tikya to get used to them as she stumbled during the first round of the event.
Thus, Tikya tearfully pleaded with Coach Jetlee via phone call to tell them not to force her to wear shoes again and a light argument sparked between the two coaches, wherein Coach Jetlee asked Coach Leone to allow their charge to compete barefoot. Coach Jetlee was able to convince Coach Leone, and Tikya successfully finished the competition as the grand champion. Aside from the three gold medals and cash prize that she bagged from the Nationals, Tikya also received an additional P30,000 cash from an anonymous donor, who got inspired upon seeing her compete barefoot.
Tikya tried to hand a portion of her earnings to her parents but they initially refused since they wanted her to keep it to herself for her future and other possible expenses. However, it was eventually revealed by the end of the episode that some of her money was used to buy a new engine for Hernan’s motor banca, while a part of it would be spent for her new shoes. Tikya seemed to express interest as well to follow in the footsteps of Hidilyn and become a weightlifting champion as well.
Her Palarong Pambasa triumph has made Tikya feel that she didn’t just achieve her dream but of the women in their family, too, who were fast runners and have always been chasing victory just like her.
Takeaways and feedbacks
With how it magnificently captured the real life story of promising young sprinter Trixia “Tikya” Arellano, it’s no surprise that the “The Barefoot Runner” episode of “MMK” indeed received positive feedback from netizens who got to watch it.
Aside from the well-written narrative and script, as well as the seamless and masterful execution, to which the “MMK” production team, especially seasoned writer Chie Floresca and prolific director Kevin Z. Alambra can be credited, its ensemble cast also contributed in giving justice to Tikya’s story.
First and foremost, promising actress Andi Andaya absolutely did a great portrayal of the letter sender despite the huge difference in their ages and their backgrounds. Andi was seemingly able to persuade many viewers that she’s only 11 years old, just like Tikya. Apart from being able to display how young girls move and speak, she was also able to convey the emotions required by her role, making her performance truly compelling and "MMK debut remarkable.
Of course, Andi wouldn’t be able to deliver an impressive performance without the guidance and support of her seasoned and talented castmates Ketchup Eusebio, Ryza Cenon, Meryll Soriano, Bubbles Paraiso, and Daisy Cariño, who all astounded us with their portrayals of their respective characters. Child star and newcomer Janiel Bucud was also too adorable to be missed or overlooked as he played Tikya’s younger brother Hench.
Besides, the production was also able to represent well the simple and happy life of Tikya with her family and community in the province through the locations, sceneries, and details that they had used in every scene.
With regard to our takeaways from this episode, Tikya’s story attests to the power of believing in our dreams and obtaining the all-support of our loved ones, as these could help us achieve our goals and aspirations in life despite the challenges and obstacles that would come our way. Through this episode, we are reminded that nothing is indeed impossible as long as we have strong faith in God and ourselves, profound fighting spirit, and genuine support from the people around us.
Below are some of the rave tweets posted by Kapamilya netizens on X (formerly Twitter) regarding MMK “The Barefoot Runner” also tagged as MMK “Medal.”
Rooting for the success of both Tikya and Andi! Whose inspiring story we’re going to see in the next episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya? Well, let’s all find out by not missing the upcoming episodes!