Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Reasons People will do the Kenny Run




1. To Experience A Night Run! No more waking up at 3AM. No more going to bed at 10PM the night before. Now, you can run on a race that would start at 8:00PM, 8:45PM or 9:00PM (depending on your race category) and have a post run celebration afterwards (via the live band) without worrying that you might be late for Sunday Mass.

2. You Belong To the Takbo.PH peeps. You are there whenever they do the group pictures with the Takbo.ph banner. You are there to comment at the forum. You are there as a member, as a moderator or both. So it would be natural that you will be here tonight as well to support your group and be part of this race.

3. You want to run and do it for a good cause. Part of this race will be used to benefit Hands on Manila and 57:75 movement.

4. Eye candy. Girls will flock to see a certain M. Nelson (and not Nelson M.!) . Guys will flock to see girls flocking over to see M. Nelson. See the chain reaction? Also, motivation for guys to beat either or both Marc and Rovilson and brag it to their bro-mates "Dude, you know those Amazing Race power guys? Not so poweful after all!"


5. To try the Chip Timer. This is for people who missed out on the Run For Home race for whatever reasons.

6. To get a PR. Can't blame the sun this time (there's none)! Plus, a motivating factor would be how your race fare up against other runners in your category. (Will you make it to the top 50%?).


7. For the cool stuffs! Aside from the chip timer that you can keep, there are also glow in the dark wristbands, Kenny Singlets, and also the very curious illuminated bib numbers. Not to mention the Chicken meal at Kenny Rogers that you've already paid for.


As for the main reason why RFB is doing this race? Mainly, it is because of one single thing and that is summarized in the following photo:


Thanks to Janine+ for the creative picture!

More info on race is found at http://kennys.com.ph/kour_how.php
See you on race day!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Running Reflections

November 18, 2007 – this was the day I started running in a road race and stuck to it. This wasn’t my first 10km race as did that before in Feb 29th 2004 and not my first trail run as did that before in June 18th 2006 but this was the race that kept me coming back again and again.

Right after that Sunday run with Janine (with Per and Jeanne waiting for us at the finish line), I came back again the following Sunday (again with Janine) because it was sponsored by La Salle –my alma mater and I wanted to see how they do it. It was successful but I got burned out from too much running and essentially rested till the start of 2008 wherein I came back again but this time with my family as my sisters, brothers, girlfriend and good friends all joined the PSE Bull Run in various categories. And that was how it really started.

Now, nearing the close of two years, so many things have been achieved for me. I trained for the first half marathon but still got burned out from it. But I improved on the succeeding half marathons as I become stronger and faster. I beat my records in 10km races by becoming faster. I beat the distance by going farther. It was a good time. Then, the marathon event happened and I finished the race after 6.5 hours of being on the road. I hated the feeling. I wanted to break down and cry. But I didn’t want to do this and rested instead. I truly hated this race but I was glad I survived it. I didn’t die and as the saying goes "what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger". Unfortunately, it didn’t make me stronger. It made me weaker. My performance withered to the level when I just started running. My finish time was slower by a few minutes. I had a hard time again in the 21km or even the 10km races. I was panting and wheezing again. I was essentially back to zero.

I couldn’t beat any of my Personal Records. I lost my drive for excellence. Instead, I focused my energy this time to help Per achieve her own Personal Records. By running together, we were able to finish our first 16km race strong. We beat our couple PR for a 10km race by doing the recently concluded Robinson Buddy Run. And the biggest surprise of all was Per agreeing to do a Half Marathon Race a day before said race event. She had no training. She had no mileage but she had me to support her and I think that was the biggest factor to her saying “Yes”. And so we ran it. Unlike my first half marathon wherein I went out too fast and hit the wall, this time we took it slow. We did a few walk breaks. It was a run at an easy pace. And we got the benefits from it. We finished the race strong. Tired but knowing that this was doable. It was a proud moment for the two of us. No finisher medals here but at least we have the disposable chip that says “I ran the 21km” and that was good enough for us. Final Results were also great and the free photos were very useful!

On the Kalayaan Bridge flyover as we head back towards Fort BonifacioFloating to the finish line!


So what’s next for us after the Half Marathon? One word, three letters: U.S.A.

It will be our most expensive races to date but the experience will be unforgettable or as a certain credit card commercial would say “Priceless”. Being too ambitious, I registered myself for two road races separated by one full week and thousands of kilometers away but in the same State.

The first race will be San Francisco’s Half Marathon Race on November 1st, 2009. This was supposed to be Per’s first Half Marathon race before the impromptu Globe Half Marathon. Come to think of it, it was supposed to be Per’s 2nd international 10km race. The reason she upgraded her race to a 21km was because the 10km route doesn’t go across the Golden Gate Bridge and that is something she wanted to experience. I will be there to run beside her and be her own support crew. The awesome thing here is that our bibs will be personalized (and we added our last names) and it will be our first half marathon together as a married couple.

The second race will be Fresno Marathon on November 8th 2009. I was supposed to do a Half Marathon here but then decided to upgrade to a Full Mary once I realized that the Halfie will only go through one city. This was called Two Cities Marathon and I didn’t want to be shortchanged by doing a race that doesn’t go through the two cities. Per will be at the halfway mark to be my support crew with drinks, food and maybe even an extra pair of shoes and/or socks. She will be my motivation to finish the 2nd half of the race and I look at beating my PR at Singapore. This race will be done in the morning, have cool weather and have a flat course, which all contradict what I did in Singapore. All of these factors go in my favor. Of course, I still will not underestimate this race as any single thing can happen that can ruin it – heavy rains, slipping on the road, injury while training, indigestion or diarrhea on race day, etc.

So we both have our reasons for the race upgrade. We are each other’s supporters for our partner’s race. We will experience all these things together. And we will do our best to finish our races and bring home the finisher medals and finisher shirts. This would be a perfect ending to my second year of running.

As for our third year of running? Ask me again in five months time! For now, it’s run (easy), run (tempo), run (long) as we revert back to our training mode.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Globe Run For Home (July 19, 2009) - Post Race

This race was the first road race I've joined that goes through Ayala Avenue. There are 5km, 10km, and 21km race events here and everybody gets to use the chip timer for accurate results. This time you can actually come in late and not feel bad that you have a not so nice finish time. I registered for the 21km event as I wanted to experience running on Ayala Avenue. Due to a series of events, Per joined the 21km event as well. Since this was her first half marathon (with no training, no long runs and lack of sleep AGAIN), I shall let Per continue our story. So how did she fare? Read on...


Survive a Half Marathon – check no. 4



I was never the athletic type. When I was still in school, I hated my Physical Education Class. I never failed it, but I never excelled as well. I was just doing it to please my report card. I actually loved being sluggish and lethargic, hated being active and energetic. This was the story of my life (style) up until I started running. Then it all changed.


Suddenly, being inactive felt like a waste of time for me and found myself feeling excited to go on my 5k and 10k races. But never did I imagine that I would really run a Half Marathon. N-E-V-E-R.


So since running a Half Marathon was only but a dream to me, it was actually on my list of things to do before I die. What the heck, it’s just a list that nobody else really knows about (except me!), so why not just write it down. But little did I know…


July 18, 2009, 10:00 am – I was ready to run the Globe Run for Home 10km Race. With just a total distance run of 3km for the whole week, I wasn’t worried at all. I’ve been running 10km races for quite some time now and I’m confident enough to know that I will be able to finish the race.


July 18, 2009, 2:00 pm – I suddenly found myself agreeing to run the 21km Race. With just a total distance run of 3km for the whole week, what was I thinking?!


July 19, 2009, 5:00 am – A lot of butterflies in my stomach. Dennis even said that I had a mild panic attack just a minute after crossing the starting line. I wasn’t really sure how to go about the whole race, not being physically and mentally prepared for it. But lucky enough, Dennis promised to run with me the whole time.


The 21km race started 45minutes earlier before the 10km race. It was still a bit dark and the weather was great. It wasn’t raining but there was a cool breeze. The first part of the race was just like any other 10km race, except that we have with us a chip timer. Dennis and I stopped at every water station to hydrate. Good thing stations were all over and they all had a lot of water and 100 plus sports drinks. From Fort Bonifacio we went up the Buendia Flyover down to Buendia and straight ahead to Ayala before heading back to Fort Bonifacio. It was a fun experience running around the Makati CBD on a Sunday morning. The route was basically flat with a few uphill areas. There were a lot of Race Marshalls, Security and Makati Police roaming around the race route. This made me feel safe the whole time while I was running. I made the right choice of choosing this race to be my first 21km run. Not only did it have a good route, a lot of water stations and was well organized, but also because this is the first time in Manila that a race offered a disposable chip timer wherein we can download our whole race on net! The only let down is that there is no finisher medal or any finisher gift pack when you reach the finish line. Maybe the budget was eaten up the chip timer.

Overall, my experience as a first time Half Marathon Finisher was great. I was expecting a lot worse but ended up having a lot of fun. It took me quite some time to finish the race (at 3hr9mins) though, but it is no big deal… there is always another race to catch. And besides, just by mere finishing the race gave me my CHECK 4 for one of my lists of things to do before I die. Definitely worth it :)





And now back to our regular program....
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Note: I never even knew Per had a list to begin with !! But just glad that I helped her achieve one of her goals. :)



Onwards to the finish line!




This is it. The last 50 meters!





Jay, me, Per, Janine at the finish line






There were no finisher medal, no gift pack, not a single thing at the finish line which was very anti-climatic for me when we crossed it. I even thought we ran out of medals. I was disappointed with that but Jeanne (literally) pointed out what this race was for - and that was Building houses for those people that can't afford to build it themselves. This race was for a good cause and I finally understood why it was called "Run for Home".

Many thanks to Vener, Alvin, Jeanne and Mark for the photos they took of us in the race. I didn't even bring out my camera anymore. Hehe

MONDAY NIGHT

It was a rest day for the two of us and we spent it watching Harry Potter with some friends. I asked Per how she was feeling in terms of muscle soreness and leg pain. She replied she doesn't have any. Which made me think, "No training, no soreness, no pain and yet a half marathon finisher..........would a full marathon be possible for her as well?" And a more important question, "Is a full marathon finish in Per's super secret bucket list?"

Hmmm.... :P

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

REACH Run (July 11, 2009) - Post Race

"X" marks the spot! It also means "Did Not Finished" My first ever DNF for a road race but it was expected.








First 100 participants get a REACH Shirt.
















Runners Vs Krispy Kreme Doughnuts! Who would win???







Round 1: Gigay munching on her doughnut! De-li-cious!! Winner: Runner!











































Round 2 -4: It's a tough battle but it looks like the runners are in the lead ! Winners: Runners!









Round 5-7. Runners are full and there are still doughnuts !!! Looks like doughnuts win these three rounds!


Overall: It was a close fight but winners go to the Runners with a 4- 3 victory! Yay!

Till the next fight! Runners are eat -training now as we speak. Munch Munch!!!

And now, to our race report . . .

This was a Saturday race held in Fort Bonifacio. Participants needed to register on the venue before 7AM. Once they are ready, they will run 2.5km distance, eat 4 doughnuts and run or walk the remaining 2.5km distance.


This race was done for charity and there were only a handful of people when Gigay and I got there. It was easy to register and pay for said event, where we got a tee shirt and race bib for the P300. Race started a little after 7AM and almost immediately, everyone was running fast knowing that it was a short race.

I was going out too fast as breathing heavily so had to slow down my pace to 5 min/km. Around 11 minutes I made it back to the Starting line where the marshals gave me a box of Krispy Kreme filled with 4 original glazed doughnuts and a bottle of Rush to wash it all down. The elite runners were wolfing down the deadly bread while I was just eating mine slowly. I waited for my other friends to come here and when ready, we all left at the same time. I got an "x" mark from the marshal for not finishing the doughnuts but that was okay. At least, I get to keep the remaining uneaten doughnuts.











I paced with Kervin, who came back after one year of hiatus from running. I'm thinking it's the doughnuts that made him join the race. He said it was because it was held on a Saturday that he was game for it. Hmmmm....





Nice shot by Janine!



We all finished the race (but nobody finished their challenge so everyone was a DNF). At least we all had something to bring home. Starbucks for breakfast after and we all thought running on a Saturday was better than doing it on a Sunday because of the added rest day afterwards.

Unfortunately, the total distance for that morning race was just at 4.2km. Feeling guilty from the food and short run, I went to Ultra to do another 10km jog before I was satisfied with the day's exercise.

P.S.


I finally finished my final doughnut at 5AM July 12,2009 when I had it for breakfast to prepare myself for the 10km buddy run. YUM! But had enough of doughnuts to last me... a month! So will impose a ban on this food for one whole month! :)


Kervin also made a valid point on doing a run on Saturday instead of Sunday so I might move my long runs to a Saturday instead. I would start doing this on the weekend after the Globe 21km race as that would be my final road race for a while and I will just focus on doing long runs at an easy pace to prepare for my 2nd Full Marathon in November.

Big thanks to Janine+ for all the photos here!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Robinson's Buddy Run (July 12, 2009) - Post Race


GOAL: To achieve a new couple 10km PR. Time to beat: 1:16:21

Bad Pre-race Start: We only had 2.5 to 3 hours sleep the night before! I had to cancel my planned additional 5km run that Sunday morning as that would end up with us just having 1 hour of sleep time!

There were a lot of runners by the time we got to the race venue. There were a lot of tents. There were a lot of food and drinks (I had Milo, Gardenia wheat bread, yogurt, iced tea, Tipco juice drinks, etc. even BEFORE the race started!). It was very festive!

This was a buddy race and Per and I were required to wear the buddy bib with the same number and wear the official Fit and Fun singlet for our 10km race.

The race started at 6:15am but I didn't mind the 15-minute delay. I had too much fun eating and drinking here to complain! Hehe.

The 5km runners started their race first. They were differentiated from the 10km runners by their red or white singlets. The 10km runners wore either blue or gray singlets.



Our countdown bib! To zero and we were off!

We did a steady 7++ min/km pace for the first 5km. I had with me a bottle of Pink Gatorade in case Per needed it. But it wasn't necessary as there were ample water stations here and they were giving out bottled water bottles. Good move! I would prefer bottled water to water cups at any race as I can always keep the bottles with me instead of forcing myself to finish all the water. At one point, I had a bottle in each hand but realized that it was hard to twist the cap off and discarded the water bottle.

It was nice watching the fast runners and seeing who their Buddy Partner was. Some ran together while others got left behind by their faster partners! It was an eye candy for us as we saw a lot of bloggers and celebrities in this race.

The route was mostly flat except for the portion heading to Lawton. It was there when Per got tired and had to walk a little bit to recover again. By that time, we were over the halfway mark and on-target for a new couple PR but I know that it was still early in the race and things could still go wrong. Thank goodness that did not happen. :)

On the last 2km, Per started to speed up but I told her to slow down as it was a bit far from the finish line. She agreed to it and we went back to our race pace of 7++ minutes/ km. By the last 1km, I told Per that this is it! It is time to surge to the finish line.

REWIND (to exactly a week ago):

Per did her 10km race at the Milo event. She burned out at 9km and had to walk the last 1km to the finish line. She had a terrible finish time (the worst for 2009) at 1: 22. She was disappointed at her performance but was glad she completed it.

FAST FORWARD (from the REWIND) (a little bit to last Friday):

I asked Per what her goal for the buddy 10km run was. She said she was aiming to finish it at below 1:20. I secretly targeted a new couple PR of below 1:16, and IF it was a good day, to go sub- 1:15. I didn't tell Per my secret goal (insert evil laughter).

AND BACK TO THE REGULAR STORY:

We saw the finish line at the next corner. We were running fast and I was surprised by Per's speed but I didn't want to be the one to slow her down again so I stuck to her pace. I went ahead of her so she could chase me down. The big red FINISH balloon was there and we crossed it, stopped our Garmins and walked to get our gift bags! As we walked to get said items, we both heard our names mentioned by the announcer. Wow, this felt great! It was similar to what they do in International Races: calling out your names when you have finished your race!

Per lined up to get the Free Instant Photo while I went back to the car to drop off the heavy duty gift bags and get my camera.


Awarding Stage behind me.




The big red balloon!



10km Finisher!




Drinks I got at the finish line. Hmmm, what to drink? So many choices!!!



Everyone is a winner in this race as evidenced by the overflowing gift pack from Robinson's Supermarket and a complimentary magazine from Women's Health.
So many drinks! Choose your poison!

It's like we went to the grocery! Contents of just one gift pack (and we had two)! Wow!
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This race was definitely worth the Php 350 entry fee for all the stuffs we got from it. We were happy in terms of how it was organized: there were a lot of marshals, drinks (do I really need to point this out?) and separate lines for 5km and 10km runners at the finish line.
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This was one of our most memorable races for the year and we are eagerly anticipating the next Buddy run!
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Oh yeah... I nearly forgot to mention our finish time! Well, we crossed the line, stopped our Garmins and saw that we finished this race at a time of 1:14:54 with a distance of 10.06km. Per's target time achieved! My target time achieved! Goal of new couple 10km PR achieved! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Fun Run Weekend (July 11 -12, 2009)

It is going to be a Fun Run weekend for me this coming Saturday- Sunday. This weekend is sandwiched between two other Sundays wherein I would each do a Half Marathon so this is something I am looking forward to.
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No pressure on the finish time. No freaking out on the long distance or on the cut off time. Just good plain old fun.


RACE # 1



REACH FUN RUN 5KM






For registration fee of Php 300, you will have to do the following:



1. Run 2.5km from the Starting line to the REACH CHALLENGE ZONE

2. Eat 4 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts

3. Run 2.5km from the REACH CHALLENGE ZONE to the finish line.



Limited to 300 runners only. This event starts at 7:00AM on July 11th at Fort Bonifacio. Registration will be done on-site only.



Doughnuts and running??? A contradiction definitely. But USA have their own Krispy Kreme event so it is nice that they have this in the Philippines too. And for those who don't think they can finish all 4 doughnuts, no need to worry, you don't have to. Not unless you are looking to get 1st or 2nd placer in this run.



This shall serve as my breakfast for that day.

Goal for this race: To have a good time. How's that for a goal! Hahaha!







RACE # 2



Robinson's FIT & FUN WELLNESS BUDDY RUN 10km


Per and I have done some couple races in the past months. This usually happens if I want her to run a longer distance and she has some doubts on whether she can do it. I would then promise to run with her side by side so I can be there if she needs anything. We did this at RUNew 15km and again at Market Market 16km.


But for a 10km? Haven't really done this for a while now. It's because Per is quite comfortable with that race so no need for me to be there. But with this Buddy race, it's back to a couple race for us.


Per will be my buddy and we will have the same bib number. How awesome is this! We also need to wear the official Singlets on race day. Good thing it fits me!

Race will start at 6:00AM at the back of NBC Tent in Fort Bonifacio. Fee is Php 750 for two runners (2 singlets and 2 bib numbers).

Goal: Get New Couple 10k PR. Our last was at Milo's Finals last December '08 at time of 1:16:21.

See you at the road race!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Milo Marathon 21km Race (July 5, 2009) - Post Race

July 5, 2009 - Milo Qualifying Race for the Milo Finals in December 2009. This is the perfect event for the elite marathoners who want to race against the best and fastest runners in the Philippines. To qualify, they must finish a marathon in under 4 hours to be able to run again in December. This is also a good race for first time marathoners as it is well organized (it is after all the country's oldest road race).

As for me, I chose the shorter distance but longer than the previous two Milo races I have joined in 2008. Yes, this was the third Milo race that Per and I joined and every time we did this race, the experience was always different.

IT'S FLASHBACK TIME !!!!! TIME SPACE WARP!!!

June 2008 - Per and I wanted to try our first Milo race having joined already a couple of road races. Per will go for the 5km and I will go for the 10km. We left the house early but I made a mistake of going through Buendia to get to Luneta. They closed off this road for the marathon and I was forced to re-route to get to the destination. Parking was terrible and by the time I got to the starting line, the race had already started (some 10 minutes ago). It was raining hard too and with the strong rain, Per decided to go back to the car and did not start her race. I had a good time running in the rain (my first) but got bad finish time due to 10-minute "lost" time. Felt like a kid again as first time ran in the rain since like forever!


December 2008 - It was Milo Marathon Finals but found out that they also have 5km and 10km events for this race. Per wanted to redeem herself from her first Milo experience. To make up for the 5km race she didn't run last June 2008, she will run double the distance (10km). Since she wasn't that comfortable yet with this longer distance, I will run with her the entire time and we will aim for a couple PR. We finished the race. We had a good time. And we got a couple PR! Awesome!

Learned also from past mistake by a) leaving house earlier and thereby getting ample time to get to Luneta, b) passing through Pasay instead of Buendia and c) having a secret parking spot near the starting line. Awesome times three!

That was a good day! Redemption for Per and me.

END OF FLASHBACK TIME! TIME SPACE WARP TO PRESENT TIME!

July 5, 2009 - Followed the previous rules and got to Luneta some 10 minutes before my race will begin. The organizers have now put in a half marathon event with a cut-off time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. With three half marathons under my belt already, I figured I could do this and reach the cut off time.

But I haven't been training for this race so this will be a relaxed run with goal of reaching finish line before the cut-off (don't know how strict they are with regards to this but didn't want to find out the ugly way - being picked up by shuttle bus). Per will do another 10km but this time, she will be running by herself only.

As expected, 21km race started 5 minutes before the scheduled time (at 5:25AM) and I ran at easy pace. Half Marathon route was pretty simple - A run along Roxas Blvd going over two flyovers and going back where runners will make a right turn to Buendia and keep running there. Prior to the Buendia flyover, runners will make a U-Turn and head back to Roxas and go towards the finish line at Quirino. For the 10km runners, route was simpler - a run along Roxas Blvd with a U-turn after flyover and head back to the finish line at Quirino.

Aside from having a 21km event here which didn't happen in previous Manila race (as far as I know), there are now Gatorade and banana stations situated on the route. Water stations are there every 2km as well so this was quite organized. My only gripe is that the people at the Gatorade stations will only pour Gatorade in cups when runners stop there. Why didn't they do this before we arrived at their stations? That would save a lot of time for us. People were lining up just to wait for their cups of lemon lime Gatorade! At least it was refreshingly cold! There were also sponges handed out and water trucks to spray the runners passing by it.

On my performance, I was good for the first 10km, doing a steady 6 minute ++ pace the entire time but after surpassing the half way point, my pace got slower and I had to do a LOT of walk breaks. I was tired and far from the finish line. I kept on running with some walk breaks but lack of long runs hit my performance. Luckily, I was able to make it to the finish time before the curfew (barely) and got a time of 2:28:45. Phew! I was still disappointed as this was my worst half marathon time for 2009 but realized that I wasn't really pushing myself to begin with and I still achieved my goal here. I will try to do less walk breaks in the upcoming Globe Half Marathon which I registered for.


Half Marathon Finisher!

At the finish line, I got a loot bag filled with above food and drink items and a Finisher Certificate. For registration fee of Php 150.00, this was worth it! No wonder, we keep going back to Milo races!

As custom for previous Milo races, there were booths for Milo drinks to which I lined up and got two cups. I then headed to the car and see how Per fared in her 10km race.

The good news is: she finished her 10km race. Yay! The bad news is: she had a hard time finishing it! Similar to me, she was at race pace for first half of her race (I even saw her and we were both smiling and exchanged high fives). Then, she got tired and slowed down a bit. Ending with what she describes as "zombie walk" at last 500 meters to 1 km to the finish line. It was a worst 10km time for her for 2009 (again, similar to me). Her gripes was lining up for Gatorade and that there were no water at the finish line.
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The important thing here was that we both finished our races and learned some lessons behind that race. This event was very organized with marshals stopping traffic for us to pass by, lots of water, and new route for me! This was my first half marathon to be done from Luneta too! If there will be another Milo Half Marathon, I will definitely join it again.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Number Two! (Fresno Marathon)



This blog is brought to you by the number :
2 (TWO)


And why number TWO?


In terms of the race event:


1) This will be the SECOND year to have this event after a successful race held last November 2008.


2) It will be a race that goes throught TWO cities - one is Fresno and the other is Old Clovis. So joining this race will make you run in two different US cities.





For this runner, the reasons for it being TWO are as follows:


1) It will be my SECOND Full Marathon a) for this year, b) in this lifetime, c) ever, d) ALL OF THE ABOVE!


2) It will be my SECOND USA Road Race a) for this year, b)in this lifetime, c) ever, d) ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Race clipping from Fresno Marathon 2008



Good points for joining this race:



1) Very organized race (based on last year's comments), lots of marshals, water stations and online results coming out almost immediately.



2) Very cool weather as done in November (around 8 -20 degrees Celcius)!


3) Flat course - it is a Boston Qualifier. They even made course for 2009 better - it has fewer turns and the hills in the last 2 miles have been removed from this year's race!

4) Long cut off time of 7 hours. Enough time for me to finish it (I hope!).

5) Lots of FREE Stuffs: Nice Finisher medal, Goody Bag, Personalized Bib, Post- Race Hot Breakfast, Beer Station at Mile 22 (lips are dry just thinking about it!), Free beer at finish line, Free Ice Cream Sundaes, Finisher Sweatshirts, Free Long Sleeves Technical Event Shirt.

6) Spectator area for me to see Per at 13.1 Miles. Perfect to change socks here! Hehe.

7) Better advantage (flat course, cool weather, etc) for me to get a New 42km PR. Time to redeem myself. Hehe.

8) For the unforgettable Experience!

9) Race Festival: Beer Party, Pasta All-You-Can-Eat Party the day before, Expo one to two days before race.





Bad points for joining this race:



1) Training session again. Groan!! So lazy to do this all over again! Back to Sunday Long Runs. Double Groan!!!

2) Not sure if body is recovered by the time this race starts as Per and I have SFO Half Marathon exactly a week before this race (although that race will be at a relaxed easy pace for us).

3) Since this is a fast course, I would definitely be at the last 10% of the total runners for this event. Most would join Half Marathon event (based on 2008 results). I will be stuck with runners looking to qualify for Boston!

4) I will be running by myself at last 13 miles so can get pretty lonely and isolated here (only 600+ joined full Mary in 2008 and most were very fast).

5) I might miss out on the Finisher medal. Some medals ran out last year eventhough there were a lot of people who still finished the race. Hope this problem has been fixed by the race organizers this year. :)

6) Body might be too sore for me to enjoy our remaining days in USA. Need to look for a good massage here!

7) Two words: Trail Run! Yikes! But at 2nd leg of the race and not the entire course.





FINAL VERDICT:



The good points outweigh the bad points by (you guessed it) TWO points. So, it looks like I'm going to register for this race too.



This event will be held on November 8, 2009 and will have a Full Marathon, 4 Person Relay, Half Marathon Run, Half Marathon Walk events.


Registration is now available on-line via its website: http://www.runfresno.com/

Got my registration confirmation via Email. This is it!

Registration Confirmation for:
Two Cities Marathon and Half
Dear DENNIS,

Congratulations! You are now registered for Two Cities Marathon and Half. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.RunFresno.com

View your complete registration details »

Congratulations! Your registration into the Two Cities Marathon has been accepted. Pick up your timing chip and event number at the Health and Fitness Expo. Friday Noveber 6th, from 3:00pm to 7:00pm and on Saturday November 7th, 2008 from 10:00am to 6:00pm. Refer to our website for location. If you need room accommodations please see our web site for Hotel specials. See you at the START line!


Date & Time:
11/08/09
Location:
Woodward Park (
Map)
Purchased at:
06/25/09
Category:
Marathon
Name:
DENNIS QUE PE