The Rogin-E Last Man Running was a one-of-a-kind event in that hard core runners have to run for 7 hours at McKinley Hills area and the winner after said 7 hours will be the one who covered the longest distance. To qualify for this event, a runner must be able to run at a certain pace (6min/km first two hours, 7min/kim next two hours, etc.) or face being eliminated by the various marshals posted along the route.
With this kind of restrictions, I expected only a few people to join this event given how hard it is to qualify inside (pace required, marathon proof, medical certificate). Little did I know about the abilities of the Filipino people (and some Kenyans) as they vie to be the Last Man (or Woman) Standing! It was definitely interesting to watch these people conquer their distances one step at a time and be inspired by their abilities!
But I didn't watch too long as I had my own race to do... and that is for the 10km race event. I was able to park at 5:35am and did a short jog to the starting line just in time for our 5:45am race to begin. My goal was only to finish this race as prior to arriving here, I already did a 4km run near my house as looking to do a total of 15km distance today.
Unlike all of the previous races I've done for this year, there were no finisher medals waiting for me after I have finished my running. These things were reserved for the people who competed on the 7-hour race and if you ask me, they all deserve to get their huge kick@$$ medals. What's good about this race was the nice singlet I got at the race packet claiming area some two days ago, the free Fitness magazines at the finish line and lots and lots of water scattered around the 10km course (but missed out on the free breakfast due to the long queue at the finish line).
First time I conquered the McKinley Hills (where McDonalds was) without stopping to walk! But I did walk at various parts of the race course AFTER doing the McK Hills. This, being my first McK Hills 10km run for the year, it gave me an okay-but-not-fantastic 2011 PR of 1:07++.
Here's to more races on the dreadful McK Hills. And great job for the organizers for making this unique survival-of-the-fittest race!
One more reason to love this race: Free Photos (there were about 3,000++) to be uploaded!
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