Vlad Bunoan

From finding motivation in a single friend to inspiring hundreds of runners, Hannah Pangilinan discusses her fitness journey, Just One Run Club and her Spotify playlist takeover.


Article (news)

Ralph Revelar Sarza

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1784022661112731078980_18603832078007366_1244868975134109750_n.jpg" style="width:650px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="How Hannah Pangilinan turned one friend&#x27;s encouragement into a run club"/>Hannah Pangilinan/Facebook</div>The first thing Hannah Pangilinan told me about running was how she got to the starting line.Before there was Just One Run Club, there was just one friend.&quot;Just One started because I personally got into my marathon journey because of just one friend who encouraged me to get started,&quot; Pangilinan said. &quot;She kind of became my accountability partner and she encouraged me to sign up for my first marathon with her, and we did that together.&quot;That experience changed the way she looked at progress.&quot;I realized that it just took her encouraging me to move forward, and it just took those little moments to get me to a huge finish line that I never thought would be possible,&quot; Pangilinan said.Just One Run Club grew out of that realization. Pangilinan wanted to create the kind of community that first encouraged her to begin.&quot;I just wanted to extend this philosophy to other people — to not despise small beginnings, because they are really the ones that take us to future finish lines,&quot; she said. &quot;Those little, small movements — just one step, just one goal, just one dream, just one friend, just one run that finally felt good. Those little steps are really what get us to the big things in life. Sometimes the big things can be daunting, but if we just focus on what&#x27;s in front of us and what&#x27;s doable now, then we really never know where that can take us.&quot;The same philosophy underpins Pangilinan&#x27;s latest collaboration with Spotify.The streaming platform partnered with Pangilinan and Just One Run Club for the relaunch of<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/health-beauty-fashion/2026/7/1/spotify-s-in-the-zone-playlist-features-athlete-fitness-creator-takeovers-1617"> IN THE ZONE, a fitness playlist featuring takeovers by Filipino athletes and movement leaders</a>. Pangilinan also curated one of the playlist takeovers, sharing the songs that help her find rhythm, focus, and motivation during a run.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1784022499730Hannah Pangilinan x Spotify.png" style="width:650px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="How Hannah Pangilinan turned one friend&#x27;s encouragement into a run club"/>Handout</div>&quot;When I choose a playlist, and when I curate a playlist for a specific purpose, that&#x27;s already me setting the intention for whatever it is that I&#x27;m entering into,&quot; she said. &quot;Playing the IN THE ZONE playlist, with all of the songs in there, I&#x27;m already setting the stage for an immersive run. I&#x27;m already setting the stage for feeling really great because all of these songs are particularly geared toward that direction of feeling good, positive vibes, and just beautiful music arrangements.&quot;Music doesn&#x27;t stop once the run is over.&quot;When I&#x27;m writing, when I&#x27;m dreaming, when I&#x27;m envisioning things, I always envision music in the background,&quot; she said. &quot;This is the type of playlist that I really felt would be the perfect backdrop for the Just One Fun Run.&quot;She shared the playlist with the event&#x27;s DJs as a reference for the energy she wanted people to experience throughout the run.Despite partnering with Spotify, Pangilinan doesn&#x27;t begin every race with music.&quot;For the first half, it&#x27;s silence, and I&#x27;m listening to my breath, I&#x27;m listening to my steps, I&#x27;m listening to my environment, and getting a feel for what my state is for the day,&quot; she said.Only halfway through does she press play.&quot;When I play my music, it&#x27;s kind of like telling my body, &#x27;Okay, now we&#x27;re locking in.&#x27; We know where we are, we know what our baseline is, now let&#x27;s pump it up.&quot;<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1784022582609729754525_18602400070007366_3291108479791882504_n.jpg" style="width:500px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="500" alt="How Hannah Pangilinan turned one friend&#x27;s encouragement into a run club"/>Hannah Pangilinan/Facebook</div>Many of the songs in her IN THE ZONE playlist sit around 180 beats per minute, matching the cadence she aims to maintain.&quot;A lot of these songs have helped me get through my own physical walls because they encourage the kind of thought patterns that I want to have instead of the negative thoughts that I might be ruminating on in my head, like, &#x27;I don&#x27;t want to do this anymore. I want to stop.&#x27;&quot;She pointed to Queen&#x27;s &quot;Don&#x27;t Stop Me Now,&quot; Post Malone&#x27;s &quot;Speedometer,&quot; &quot;Hooked on a Feeling,&quot; and &quot;Walking on Sunshine&quot; as songs that help reinforce those thoughts during difficult stretches.As the community grew, Pangilinan said the people became the most rewarding part.&quot;Whether that&#x27;s in the form of runners participating, friends of mine joining my run club, brands getting involved, or even venue partners getting involved, there are just so many people with similar values and the same sense of wanting to be part of something greater. They want to do something good for themselves alongside other people.&quot;She hopes those relationships continue long after the run is over.&quot;It&#x27;s nice to know that you have company in making decisions that are not always easy but are completely worth it,&quot; she said. &quot;That&#x27;s been super rewarding because it also shows me that I&#x27;m not alone in my journey of wanting to be better, of doing things even though they&#x27;re hard, and of challenging myself.&quot;Spotify&#x27;s IN THE ZONE playlist is now available on the platform, featuring takeovers by Filipino athletes and movement leaders, including Pangilinan.

From finding motivation in a single friend to inspiring hundreds of runners, Hannah Pangilinan discusses her fitness journey, Just One Run Club and her Spotify playlist takeover.

From finding motivation in a single friend to inspiring hundreds of runners, Hannah Pangilinan discusses her fitness journey, Just One Run Club and her Spotify playlist takeover.

How Hannah Pangilinan turned one friend's encouragement into a run club

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How Hannah Pangilinan turned one friend's encouragement into a run club

Ralph Revelar Sarza

Published July 14, 2026 05:56 PM PHT

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Hannah Pangilinan

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