Fitness & Business: Ever Bilena’s Denice Sy on Her Chicago Marathon Experience

The “girl boss” concept is far and gone. What used to be the epitome of success and being authentic about what you want while getting it all “done” is no longer upheld by this generation, for the term somehow drew a negative connotation through the years. 

Being self-made in the traditional sense no longer is the pinnacle of this generation’s measurement of true success. Toxic productivity, suffering for success, and being “bitchy” as a boss are all out, while having a balanced life, having empathy, and pursuing one’s genuine interests outside of work are in. 

Meet Denice Sy, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Filipino legacy beauty brand Ever Bilena Group, founder of skincare brand Hello Glow, and bona fide fitness enthusiast. She is the perfect example of someone who is able to manage a multi-million Peso business while managing her personal affairs—especially her body. We love to see how fitness transformed her life. 

Denice, being no stranger to handling a gazillion work commitments, being on top of a huge cosmetics business, and being a mom, is someone you can go to for work-life balance advice. METRO did just that, and picked her brain about fitness and business, as well as her most recent accomplishment: finishing her first-ever 42.2 kilometer Chicago Marathon. Read on to get fitspired!

Denice Sy: My fitness journey started when my friend Angela Muhlach-Hortaleza paid for my slot to join Hyrox Yokohama in August last year. I had been sedentary for over ten years when she registered me. Hyrox involves a lot of running (eight 1K runs between eight workout stations), so the event was the main reason I started running. I could NOT even run 500 meters without losing my breath when I started. I had to force myself to run 1K at a time just to get the mileage in.

While I was starting to get into running (I wasn’t even sure I’d stick with it), another group of guy friends was training for the 2025 BMW Berlin Marathon around the same time. They enjoyed it so much that they immediately signed up for the Tokyo Marathon in March 2026 and planned to complete all the World Majors to stay motivated in their fitness. I decided to join them for one of their long training runs, a 32K on February 1 this year, with no pressure to finish at a certain pace or time. To prepare for that, I had to start running regularly and join a few half marathons. 

I remember running that first 32K. My legs, thighs and feet were so tired by the end of it, but I didn’t cramp badly, and my heart rate was okay. They told me that once you successfully complete a 32K, you’re ready for a marathon. So we all signed up for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Having friends who share the same goals and signing up for competitions really helps you stick to your fitness goals (especially because we paid so much for this experience!).

Looking back, it’s actually quite crazy that I pushed through with this trip and completed 42K, something old me never would have imagined ever accomplishing in my lifetime, especially this time last year.

Throughout 2026, I doubted a lot whether I could actually finish it. In March, I got injured and was diagnosed with knee synovitis. I took a few weeks off and struggled so much to finish even a 3K. That was also when I realized how much progress I had made, and that I really was doing hard things.

DS: I don’t think there was a moment in particular. It’s more like a gradual shift as I took training more seriously and enjoyed challenging myself to do things I thought I could never do.

DS: Fitness and running a business are similar in a way that you get what you put in. There are also a lot of external factors beyond our control, but we still do our best to prepare regardless.

You’re also not always motivated, but you need the discipline to stay consistent and show up even when you don’t feel like it.

Training made me more patient with progress. In running, you don’t see results in a week. It’s months of showing up before race day. I’ve started looking at work the same way. There are some business objectives that I really want to achieve, but small consistent wins building up to them matter more than just one big push. In managing teams, we also balance pushing hard and resting for optimal performance.

DS: The hardest part was that life doesn’t pause for training. After my knee injury in March, I basically had to rebuild from scratch, and my actual marathon plan only started in mid-June. On top of that, I was balancing business and motherhood, among other things.

On weekdays, I would run either during my lunch break or at night after my son had gone to bed, usually on my walking pad, on the treadmill at home or at the gym. There were days when I really didn’t want to run anymore. I’d literally drag myself to the treadmill and ignore my brain until it agreed that we could finish 30 to 45 minutes of this.

Weekends were for long runs. In the Philippines, there aren’t many accessible running routes, so I would join 16K, 21K and 32K fun runs (rain or shine!) with the friends I ran Chicago with to get my mileage in. That usually meant leaving the house at 11 p.m., midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the gun start.

Some days I’d come back from a work trip, get home, shower, then change into my running gear for my long run. Other times, I’d do my long run, go home, shower, nap, then head to our brand launch events.

And running alone isn’t enough. I had to fit in two to three strength and mobility sessions a week for my lower body, especially my knees, to avoid getting injured again.

In the final weeks before Chicago, I was barely sleeping and feeling very fatigued. My recovery scores on my Garmin stayed low even after I cut my mileage way down.

What kept me going was breaking things down and taking it one step at a time. I didn’t have to run 42K that day. I just had to finish that day’s session. The tune-up races helped too. In September, I ran 30K or more on three straight weekends on almost-no sleep and still finished, and that gave me the confidence that I could do it.

On race day, I kept reminding myself that simply finishing would already be a PR (personal record). I also wanted to enjoy the race so I’d be open to running another marathon.

I was confident I could get through 32K because I’d done that distance at least four times this year, but I was really worried about the final 10K. I wasn’t chasing a specific time, but I was hoping to finish in around 5 hours and 30 minutes, knowing my body might be very tired for the last 10K. I ended up finishing at 5:05:44, officially!

I learned that I don’t need perfect conditions to do hard things. I trained tired, short on sleep and with a full calendar, and most of my runs happened on days I didn’t feel like it. But those were the days that got me to the finish line. Consistency really does beat motivation. Most of all, I learned that I’m capable of much more than I give myself credit for. Early last year, I couldn’t even run 500 meters. Now, I still can’t believe that I’m a marathoner!

DS: Success used to be mostly about work for me. I was motivated by hitting targets, launching new collections and growing the business. Today, I define it more broadly. It’s building something meaningful at work while still being present for my son and keeping the promises I make to myself. The best part is that my son, who’s seven, now runs with me sometimes. His longest distance so far is a 5K run-walk! If I’m doing well in one area but neglecting the others, that doesn’t feel like success anymore.

Running has also become my way of managing stress. It clears my head and helps me function better, at work and at home. It has changed how I lead. I’ve realized I make better decisions when I’m rested, not when I’m running on fumes. I want our team at Ever Bilena to see that you can work hard and still make time for yourself. We actually started a run club exclusively for our company employees just a few months ago, and over 30 team members run together every weekend!

Fitness has also refined how I see beauty and confidence. There’s a different kind of glow that comes from doing hard things and finishing something you trained months for. You naturally look better and feel more confident, too. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from wearing sunscreen every day, or from wearing makeup on my runs! I honestly run more confidently when I know I look good.

Running in makeup has actually become my own personal wear test, too. If a product can survive a 32K run in Manila heat and humidity, it can survive anything. I pay close attention to what stays put and what doesn’t! A few of my favorites for my runs are the EB 24H Brow Liner, Careline Matte Fix Setting Spray and Hello Glow sunscreens. It assures me that we are giving Filipinos beauty products that keep up with their real lives.

Taking care of myself is no longer just about skincare, makeup or trying to lose weight. It’s sleep, nutrition, recovery and listening to my body, and I noticed all else followed. In the beauty industry, we talk a lot about self-care, and training made me actually live it. Ever Bilena has always celebrated the real Filipina. We are hardworking, we juggle a lot and we can still show up beautifully. Fitness showed me that strength is beautiful, too.

DS: The biggest lesson I’m carrying forward is to enjoy the journey. I was so nervous about running my first marathon that I made a conscious decision to just enjoy it. I told myself not to take it too seriously. I’d done the training. All I had to do was finish without collapsing, cramping or getting injured. I even took snacks and drinks from spectators along the course to distract me from the pain! That mindset made all the difference, and it’s something I want to carry into everything else. Life is too short to put so much pressure on yourself that you stop enjoying your work. You can take your goals seriously without taking yourself too seriously.

The second lesson is to pace myself for the long game. In a marathon, if you go out too fast, you pay for it in the last 10K. Business is the same. We want to build brands with long-term equity, and that takes years of consistent work, not quick wins. But pacing doesn’t mean always going slow. In beauty, there are moments when speed is everything, like catching a trend before it passes. The skill is knowing when to save your energy and when to sprint.

The third is that who you surround yourself with matters. I would never have signed up for Chicago if my friends hadn’t invited me to that first 32K. Having people who share your goals pulls you forward on the days you can’t pull yourself. That’s true for running, and it’s true for building a team. I enjoyed this experience so much that I want to do it again. Still deciding which World Major is next! 

To women entrepreneurs who feel they don’t have time, I completely understand, because I didn’t think I had time either. Honestly, some days I still don’t know how I squeezed it in. But I found it in small pockets, like a lunch-break run, a walking pad session after my son went to bed, or an early-morning long run before a brand event. Start smaller than you think you should. Even 15 to 20 minutes counts. Put it on your calendar like a meeting you can’t move. Find a friend, hire a coach, or join a community to keep you accountable. Then sign up for something, even a short fun run (or in my case, a Hyrox race in Japan that I had to book flights and a hotel for!), so you have a date to work toward.

You don’t need to be ready to start. You get ready by starting!