Run Against Raze 10k (Race Review)

The Run Against Raze was held last Sunday, March 18th at Bonifacio Global City (BGC). There were 3km, 5km, 10km and 16km categories for this race and finisher medals were given out to all 16km finishers. There were also finisher medals for the three shorter categories but this was limited to the first 100 finishers per category.

With the 10km condition imposed, I decided the night before that I needed to race this event with the simple objective of being part of the first 100 finishers.

I got to the race site early and proceeded to do a 1.5km warm up around the area and heard the emcee starting off the 16km runners. I have 15 minutes for my warm up run before my own race would start. No problem!

I got to the starting line just when my race started and even had a drink of water. My race was on!

At the start, I was careful with my pace by making sure that I didn’t go out too fast. I breathed long and hard as I slowly overtook some runners and built up speed. So far I was cruising at 6 minutes average pace and wondered if this was already too fast for me. I haven’t been racing for a while and there was a fear that I would burn out and start walking. But I still felt strong and even skipped the first two water stations.

For some reason, I just kept going faster and faster and not really feeling out of breathe or even thirsty. I kept skipping the water stations and just deciding to go for the next one but when I reached the next one, I skipped it again and just kept going.

By 5km, I was below 30 minutes which was a big surprise for me as it never happened in any of my recent races! I recalled the Nike 5km run I did more than a year ago and back then I finished above 30 minutes!

My pace was slightly below 6 minutes and I was hopeful that I could do a sub-60 10km again. I ran hard on the hills and harder on the flat or downhill course. And my pace went down a second or two more.

Now my goal changed from a sub-60 to a 10km PR. I had to do some mental calculations while running at 5:58 average pace and think hard on my last sub-60 pace and time.

The numbers popped in my mind: 10k PR pace was at 5:57 and 10k PR time was at 59:25 (BGC 10K) . I have 3-4 km to go even faster! And there was Kalayaan Bridge looming over and awaiting me! I imagined it sinisterly laughing and mocking me. “You will not be able to run me at 6 minutes pace”, it silently taunted me.

Unfortunately, it was right as my pace here was at 6:13!

So I did a very unconventional thing – I decided to skip ALL the water stations and drinking only after I had finished my race. I had a lot to catch up to after all!

I glanced at my Garmin a few times just to check on my average pace and just kept going. The distance closed in. I felt the finish line getting nearer and nearer.

Less than 2km to go… 1km to go… I had to sprint! I overtook more runners and pushed harder. My breathing became quicker and I had to move my arms and legs more. I had 500 meters to go and I stopped looking at my Garmin. I saw the final turn to the finish line and that motivated me to keep going. When I made the final turn, I ran even faster for the last 200 meters to the finish line and stopped my Garmin right after I crossed it.

I got the very nice finisher medal (yes, I made it for the top 100 finishers!) and walked a bit to loosen my legs and slow down my breathing.

After finally drinking my water, I looked at my Garmin watch and saw the results:

Distance: 10.03km

Average Pace: 5.55

Time: 59:17

Praise God!!!

What was even more surprising was when I looked at my average pace per kilometer and saw that my 9^th and 10^th km were the fastest for the10km distance with an average pace at 5:45 and 5:44. Negative split!

Goal #1 – Be top 100 finishers to get finisher medal

Upgraded to Goal #2 - Finish 10km in Under an Hour

Upgraded to Goal #3 - Achieve PR Time and PR Pace

There can’t be a more perfect race for me personally than this one!

Prayer works!

Very nice Finisher medal that now means a lot to this RUNNING FATBOY!


Thanks to Rhix Gabriel of Pep Squad Events and Marketing Services, Inc. for the complimentary race kit.


Thanks also to "Angelo's Photography" for some of the photos taken during the event. There are a total of four photo albums and all of these pictures can be found in their page at www.facebook.com.





Here I am nearing the finish line (at back of this photo) and verifying my time and/or average pace.


And of course, a big thanks to Coach Alvin for making me able to go this fast this soon :)


Race results are out now (www.runningmate.ph) and I ranked #68 with a gun finish time of 1:00:41.

Too bad it didn't show the total number of runners for that race nor the chip finish time (which for me is more important). I'm just glad I have my Garmin watch with me :)