Running Changes in the Philippines (+ 1 Race)

Have you noticed how things have changed in the running community? Little by little, more and more people are running and joining all these events. Some new things are:

1. Longer race events - Before it was just 10km with a few full Marathons (Pasig, Subic and Milo). Then Mizuno and La Salle put in a 15km and 16km event. Now, there's a lot of Half Marathons scheduled for the year. It seems runners aren't content with beating their own race times in 5km and 10km events. Now, they run for goals of finishing longer distance. With New Balance having 25km races every November, I'm sure there will be more 25km and 30km races soon too. (Milo just announced having a half marathon course this July and Botak will have both a full and half marathon race in May).

2. More race events - Last year, it was an average of about two race events a month. Prior to last year, it was just one race event a month.

Now, it's every week with 2-3 races on one Sunday alone, and let's not forget the arrival of Saturday races! Will there be Saturday or Sunday afternoon races in the future like that of other countries??

3. More Training Programs - Early last year, there was a Mizuno Run Clinic only. Now, there is a Mizuno Run Clinic at Fort, Nike Run Clinic at Fort and Ultra, and Team Baldrunner Clinic in Ultra. So many choices! So little Time!

4. Higher Entry Fees! - I think the average for a race now is at Php 300 vs Php 250 last year. Prices have gone up, probably to make up for the additional marshals to safeguard the increase in the number of people running. There are still some Php 150 races here and there but more often than not, the price range for joining a race is now between Php 350 -500!

5. Higher Standard in Race Quality - I remember a time when we don't expect race results to come out till two weeks after. Now, thanks to Coach Rio and other race organizers, results come out the day after ! Condura even posted results at the Philippine Star.

Runners expect there will be always be ample liquid at the water stations and safety is now an important aspect via road closures and security of vehicles. A big reason for this is due to rise in Running Blogs who give their comments/ opinions about races they joined. This serves as a feedback tool for race organizers. Another one is the race survey given out by Takbo.ph to runners.


6. Easy Registrations - Before when you wanted to do a race in U.P., you have to go to U.P. to register either on the day itself or a week before. It was a hassle to do and time consuming! I did it once only and promised myself never to do again as was stuck in traffic for 2 long hours! There was and still is a registration booth at Anapolis for the Milo, Yakult races.

Organizers improved on this inaccessibility by putting up small booths whenever there is a race event. They improved it some more by putting up registration booths in Nike stores and in R.O.X. How's that for convenience ???


7. WWW.TAKBO.PH! Everybody who is addicted to running knows about this website. It has the latest data info on race maps, race schedules, runners' blogs, and forum for all your questions. Everything you need to know about running in the Philippines can be found here. Kudos to Jinoe for a job well done.

Of course, let's not forget WWW.THEBULLRUNNER.COM, the website that made everybody interested and curious about this sport! Still my favorite running blog. Go Jaymie!

8. New things in Philippine running world:

a) Running magazine? CHECK! Via the Bull Runner magazine! Best of all, it's FREE!

b) Running Stores? One is being built in Serendra and another one (Second Wind) has just opened in Quezon City. Cool!

c) Running Pictures? CHECK! Via http://www.photovendo.ph/


Running has really grown in the Philippines, don't you think?


Which brings me to my first April 2009 race (and how the changes above affected this race):



GREENFIELD CITY RUN: A GREAT ESCAPE

1. Longer Race Event: This has a 21km event. Need I say more?

2. More race event: This is normal in that it is held on a Sunday but the venue is different: Greenfield Sta Rosa! And time is pretty early too at 5AM for a half-marathon! But that is good as organizers expect a hot summer day!

3. More Training Programs: This is organized by Coach Rio and Vince, both active at Nike Clinics (Rio is the one who heads it!). So this will be a test of your training done by them or by other coaches (Ige of Mizuno, Baldrunner via his own clinics) and see if you can get a new PR in a new race route.

4. Higher entry fee: Sadly, it is applicable here too. But it comes with the preparation needed for organizing a race outside Metro manila. Better register now for the Early Bird Rate or risk paying more!!

5. Higher standard in Race quality: It's done by Coach Rio so expect a lot of water, fast race results and some freebies too!

6. Easy Registration: They upped the standards here by having an online registration! You can now input your details and pay via credit card or ATM credit. A confirmation will be sent to your e-mail and your race pack can be picked up at a Nike store of your choice! How awesome is this ???????? Go to WWW.FINISHLINE.PH to register.

7. WWW.TAKBO.PH and WWW.THEBULLRUNNER.COM : both websites have information on this race including registration forms, route maps and pictures of Sta Rosa!

8. Running magazine - it might be distributed here as well... fingers crossed!
Running Pictures - I see PhotoVendo as a sponsor here. Yehey!

See you there!!!!!!

Men's Health Miracle Run (March 29 2009) -Post race

It has been some time since I ran in UP so I was excited to do my long run here again. I woke up at a very early time of 3:30AM just so I can finish early and avoid the burning sun.

PRE-RACE

I got to UP Theatre at about 4:45AM, did one loop around the Oval and saw the Men's Health Starting point, a good 800 meters from where I parked my car. So I went back to the car and moved it closer to the venue and started running again. Luckily, weather was nice and there was no rain today (prayer answered!).

At about 5:30AM, tired already from doing my runs (total of 8.71 km with pace between 6:26 min to 7:20 min), I went back to my car, changed my shirt to that of Men's Health singlet and took a drink from the water/ Gatorade that I left in my front seat.

I was at the race area by 5:45AM and met some friends there as we await the 6:00AM gun time. 6:00AM came and went and still we were there!!! But I didn't mind as I sat on the stairs and just used that leeway to stretch my legs and rest a little bit for this race. I intend to run fast for this race with a sub-60 target. I don't know if my goal is achievable since energy level depleted from early morning run but I had hopes for it. This will be a good indication for me in terms of my endurance as first time doing a race with a long run prior to it.

RACE

The race started at around 6:30AM. I wasn't sure of exact time as my Garmin was semi-busted and I didn't want to provoke it as feared that it would die on me during this race!

I kept at a steady pace but it was hard keeping it as sun fully up and there were parts in the race where there were no trees and hence no shade as well. I saw the first water station early in the race but for some reason, the cups were empty and the attendant was filling each cup slowly and giving it to the runners one by one. This will take a long time if I will wait for my water and decided to skip it.

Sadly, this happened again in the next few water stations and I just chose those which had the smallest lines in them. This took a turn for the worst when all water stations ran out of plastic cups!!! Runners were stopping to drink from the spouts by having the water poured onto their hands or placing their mouths a few inches away from it! Oh man! This was horribly horribly disappointing and for a hot summer day too!

I ended up having one cup from the water station, two handfuls from two other water stations (which were just a sip or two as could only get so much from cupped hands) and got a cup of water from Runnex water station, which weren't even part of this race! I expected more from Men's Health as previous races even had Gatorade bottles given out to runners!

I was getting dizzy and tired from the heat and dehydration but just pushing myself and saying, that it's just a few kms left to go. I envision a huge cup of water at the finish line and that kept me going.

Finally, I crossed the finish line at a time of 56:16. A new 10km PR! And nearly a minute faster than my previous 10km PR of 57:08 at PSE Bull Run 2009. But at that moment, it didn't sink in yet as I headed immediately to the water station to get my fill of water and proceeded to the staging area to get some other freebies.

I got a Men's Health magazine for answering a race survey. There was a question I left unanswered which was "Promptness of race results" as clearly that hasn't happened yet! I also got a bag of chips, some multi-vitamins, and cardboard fan from various booths here.

I met my friends as each one finished the 10km race. We chatted for a while and took some pictures.

This was a terrible race for me, given the most important thing they lacked, which was ample attendants/ plastic cups for the water stations. Not having the cups filled up before the race started would mean losing seconds waiting for that to be done, effectively giving you a slower finish time. Just a ratio of 1 attendant per water station if memory serves me correctly. There should be enough cups for all racers. On the 2nd leg of race, all cups were gone! Some roads were opened for cars so we had to go around them too.

As for my PR, it is a PR but for a 9.74km distance! So, even the distance was short-sighted by the organizers. My average pace for this race was at 5:46 minutes/ km (one second faster than Bull Run 2009) so I was happy given I started the race a little tired already. And I guess this will still be counted as a 10km RACE PR for me.

On a good side, I liked the freebies and of course, the awesome singlet. There are only a few singlets that I can wear to a race or to gym and I count this as one of them! Very nice material and very much worth keeping for a long time.

I also must remember that this race is for A GREAT CAUSE so I have to look at the bigger picture as to why this run existed in the first place.



Picture with Super fast but still super humble and super friendly Vener. Thanks to RunUnlimited for the photo!


POST-RACE

After the race, I ventured for an additional 8km run (I did only 7.82km) after a quick change of socks and shoes. I did some stretching afterwards and as I headed home, I couldn't resist buying myself a copy of Philippine Star as my Condura Race souvenir.

My Garmin finally conked out 5 minutes after the Miracle Run so I guess it was a miracle that it survived that long to record that race. For the additional miles I had to do, I used Per's Garmin to record it. Up to now, my Garmin is broken and can't be turned on! Luckily, the seller offered to take it back and replace it for me. Phew!

Total KM ran for this day: 26.27 KM

TOP 10 things I LOVE about running

10. Make you seem smart with new word jargons - impress your friends with words like Tempo Run, FARTLEK, Lactic Acid, Race pace, over/ underpronator, Stability shoes, Chafe, etc. Haha! Pathetic reason I know!

9. Cheapest exercise - all you need is a good pair of running shoes to start this.

Of course, once you've become addicted to this sport (like I have), your expenses will start to grow as you buy new clothes (dri-fit shirts/singlets, running shorts, socks), buy your 2nd/3rd pair of shoes, new tech stuff (Nike+, Garmin, Phiten, heart monitor, timer watch), join new races (and pay entry fees), buy energy food/drinks (Gatorade, Power Beans, GU, jelly beans, Pocari Sweat), and other whatnots (sunglasses, caps, bodyglide, Petroleum jelly, Runnersworld magazine) all designed to make you go faster (DAW!).

No wonder this is at my 9th place! ;)

8. Best Exercise there is - According to the doctor I went to before. Of course, he might be biased as he is also a runner. Hehe! Helps to prolong one's life, be healthier and improves your heart and lungs. What could be better to this? Our body is our temple after all!

7. Allow you for some buffet eating, midnight snacks and drinking binge once in a while without gaining much weight. Best way to do this is after a good exercise so you can offset the calories gained with the calories burned.

6. Be part of something BIG. This is for any of the races you've joined so far - be it a crowd of 5,000 to 8,000 people or even up to 50,000 (if in other countries like Singapore, HK, USA). YOU are a part of this and YOU will all do the same thing for the next 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 6- 8 hours of your life (depending on what race you've joined), which brings me to my next reason....

5. Crossing the finish line! To be able to finish a race is a personal accomplishment in itself and a test of one's character in terms of perseverance, determination and strong will.

4. Crossing the finish line AND getting a Finisher Medal. Not all races offer this but this is rewarding for me in that it reflects your accomplishment for that day. In lieu of finisher medal, some races offer finisher shirts, loot bags and energy drinks at the finish line. Of course, race kits also offer singlets to be worn at races. The more items, the merrier!!

3. Runner's HIGH! No muscle pain and No illegal drugs (that's a different kind of HIGH!). No burning out and still finished strong. This is good in building your confidence in tackling future road races.

2. Getting a new PR (Personal Record) or PB (Personal Best). Whether it be a longer distance or a faster time, a PR is achieved with you trying to beat against your own finish time and where every second counts! TICK TOCK! TICK TOCK!!

1. Meet new friends. I have met some very nice and friendly people through the road races, through the blogs and through the Nike clinics. All come from different walks of life but one common thing we all share - and that is the passion for RUNNING. They are all inspiring when you see them in the races and motivate you to just keep on running!

For list of TOP 10 things I HATE about running, click this LINK

Men's Health Miracle Run 2009 - Year 2

I originally planned to join this event as a race bandit seeing as I need to run long that day. LSD equals a slow finish time for the 10k event in order to conserve energy for the rest of the run. And that just wasn't ideal for me.

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But then I realize that this run is much bigger than my finish time or required distance for the day. This run is for the benefit of "Tahanang Walang Hagdanan". Bandit running for a charity run just doesn't feel right, especially if I am going to stop at the water stations, which I will most certainly do!

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(Come to think of it, any kind of bandit running isn't right at all as it is unfair to the race organizers, but doing it on a charity run just feels DOUBLY WRONG.)

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So I went to R.O.X. store in Serendra last Friday with my Feb issue of Men's Health, climbed up three flight of stairs, filled up the entry form and gave the sales lady my magazine (for a 10% discount) and payment.

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Men's Health, for me is very organized when it comes to managing race events. As a sample, check out my blog last year on Miracle Run 2008.

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For Php 315 (after 10% discount), Php 200 will go to charity (as long as you finish your race distance), with the remaining Php 115 used to pay for the water stations, singlet and other freebies. Not a bad deal !

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Here's more: If all runners finish the race, Men's Health will donate an additional Php 200,000 to the above charity ! Wow!

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Race this year will be at U.P. and will start at 6:30AM. There is a 5km leg (but needs to be done by a team of two) and 10km leg (2 loops of 5km).

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For more info, visit http://www.menshealth.com.ph/miraclerun/

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News Update (3/25/09): I went to Summit office yesterday to claim my race kit. Upon looking for my race kit, the guy asked where I registered, to which I replied "at R.O.X.".

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He left again and came back a few minutes later - - - empty handed!!

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He then asked me a follow up question "What branch of R.O.X. did I register at ?".

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Huh? "R.O.X. in Fort Bonifacio but isn't that the only branch in the Philippines?" I repeated my inquiry/answer again, clearly bewildered by his question. He didn't answer me and left again and came back holding a black Summit plastic bag. Phew! I thought the kit got lost in the 2nd Phantom Zone branch of R.O.X. (unless there really is a 2nd branch that I didn't know about).

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Inside the black plastic bag was a race map (for both 5km and 10km), race instructions, race bib (much nicer than last year's MH Miracle Run, which were on hard material), yellow Frenzy band and Miracle Run Singlet. The singlet was awesome and fits this RUNNING FATBOY body perfectly. I shall wear it proudly this Sunday! It is to promote both this race and for safe sex (due to Frenzy ad at back). ;P

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See you at the starting line!

Condura Race March 22, 2009 - Post Race

The event a lot of runners have been waiting for has finally arrived and it was met with excellent results!

Prior to this race, I was a little wary of being able to complete my Half Marathon at a good time given I had a hard time doing my practice run at Ultra last Friday. I was walking - running -walking around the oval track as I set to target 8km. I couldn't run the entire distance and was just so tired with some pains in my feet and thighs!

What more come Sunday and I have to run 2.5 times that distance! I was seriously contemplating downgrading my distance to 10km but one thing held me back - the news that race results will come out at Philippine Star! Oh man! I didn't want to be disqualified due to running the shorter distance. I was worried but in the end, I will push through with my half marathon since I have a 3.5 hour leeway to the finish line. FAT FINGERS CROSSED!

Per, on the other hand, seemed to be doing well at the Ultra track, even with a two-week hiatus from running. She did her 7km quickly and waited for me to finish my run. No running for us on Saturday and we went to the mall instead (to watch the movie Punisher, to which I liked and Per hated! hehe).

RACE DAY

We arrived at Fort Bonifacio by 5AM and that was when I encountered a problem: my Garmin couldn't be turned on!!! What the F$%@! It was fully charged on Friday when I did my run, and then I switched it off immediately. What made it lose its battery power??? I was so frustrated and this added to my fear given I won't be able to know how fast or slow I'm going : too fast and I will burn out quickly and too slow means not using your energy at an optimum level. I was at a loss, having grown dependent to this GPS device in all my races.

Per was thoughtful enough to unstrap her Garmin from her wrist and give it to me, saying I need it more than her as I will be running long that day. She will be running zen instead. I was guilty in that I was taking away her chance for a new 10km PR but happy that she was willing to sacrifice that goal for me. I will make it up to her some day. :)

LESSONS LEARNT: 1) Always charge Garmin a day before race, regardless of how little you've used it. 2) Bring a back up watch with timer if Garmin still failed on race day.

We then walked to the Starting line where there were a lot of 21km runners positioned behind it. I stayed at the very back row as I didn't want to be caught with the crowd and I will be running slow anyway.

Race started at 5:30AM and we were off. The first thing I noticed was that everyone started slow, conserving energy for the race. It was a big contrast from the 10km races I went to before.

Pretty soon we were headed out of Fort Bonifacio and onto Kalayaan Bridge. It was a steady climb up and soon we were on Buendia, running the entire stretch towards the Skyway.

I stopped at each water station and at times, getting a water bottle and just keeping it with me. It was a back up plan so anytime I feel the thirst I can just drink from it. This strategy worked out fine for me and so I did it two more times. Later on, we were out of Buendia and each runner did the slow steady climb to the SkyWay. No fatigue or muscle pains yet so that sustained my confidence. The sports beans and Aktivate drink helped too.

On the Skyway, the feeling here was surreal. Wow! So this was what it felt like running here. I never thought this to be possible and yet here I am right now, running on it and having a great time. I was seeing friends and family and they were all enjoying this once in a lifetime experience.

The course was mostly flat except for the bridges and the weather was fantastic. I was quite happy with this race and just kept on going when right behind me (somewhere along Buendia), a guy with a yellow balloon sped away. His balloon said it was a 7 min/km pace. Checking my Garmin, I saw that I was doing 6 min/km and yet, he was running faster than me! Huh? What gives??? That was a weird moment and I hope he didn't burn out anyone following his pace.

I headed back to Kalayaan bridge with still no walking (except at the water stations which were quick stopovers anyway) so I was pleased with my performance. As I ran down to Fort Bonifacio, I saw that I only had 2km left to go to. YES! I was that close to the finish line but I still couldn't increase my speed. Haha. But I didn't care as long as I could finish this race....

And finish it I did at a Garmin time of 2:15:09 with an average pace of 6:24 min/km! My official time would have read 2:15:50+ as I activated Garmin timer after stepping on Start Mat some 30 seconds after race began.

My target for this race was at 2:15 to 2:30 target time but with last Friday's run, I expected to finish at 2:30 (to be at par with my first 21km race). I was surprised by my good time and that I finished strong. A new PR for this RUNNING FATBOY! Yehey! :)

I love the finisher medal and that was a nice addition to my collection! It felt wonderful having them put it around my neck!

I hoped there were more km markers in this race, more sports drinks and also correct pace for the pace runners with the yellow balloons but overall, I am pleased with this race and my performance.

Per didn't achieve her 10k PR (guilt guilt guilt!) but it was still a nice finish time at 1:12 considering she did zen running.

Congrats to everyone who joined this race!

Strong finish by RFB. Photo courtesy of Per.

Condura Run: Race for the Whale Sharks

I have another Bling Bling to fool friends. ;)

10km Finishers!

Gigay in her first Half Marathon Race! Congrats!

21km Finishers!

My official results:

Rank: 663/ 1317
Race Bib: 432
Dennis Quepe
Age: 32
Sex: M
Time: 2:15:27
Pace: 6:27

Condura Race 2008: Blast from the Past

Family members! All of us were there last March 2008 for the 10km race. We will all be re-united again and will all do the 21km event!

Check out the 2008 shirt and loot bag!

All 5km runners at Condura 2008.

Jeanne and Per have graduated to 15km races (they will do 10km Condura 2009 race) while Kervin has completed a couple of 10km races (but hasn't been running since 2nd half 2008... come back soon!).

The 10km runners.

Janine and I ran (and suffered) 21km and 25km races and will look at SkyWay Half Marathon next!

TOP 10 things I HATE about Running!

10. Waking up so early in the morning when everybody else is still asleep. Making an effort to get out of bed and knowing if you don't do it soon, the sun will rise and burn you up! SIZZLE!

9. Bad finish time at a race even with all the preparations (slept early night before, ate enough, training programs).
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8. Running out of water when you need it the most and realizing you have another 3km to the next water station.

7. Chaffing, blisters and dead toe nails !

6. Hitting the Wall !

5. Fear that your heart will not able to take it anymore and just giving up on you. Same with lungs especially if you find that you are gasping for air (like a fish out of water).

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4. Doing a long run (anything more than 15km). Feel like a hamster running inside a neverending wheel except said wheel is a road.

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3. Still not losing weight even after all this sufferings. Probably due to "rewarding" myself after a hard run by eating bulalo, sisig, crispy pata, chicken, barbeque, kare-kare, and 1/2 cup of rice (carbo conscious kasi... haha).

2. Feeling a number 2 with no toilet in sight. Practice butt cheek clenching and getting goosebumps all over your body. Start PRAYING. HARD.

1. Getting injured - be it the knees, shin, calves, hips, and even the plantas fac#$%# ! Waiting game to get healed, all the while getting fatter eating junk food.

Takbo Para sa Kalikasan Race - March 8, 2009 (post race)

Not enough sleep for this race! I had exactly 3 hours of sleep so wasn't up for this event. I would rather forfeit the entry fee, but I can't because I wanted to be there for my friends, who will be doing their first fun run ever.

So I finally got out of bed, turned on the TV, woke Per up, fixed my things, ate a small granola bar, drank some water, put Coleman and gym bag in the car, drove to Per's house, picked her up and drove to the venue, where we found a nice parking space. Time was approximately 5:30AM when we got there.

We met my friends and they seemed eager to run. Place was already filled up with people with the 10km runners at the front, 5km runners in the middle, 3km runners at the back part, and some other runners (including Coastal Guards) at the very back. Neil said since we didn't have any race numbers, we had to start from behind the 3KM runners, regardless of what distance we would be doing for that race! Oh man! I didn't want to be left behind the 10km runners as I didn't know the race route!!!! :(

The race started a little after 6:00AM with the 10km runners speeding off. I saw them depart and couldn't resist NOT joining them so I said a quick goodbye to my friends and looked for a way to get to the starting line. Too bad, I got lost here and went to the 3km starting area instead! I had to leave it and look for the 5km runners starting point. By this time, the announcer gave the 5km runners the Go signal as well. Good thing I found my way in and ran off, pressing my Garmin watch to activate timer once I've crossed the Starting Line.

Getting out of Quirino Grandstand was hard given the parked cars, tight roads and the hundreds of runners in between you and Roxas Blvd. But once I've gotten out, it becomes easier to run as the organizers closed off the entire road.

I got to my normal race pace quickly and just kept on running. It was a sea of yellow as most 5km runners were wearing the official singlet for this race. I was one of the few who didn't wear it and decided to wear my Nike Human Race shirt for the sole purpose that it would serve as my race number for this event.

I passed by the 3km turning point and after running for a couple of minutes, I saw the 5km turning point, where a lot of runners stopped at the water station there. I decided to skip that one (eventhough I was thirsty) and just continued towards the next water station, which was at the 10km turning point and after the flyover.

At least I was able to catch up with the 10km runners so that offered some relief for me. But I shouldn't have been afraid of getting lost as I found out that the route was a simple run along Roxas Blvd for all race categories. This course was quite similar to the Milo races but this was better in that the measured distance was at 10.07km so it was accurate vs Milo's 10km race where our distance was at 10.40km (Milo's official time results were adjusted downwards to reflect the 10km distance).

I was getting tired but just kept thinking to myself how near I am to the finish line and that kept me going. I was counting down the last kilometers until I made the turn off Roxas and into Quirino grandstand, to which I saw the finish line. The marshal was shouting "10km runners to the left, 5km runners to the right". Upon seeing me without a race number and without the official singlet, he shouted that I should go to the far right. I shouted back that I ran out of race numbers and just kept going to the left lane (much to his dismay), where I finally crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin timer.

Per was there waiting for me as she decided to do the 5km race instead. She got a new 5km PR of 34 minutes but was disappointed as she was aiming for 30 - 32 minutes. Still, a PR is a PR.

I didn't have any "real" goals for this race as just here for my friends but figured I can finish this one in under an hour. To which I did at a time of 57:56 minutes. My average race pace was at 5:45 minutes/ km, 1 second faster than my PSE Bull Run. But my PSE Bull Run will still be my PR at a time of 57:08.

Why the huge discrepancies? It's because of the distance finished: PSE had distance of 9.89km (I stopped my timer early due to looooooooooongggg line at finish line) vs Kalikasan distance of 10.07km. So PSE will still be my 10km PR even if average race pace point to this race!

On race itself: There were a total of 3 water stations, put in at every 2.5km distance so that was adequate enough. There were Pocari Sweat bottles handed out at the beginning and ending of the race. The yellow singlet fit me as Neil was able to exchange my XXS to XXL (or as I call it: the Running Fatboy size). No runners got lost as route was pretty easy and straightforward (figuratively and literally speaking!). All in all, even with the weird registration last week, race was good for me and Php 150 does seem cheap now (as most races are at P300 these days).

Neil and Marina had a good time in their 5km race and looked at doing some more races in the future. Unfortunately, their nephew Kyle didn't enjoy his run and shuddered at the thought of joining any more races!

We've decided to give him the one race certificate I got as he deserved it more than any of us (as he is just in Grade 4 and 5km is a long distance to run for a kid his age).

I'm quite happy that all of us were able to finish our races injury-free. :)


Yellow Team (Kyle, Marina) Vs Red Team (Per, me)!

RFB with college friend Neil

couples shot

RFB with the first timers. One resigned from this sport while the other two might come back.

Here's hoping Kyle will still change his mind in the future !

Takbo Para Sa Kalikasan Race - Weird Registration!!

This has got to be the weirdest registration in all my races.

First of all, Per and I went to Anapolis yesterday to register but the lady manning the booth there said that her stocks had run out. But she did have some Condura Race forms (in case anyone hasn't registered yet for this race). So our next option would be ABS-CBN building in Quezon City. We didn't have time for it due to other errands that day.

Fortunately, two of my friends went to ABS-CBN this afternoon to register for themselves. It will be their first race so I was quite happy that they have decided to try this sport out. They offered to register for me and Per as well but here's the thing...

THERE ARE NO MORE RACE BIBS!

Huh ? That is really weird! So I texted Marina asking if registration is still open. She replied that it is, but you just won't get a race bib. HUH? She further texted that you will get a singlet but the size is just XS. GRRRRR ! Yeah, like that could fit me!

But what the hell, I still said yes to her to register for us and told Per about it, who was laughing the whole time! Not having a race number is like a basketball player who doesn't have a number at the back of his jersey or a race car with no number at its hood and front. This is sooo strange....

So no race bibs, singlets just at size XS, I wonder what else could go wrong here???

The photo above mentions time of 4AM. Marina texted that assembly time is at 5AM. When I asked what time will the race officially begin,

she replied that the people there who gave her the singlets do not know the answer and just kept saying 5AM assembly time !

So no race bibs, singlets at size XS, and up to now, no starting time!!

For Php 150 and even for a good cause, this Running Fatboy feels he OVERPAID for this race!

I think that this race will turn out to be quite disastrous come Sunday morning...

What do you think? Shall we give a benefit of a doubt to the organizers or shall I start packing my water belt with me?

One thing for sure, I will be very very interested in how this all turns out.