reinier6666

Timex 2012 Run - Time Is Running

2012-01-22T11:48:00.000+08:00

Afterjust a week since the opening salvo of RunRio, they followed another runningevent for today 22Jan12, the TIMES 2012 RUN – TIME IS RUNNING. The eventcovered the 16/10/5 kilometer categories.

Asexpected the race event was another big success. Although I do not have theofficial comparative attendance count, I would say that today’s event has agreater number of participants from last week. Timex has established from thepast years a good base of followers. Having said this, Piolo Pascual who hasbeen the endorser for TIMEX on previous run, is still a force to recon as hestill commands a good number of female fans (even males) The guy could really run as well havinga personal best of 47minutes for the 10k distance. Today also coincide to behis birthday. Happy birthday Piolo.

To Timex congratuilations for a successfulevent. To coach Rio and his staff wishing you all the best and hope for yourcontinued endeavors to bring class and stature to the Filipino runners.

Icompleted my 10k run in 01h08m50s (unofficial time) which was also animprovement from my last week’s timing.

AnotherSunday in the road. The way I would always want to complete a week and start apersonal Sunday bonding time with the family.

Go Natural 2012 - Opening Salvo of RunRio for 2012

2012-01-15T10:29:00.001+08:00

GoNatural 2012 – “A Run For Early Child Diabetes Education” is the opening salvoof RunRio for the year 2012. The eventwas held today 15Jan12 at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) covering 21/10/5/3 kmcategories.

Aswhat can now be expected from RunRio the event was not only well attended bythe local running community it was as well organized race with lot activitiesoffered to all runners after their race events. Congratulations to RunRio andsponsors Go Natural.

Normallyafter crossing the finish line I proceed to my car and go home immediately,however, as it was still early and with the sun still low in the horizon, I dida walkabout in the activity grounds of the race event. The giveaways to all theparticipants were well managed in its distribution. There were many sponsors activitybooths that can be visited by the runners. One outstanding and striking set-upthat I wish to commend RunRio was the installation of a row of TRASH BINS thatwere very visible and usable by all persons in the activity area to ensure thatcleanliness and proper disposal of trash is handled. Great job to theorganizers for environmentally sensitive.

Therewere really a lot a activities going about simultaneously and another very strikingevent was a rock band playing with all gusto to the delight of the crowd. Theband was playing well and I wanted to ask somebody their name but felt ashameto do so. Anyways, whoever you are guys your music was good.

Oneminor fault I noticed during the race was the installation of the distancemarker for 10km located at Rizal Avenue where it indicates that 10km runnershave still 3 km to go. Somebody made a booboo where it was placed as just 50meters after you have another sign that 10km runners have completed 8 km. Whileit is very minor fault maybe somebody should check isignages are correctlyplaced by utility personnels to wher they should be as error on their part couldtarnish the good name of the organizer.

Icompleted my 10km event in an unofficial time of 01h11m55s another great Sundayhugging the roads.

PSE Bull Run 2012 - A Great Start For A Running Year

2012-01-08T17:17:00.000+08:00

Inthe last four consecutive years, I have started my year in running withone event and that is PhilippineStock Exchange (PSE) BULL RUN – “Takbo Para Sa Ekonomiya”.

Ihave witnessed the said event evolved from a so-so running event and graduallyimproving as the years pass by to what it has been today…a well attended andmanaged running event. If such a success of the initial running event of theyear would be the basis for allother races during 2012 then the running community will be in for a great runningyear.

The2012 edition od the PSE Bull Run covered 21/16/10/5/3 km categories. Theunofficial attendance fro the event is about 8000 runners. Each individualcategory was started by the sound of the TRADING BELL of PSE instead of theusual gun start.

Congratulationsto sponsors Philippine Stock Exchange for their continued support andcommitment for the past four years to the running community and may youcontinue for the coming years. Congratulationa as well for a job well done forthe event organisers ADEVENTS who have improved over the years.

Ijoined the 10km category and finished in 01h 15min 49sec nothing spectacularfor any young person but for a forthcoming 61 year old guy, it is a good startfor the year. I just hope I will have the longetivity to continue my running tomy 70’s.

Seeyou on the road this 2012.

Running Log For The Year 2011

2012-01-05T14:37:00.000+08:00

As with any other endeavor, any task or undertaking will only be considered completed should the same be documented for analysis and record purposes. In this respect, I submit the above REPORT CARD of my Running Log for the year 2011.

Total distance run for 2011 - 2,146.16 kilometers
Total Calories burned running for 2011 - 149,050 Kcal
Total distance run since April 2007 - 12,760.50 kilometers

Unlike on previous years, I was hitting 3000+ kilometers a year. However age is fast affecting me (I am turning 61 years old this 2012) and I have noticed a big difference in my stamina. For the year 2012, I shall limit now my race participation to 10km distances and workouts to 40km/week. The main consideration now is maintaining good health so that I could run till I am on my 70's.

Wishing all runners a great year ahead. Keep healthy, safe and injury free. See you on the road.

Las Vegas Touring 10.51km Run

2011-12-26T01:20:00.000+08:00

Las Vegas Touring Run 24Dec11

Early morning on December 24th at around 6:36am with temperature at 6degrees celsius, I started my morning workout from Trump Hotel in Las Vegas all the way to Four Season Hotel and then back.

The main purpose of the run is to take a leisurely run at the Las Vegas Boulevard and take pictures along the way.

I wish to share the pictures taken during the run which can be viewed on a slide share presentation above. I do also take this opportunity to greet all my readers a BLESSED MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Let keep on running for the year 2012.

OB Montessori 45th Anniversary - Fun Run

2011-12-04T14:39:00.001+08:00

OperationBrotherhood (OB) Montessori is celebrating its 45^th year inoperation for the year 2011 and to celebrate the occasion the school branchesin Greenhills, Sta Ana, Fairview, Las Pinas and Angeles City joined forces fora fun run. The OB Fun Run 45^th Anniversary was held today 04Dec11 atVenice Piazza at McKinley Hilles in Taguig City for a 5km,3km and 1.5km fun runwith its students, families/friends of students and school faculty and staff.

Todayis also a red letter day in running as the 3^rd Quenzon CityInternational Marathon also took place. With my youngest son DENNIS being a 1^styear high school student in OB Montessori Greenhills, I have but to support myson and his school in its endeavor in running.

Ihave no high expectation of the OB Fun Run 45 Anniversary as the same is moreof a school event and gathering. However, immediately upon arrival at the VenicePiazza in McKinley Hills I was surprised of the preparation and magnitude theschool has taken for the event. We arrived at 4:30am and parking was already atsnail pace (I will highlight more on the issue of parking later). It was a nicefeeling to see on a running event students, parents/friends and school facultyand staff bonding for a running event. The place was filled with a fiesta likeatmoshere and you could just feel the energy in the air. I was expecting nomore than a handful of participants, but there were a great number ofparticipants. Iam not sure of the exact number but my safe guess would be about2500 runners from the 60+ (like me) to even as young as 3 years olds)

At5:48am the 5km was flagged start with the suceeding 3km and 1.5km at 15minutesapart. McKinley hill iunlike other running venues in the city is hilly with stiffascent and rapid descent in its road characteristics. I joined my son DENNISand daughter-in-law PAMELA in the 5km event with my son DAX as our support andcheerer. Halfway into my first loop I saw my daughter in law PAMELA already onher way to complete her first loop and about the same time I was alsoovertaking my son DENNIS.

31min55sec after the starting gun I crossed the finish line with PAMELA alreadywaiting for me. Pamela won 3^rd place in the female category (wedidn’t get her exact time) and she won P5000 for the feat. Not bad. My sonDENNIS crossed the finish line in 34mins plus.

Congratulations to PAMELA forher 3^rd place finish.

Theevent, food, booths, entertainment and the overall handling of event was superband earns my respect to the schools organizers and the technical assistance ofRunningMate in handling the race proper itself. To OB Montessori Management itwas a successful event and my best wishes for the for the coming years.

Havingsaid the above, I wish now to tackle on a minor but important issue that I havepersonally witnesed during the event. I have as ever been a strong supporterfor equality in life and believe that whatever you teach should be practised.It is about the parking issue. In Venice Piazza the parking areas have anelectronic board that do indicate the occupied space and the available space.At 4:30am the electronic board in the Parking Area near the fountain was 1showing2 slots vacancies, however, the SCHOOL SECURITY not the VENICE PIAZZA SECURITY(who understand they cannot reserve public areas) would not allow entry intothe parking area on the reason that the same is already RESERVED for school VIPand FRIENDS. I almost lost my cool and ignored the matter but gave my piece ofmind to the head of the SCHOOL SECURITY. The school are teaching students onpunctuality, equality, discipline in life and of good character education, but,contrary to such values in life whoever gave the order to provide PRIVELEGE toindividuals particularly for the faculty/staff should be ashamed andre-educated that public areas are always on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. Theschool even came up with a memo to students to come early to be able to availof the parking space near the starting line. I have said my piece on this issueand hope that whoever had this bright idea come to his/her sense.

Evenwith the above complaint, I find the event a success and congratulate OBMONTESSORI on its 45^th anniversary.

Nathan Ridge Run 2011 - Breath Taking Run

2011-11-21T05:56:00.001+08:00

NathanRidge Run 2011 was held at Tagaytay Highlands on 20Nov11. As planned by thesponsor and race organizer, the event met the number limit of of itsparticipants at 1000 inclusive of the three categories 21k/10k/5k.

Therehad been more than a couple of races held this year at Tagaytay Highlands, butall of them are trail runs. The Nathan Ridge Run was a road race along theaccess roads of Tagaytay Highlands, Midlands and surrounding exclusive housingsof the Tagaytay Highlands estate.

At5:00 I with my sons Dax, Dennis and daughter-in-law Pamela arrived at thestarting venue at the Sports Club Center with most of the parking already takengiving us no other alternative but take the furthest parking lot just beyondthe go-kart track and just before the open arena. It was maybe a good sign asto find ourselves in the starting line required us to walk a good distance of300 meters of uphill climb getting ourselves warmed up and familiar of what toexpect during the race.

Guntime was 5:30am fro the 21k, 5:45am for the 10k and 6:00am for the 5k. As I wasentered on the 10k event, I took the opportunity to watch the gun start for the21k event participants and just watching these guys makes me envy theirdetermination and drive not because of the distance but the elevation for thewhole length of the race that is definitely the touhest there is for a roadrace in the country.

At5:45am 10k was let go on an uphill climb starting at elevation 410 meters toelevation 625 meters or a climb of 215 meters in 3.3k distance all the way tothe Peak Bar. From the Peak Bar it was a down hill run to elevation 320 metersor descent of 305 meters in a distance of 4.0 kilometers. While this segmentwas a descent it was not as easy as it looks like as running down hill was riskyand dangerous. Then it was the back breaking climb from elevation 320 toelevation 500 or a climb of 180 meters in 1.7 kilometers that would make youask “why am I doing this”? Finally the last segment was a downhill run a descent of 90meters in a distance of 1 kilometer before hitting the finish line.

My10k was timed at 01h 34m 01s which was a mixture of run, race walk, walk andeven a snail’s walk.

My official timing as posted by Nathan is as follows;

Congratulationsto Nathan for a very innovative race event.

The Nathan Ridge Run 2011 was“breath taking” with views and scenery and with stiff elevation clim you needto tackle during the run. Breath taking indeed!

Canon Photo Marathon 2011 - The Artistic side of a Marathon

2011-11-12T20:52:00.001+08:00

TodayI joined a marathon, it is not the 42.2k in running, but a photo marathon,specifically the 5^th Leg of the Canon Photo Marathon 2011 MetroManila edition. There were four other events namely Mindanao Region – August 27^thCagayan De Oro City, Visayas Region – Sept 3^rd Tagbilaran City,Northern Luzon Region – Sept. 10^th Vigan Ilocos Sur, South LuzonRegion – Sept. 17^th Legaspi City Bicol.

CanonPhoto Marathon has been on going since 2006 and is now on its 5^thyear. For the last 3 years I have tried to enter this event however everytimethey open up the registration via internet, registration quota is normallyfilled up in less than 24 hours. This year I made sure to be in my computerwhen they opened the registration last October 28^th at 8pm. It wasonly at 4am on October 29^th that I was successful in opening theregistration page. Registration is FREE and the event is well provided for withlunch, snack and dinner with shirt/cap and ID to use during the event.

Iarrived Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) located at Sen Gil Puyat Avenueand Roxas Boulevard at 6:45am and the crowd was already quite sizeable consideringthe event is only to kick-off at 8am. I was surprised that the registration wasWELL ORGANIZED and systematic more than what I could say of certain runningevents in Metro Manila. T-shirt sizes, caps, info flyers, ID card, giveaway,brochures and what have you are all in a packed identified bag. Registration iscomputerized with more than 40 stations/counters to attend to participants by theirsurname basis. And to think all of these are FREE and whatever logisticalexpense was shouldered by Canon Philippines.

Forthose that are not familiar with the photo marathon the mechanics of the competitioncan be seen in this link to better understand the event.

CanonPhoto Marathon is also held in other countries in Asia such as, Singapore,Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hongkong, Vietnam, South Korea. However, thePhilippines today established the RECORD of participants during today’s ManilaLeg gathering 2670 participants, the biggest in Asia.

The1^st Theme for the competition was “In the concrete jungle of ournation, Find the beauty of your own imagination use your creation …..” and allparticipants were let go at 10:30am with deadline to submit their single entryon or before 1:30pm. I choose to head for JONES BRIDGE and ESCOLTA area to takemy picture. In the end I have this photo to submit for my 1^stentry…..

The2^nd Theme for the competition was “In this City of Wonderful people,Different lifestyles, we venture A Mirros of our Colorful Culture trulypreserved for our Future”. Participants were let go at 2:30pm with deadline tosubmit their single entry on or before 5pm. I choose to head to BACLARAN CHURCHto take my pictures. In the end I have this photo for my 2^ndentry…..

At 3:30 pm having already submitted my 2^ndentry and feeling tired and exhausted due to the heat, I decided to head homewithout waiting for the result and formal closing of the event which still hasa dinner and show. Whatever be the result, I think I am already a winner as Ifeel very satisfied of the two pictures that I have submitted. I had bothprinted on a canvass size 16x24’ for P500 each which was done in less than 5minutes at the venue itself courtesy of Canon Pixma Printer and I had themframed earlier tonight at SM Mega Mall for P650 each. They both now occupy aspace in the walls of my home.

I Share the following pictures during the event... (click on the link)

https://picasaweb.google.com/100678127252451474640/CanonPhotoMarathon201112Nov11?pli=1

Congratulationto Canon Philippines! And congratulations to all the 2670 participants. See youagain next year.

The Trill - Running In The Rain

2011-11-06T08:32:00.001+08:00

November6^th was the schedule Chevrolet New Balance Power 2011 covering5/10/25K events. I was looking forward in joing this event being one of thelonger running and popular running events locally. However, the family as aconfirmed booking for the Mount Pinatubo Trekking schedule for 05Nov11 so I haveto forego my intentions for the Chevrolet New Balance Power Run 2011.

Fromthe 2-4^th November it has been intermitently raining in CentralLuzon and Metro Manila that the Pinatubo Tourism Board declared all PinatuboTrekking for 5-6Nov11 cancelled due to the danger of lahar flow and swelling ofthe river leading to the volcano. What a downer! I had already my bags packedwith the necessary trekking gears and change clothes. I was looking really forward inswimming in the crater and having a relaxing massage that is quite popularafter trekking. What to do? Nothing much, but, I know it was for safety reasonsand our trip to Mt. Punatubo is now rescheduled for the 26^th ofNovember.

Iwoke up early today 6Nov11 at 4:00am and told myself to instead do my ownrunning at Fort Bonifacio. As I looked out of my window I saw that visibilitywas down due to heavy rain. My mind started playing around if I go back to bedor go for a run considering the rain. My better instint prevailed so off Iproceeded to Fort Bonifacio.

AsI approached Fort Bonifacio at about 5:10am I already came accrossed the leadrunner for the 25K event of the Chevrolet New Balance Power Run so I have tocriss cross the diferent streets to find a suitabale parking area. Then I sawthe main pack of the 25K and noticed that inspite of the heavy rain there wasquite a big number of participants.

At5:28am I started my own run on my intended route from 30^th Street westwardall the way to 1^st Avenue then northward to 32^nd Streetgoing eastward all the way to 11^th Avenue turning south to 11^thAvenue till I am back on 30^th Street. This route covers an approximatedistance of 2.6km per loop so intention was to make 4 loops. The temperature wasdown to 22C due to the heavy rain that it was difficult for the early part ofthe run. During the course of my run within the loop I encountered the 25/10/5Krunners as often as I made the loop and I thought I was already crazy runningin the rain, but, there was still a bigger number out there crazy as I am.

Icompleted my 10.31k run in 01h18m29s. It was a great run in the rain, but now Imuch proceed as fast to take my hot shower to avoid colds.

Inrunning RAIN is not a deterent but rather an added incentive for the trill inrunning.

ADIDAS KOTR 2011 - SouthEast Asian Championship

2011-10-23T10:25:00.000+08:00

Oneof the longest and prestigeous running event in the most recent resurging eraof running during the late 2000 has been the ADIDAS KING OF THE ROAD (KOTR)which started on 2008 as a modest running event. This year 2011 the KOTR iscumminating in the Philippinea where the finals for the regional champions ofMalaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia will fight it out with thePhilippines and elite runners of Kenya stationed in the Philippines for theKING OF THE ROAD title.

Withthe ADIDAS KOTR scheduled on 23Oct11, I was able to avail of the promotionalfree registration for the 21k category sometime in August. However as the eventcame closer I was in doubt if I was physically fit to run the 21k so I have toselect to the remaining category which is either the 16k or the 5k. Not wantingto exert much effort I had no alternative but select the 5k category. I thengave my 21k kit to my wife who gave the same to her friend CARLO BELTRAN.

Priorto the gun start for the 21km category, the UAAP Champion for the CheeringSquad competion, the University of The Philippines Pep Squad gave a trillingperformance on the starting line. Video of the performance can be seen below;

At5:00am the 21km runners numbering over 4000 participants was started. To attestto the great number of participants for the 21km the video below took more than3 minutes for those in the back to cross the starting line.

The16km event is the category for the KING OF THE ROAD for SOUTHEAST ASIA. This isthe distance event to determine the title of KOTR. Champions from Malaysia,Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia with the elite runners from the Philippinesand those from Kenya are entered in this even. Again for these category the MCmentioned that there are over 4000 runners. The video below will show you thedifferent champions from the region.

Lastbut not the least it was our event the 5km. In view of the great number ofparticipants the start for 5km was divided into two waves to avoid congestion. Istationed myself on the first wave and at 5:50am I was off and running. Thefollowing pictiures I have taken duting the run.

Icompeleted the 5km in 33m03sec (unofficial) the distance was short and wantingbut was a great event and race.

It event being held in Manila was but a affirmation from ADIDAS to hold the championship event for the KOTRin the Philippines as the country has never experienced the boom and popularityof running as what it is now today.

Asof this writing I do not know yet the result of the KOTR but will update this blogwhen I do have the details.

Official Race Result

Congratulationsto ADIDAS and to all those who participated.

MassKara Festival 2011 - My Touring Run

2011-10-20T11:07:00.000+08:00

I was registered to run during the NikeManila Run 2011 last 15Oct11, however, I had a late invitation for an allexpense paid vacation to attend the Masskara Festival in Bacolod from 15-17^tthOctober 2011. Without second thoughts, me and my wife were on our way to Bacolod on the morning of15Oct11.

Feeling guilty to have missed myscheduled run, I made sure that on the early morning of Sunday 16Oct11 despiteof staying late the night before after attending the Masskara Festival ArenaCompetition at the town plaza, I made sure to squeeze in my usual touring runof the places that I visit.

We were billeted at the Grand RegalHotel located at Araneta Avenuejust in front of the Gaisano Mall. I have in the past only taken the route goingnorthwards, however, this time I decided to be a bit adventurous and headsouthwards of Araneta Avenue.As I have decided only to take around 10k workout, it was safe to go out 5kmand back track to complete the 10k workout.

At around 5:00am with daylight settingin I left the Grand Regal Hotel as planned. Just about 1.5km after I foundmyself at the old airport terminal of Bacolod whichhas been decommissioned since the Silay Airport has been inoperation for the last 3 years. I do not know who owns this place but it wasleft idle and wasted. It is a pity being on a prime location for mall or abusiness center.

At 3km I saw a catholic church in sightwhich solves my intention on where to hear mass during the morning the daybeing a Sunday. I stopped for a while and asked the name of the church and it wasSan Jose Labrador at Tangub and the last mass for the morning was 8:30am. Good therewas more than enough time to catch the said mass.

Just before hitting the 5km mark I arrivedat Manville Royale Subdivision which to my great surprise is being used by a lotof residents in the area as a running/jogging/walking place with wide arterialroads and plenty of fresh air. I was tempted to join the other on their routebut dismissed the same as I need to be back in the hotel to catch the 8:30ammass.

When I hit the 5.1km I backed trackedheading to the hotel. The view is already known to me and the only differenceis that the temperature has now risen to about 27C and rising as the sun wasclearly up on a clear sky.

At 6:18am or about 1h18m00s after Istarted my workout I was back at the Grand Regal Hotel having logged 10.13km .It was another great touring run that conditioned my body for another hectic daythis time to visit the Mambukal Resortat the foot of Mount Kanlaon. I am lookingforward to dip on a hot sulphuric spring a relaxing massage after.

ADIDAS KOTR & NIKE WE RUN MANILA - RACE KIT DISTRIBUTION

2011-10-11T19:10:00.000+08:00

Forthe month of October there will be two popular races sponsored by two equallypopuilar running shoes NIKE and ADIDAS.

OnOctober 16^th will be the NIKE WE RUN MANILA and a week after that on October 23rd will be the ADIDAS KING OF THE ROAD (KOTR) 2011 which will also serve as the finals for the South East Asia KOTR a major event in the local calendar. The running community are but trilled and excited with most local running enthusiast registered on both races.

Eitherby change or for whatever reason, collection of race kit for ADIDAS is at theNBC Tent at Bonifacio Global City from October 10-12^th and NIKE isat Bonifacio High Street at Bonifacio Global City from October 11-13^th.Both are just walking distance from one another. Is this only a coincidence and not a commercial strategy?

In this blog Iwould like to share my personal experience in collecting my race kit forboth which I hope is an isolated case and not a general situation.

ADIDASKOTR – NBC TENT BGC

- Collected my race kit on10Oct11 between 3-4pm.
- Presented my claim stuband presented my ID and attendant provided singlet and giveaways in a bag andadvised me that my race bib will be delivered to my house as the same is notready.
- Argued with attendantthat I received more than 3 email that collection of race kit will be complete.Requested to talk to supervisor to whom I explained incovenience of the matter.
- Supervisor asked me if Iwill accept any race bib number instead of the one that was supposed to beissued to me.
- To avoid inconvenience Iagreed and the supersor provided me with a race bib 07949 and a timing chip79649. Only when I went home I noticed the resemblance and difference of bothnumbers which I hope does not have consequential effect on my actual race data.
- Also only after arrivinghome, I noticed that I was supplied by a size 2XL singlet instead of a size Las is apparent to my confirmation order (refer to copy of registration on thepicture above).
- The venue and the layoutof NBC tent for the distribution as you could see in the pictures are VERYIMPRESSIVE. I hope that my experience is an isolated matter.

NIKEWE RUN MANILA – BONIFACIO HIGH STREET

- Collected my race kit on11Oct11 between 4:00-4:30pm.
- Presented my claim stuband presented my ID to the attendant.
- Attendant advised me thatmy birthday on my ID is different from their computer which shows January 1, 0000. I told the attendant that obviously that the error is in their computer asthere is no January 1, 0000. The same accepted my explanation and revised mybirthdate in their computer to my real birthdate.
- Learning from my not sonice experience with the Adidas singlet I demanded to see the shirt size in thebag which was a size MEDIUM. I complained and explained that my registration sizewas LARGE. Attendant could not decide and called the supersivor.
- Superviros advised methat he can not do anything but comply to what was indicated on their computerwhich was a size M. I explained to the supervisor regarding the error on mybirthday on their computer which if it was in error then most possibly theshirt size was also in error. Understanding the logic of my explanation, thesupervisor agreed to provide me with a size LARGE shirt.
- The venue although modestin size and open on the sides was acceptable and well manned and properlylaidout. Major complaint I noticed for participants was no issuance of kit to those who who do not have ID to support their claim slips. In fairness to the organizers notice on the ID was well disseminated.
- Again, I hope that mypersonal experience is an isolated matter. I still am open minded and look forward to a successful race event for NIKE and ADIDAS.

See you all on the races.

My Sentosa Island Run

2011-10-02T09:00:00.000+08:00

Thisweek I had to attend a business meeting in Singapore from 29Sep-02Oct. As in myprevious trips abroad, I have made it a point that I try as much as possible tosneak in my daily run as possible.

Iwas booked at the Hard Rock Hotel in Sentosa Island so I was delighted thatgiven the time I shall be a able to do a run around Sentosa Island which is faraway from the traffic congeste streets of Singapore and has ben latelydeveloped as a resort island where Universal Studio and so many attractionparks are located.

OnSaturday 01Oct11 true enough even with a full daytime schedule I made sure to wakeupearlier to make my run. With my hydration belt and camera on I have decide tomake a 10k workout. I started from the hotel lobby at 5:58 am which was stilldark as daylight only came at 6:45am. With no particular route in mind, I justtook off leading my way to Seloso Point on the the beach fronts of Palawan andTanjong beaches then to Sentosa Golf Club and backtracking until I found myselfback at the Hard Rock Hotel lobby.

Theworkout was more of a touring run on a relaxed pace giving myself opportunityto take photos along the route. The site and route is really superb andattractive with clean air. I logged 10.60km in 01h43m51s.

An early morning run SentosaIsland in Singapore is a great place to get yourself ready for a day of workahead.

FAM On The RUN - Medical City Department Of Pediatrics

2011-09-25T10:48:00.003+08:00

TheMEDICAL CITY Department of Pediatrics are the sponsors for the FAM ON THE RUNheld at Venice Piazza at Mckinley Hill Taguig with the RUN FOR CHANGE asorganizers for the run event covering 10k/5k/3k categories.

WhenI arrived Venice Piazza at 5:20am today 25Sep11 most of the participants have already arrivedalthough some where still queued on the parking lot. Unlike on other venuesthat pay parking is the name of the game, in Venice Piazza parking is FREE forparticipants of the running event. I am not expecting much of this race not being the commercialized running events of the usual but more of a fun run and fund raising event in particular for the Medical CityDepartment of Pediatrics Charity Patients. If I may say this is a very worthy cause bythe doctors of Medical City.

At6:00am the 10k runners were started making use of the usual Mckinley Hillsroute which is very hilly then to Lawton both ways before proceeding to Bayaniroad all the way to Heritage Park and back to Mckinley Hill ending at VenicePiazza. There were more than ample supply of hydration fluids and marshalsstationed on major intersections to guide runners. The organizers RUN FORCHANGE did their job well and for a fun run this race was well handled.

Icompleted the 10k with unofficial time of 01h 15m 31sec. To my surprise aftercrossing the finish line I was handed a FINISHERS MEDAL which was very generous ofthe sponsors to make the fun run a memorable one.

Tothe Doctors of Medical City Pediatrics Department thank you for a great Sundaymorning. Take of of those sick little children who have less in life.

AXN Runs Philippines - Great Route/Race, Personal Injury, Expensive Parking Fee

2011-09-18T17:28:00.001+08:00

TheRace Event Sponsor – AXN

AXNis the leading action and adventure cable channel in Asia. AXN is but only oneof the six channel brands in the region that is wholly-owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. The others being Animax, ONE, Sony Entertainment Television, AXN Beyond, andPIX.

TheRace Event – AXN Runs Philippines

Therace event was held today starting at F.Ortigas Jr. Road at the Origas BusinessComplex covering 21k/10/5k/3k events. This event’s main attraction is veeringfrom the usual road race venues in MOA, BGC, Diliman, Roxas Boulevard instead shifted to Ortigas Center in Pasig using Julia Vargas Street, C5 and Katipunan Road inQuezon City. The 21k event made use of four flyovers namely Rodriiguez,Ortigas, Santolan, and Katipunan with even a tunnel run at the Santolan-KatipunanTunnel. Both the 10k and 5k were also very scenic making use of the OrtigasFlyover in C5.

My10k Experience

Thisbeing my first experience to join a race event in Ortigas Center I made timeallowance to be able to find a suitable parking area near the starting line. Itwas not difficult as the organizers provided enough info on where to parkgiving varied options for participants to select their parking areas. At 5:00amI was already at the starting holding area and was very much surprised that the venue was well glittered by various tents for race support, exhibitors booths and race essential requirements and a big stage with massive sound system. There was great excitement in the air. AlthoughI was only expecting a modest number of participants the actual number was beyond what I expectedas there were quite a substantial number of particiapnst for the 21k and 10k (Idid not see the start of 5k and 3k). The 21k event was gunned off at 5:30am andfollowed by the 10k at 05:45am.

MyPersonal Accident

Barely0.8km from the starting line along Julia Vargas Street I was taking advantageof the down hill run. While on a careless uncontrolled downhill speed, I accidentally stepped on theREFLECTOR STEEL MECHANISM STUD that are rivetted on the road as lane separators causing me to lose footing and fall on my fours injuring both my hands and my right knee. I immediatelystood up and was graciously assisted by three runners and feeling moreembarrassed rather than the pain at first, I told the runners that helped me that I am ok and proceed back to my run.After just about a minute back on my run I could feel numbness in my right handbut after assessing my overall feeling decided to proceed with the race.

TheRace Support

Therewere more than sufficient race marshals along the route. In particular I amvery much impressed that the organizers were able to get the full cooperationof the MMDA and the Pasig traffic group that you could kind in clusters alongmajor intersections to ensure safety of the runners. The distance along theroute were well marked for every kilometer marker with complete directional signs.Along the route, there are even portalet facilities for runners who wishes torelieve themselves. The hydration support for water and sports drinks is wellprovided (there is even a banana station for the 21k). This race event wasdiligently prepared and executed and I wish to congratulate AXN the sponsor andthe rcae organizer Finishline.

AgainI would like to mention that the race route is the best for me that could bemade available in metro Manila. I hope other organizers and race events would make use of Ortigas and C5 route as an alternative to the usual.

Icompleted my 10k event iunofficially at 01h 115min 52sec. Even with my injurysustained I still am thankful that I did this race.

RaceDownside

Ihave only one negative comment for the race event which is not actually racerelated but that of the PARKING FEE. I was all smiles driving my van to theexit of the parking lot when I submitted my parking ticket I was asked to payP100.00 for a 2 hour parking. Usual parking fee in BGC or MOA is only P30.00and at Ortigas Ruby Prestige Parking I was receipted by Secure Citiparking Philippines Corporation OR130023618 amounting to P60.00 as Flat rate and OR130023619 as VAT and 12% VATamounting to P40.00 for a total of P100.00 This was something for the books. What a downer!

Fort Striders Run 2011 - Another Race By Runners For Runners

2011-09-11T15:40:00.000+08:00

Threeweeks has passed since my last road race not that there has not been any roadraces since then but rather that the past three weeks has been raining and theweather has not been endusive to running.

ThisSunday with good weather forecasted I made sure that I had myself registered inthe Fort Striders Run 2011 which is a local running club who are based at FortBonifacio Global City. You may check their website here The race event consisted of 16K/10K/5K/3K and wasflagged off with the16K runners first at 5:30am followed by the othercategories every 5 minutes interval. As what was expected the number ofparticipants were not that spectacular but would be on the modest scale.

Iwas enetered at the 10K event and at 5:35am we were gunned off with basicallythe normal route in Bonifacio Global City however extending a third of theKatipunan flyover span as an added attraction. Hydration support are more than enoughwith well maintained security and marshals on stratigic points. I have all praisesfor The Fort Striders Running Club in sponsoring a well organized road race.Fort Striders used as their race organizer MIB Road Race Specialist. I have oneminor comment which I hiope the sponsor and organizers could improve, thedistance for the 10k was short of 0.25km maybe a more diligent distancemeasurement in the future. However, the distance markers were positioned alongthe route. The main attraction of this race was that the registrration fee for10K was only P400.00 somethoing that you find very unusual now a daysparticularly on commercialized races. FS Run 2011 is another race event byrunners for runners.

Icompleted my 10K in 01h16m38sec (unofficial) nothing spectacular but a wellspent morning with fellow runners.

ToFort Striders Club Congratulations for a good race.

Run United 2 - 16000 Runners

2011-08-21T20:30:00.000+08:00

Today21Aug11 as early as 3am all roads were leading to Bonifacio Global City (BGC)for the Run United 2 which is the 2^nd Leg of the Runrio Trilogy. Theevent marks also the 4^th year of RUNRIO in organizing local roadraces who are primariy one of if not the main driving factor in the popularityof running in the Philippines today which has never had it as big as what it isnow.

In2007 when Runrio did their first race event there were only1888 registeredrunners which at that time was already considered a big crowd. Today, after 4years Run United 2 generated 16000 registered runners (21k/3500 10k/50005k/3k/500m/balance). For a single day event I think this number is somethingfor the records. In this magnitude of participants a major factor is crowdmanagement which I would like to congratulate RUNRIO to have a done a good jobin making sure of safety and orderliness during the event.

Participantsthat joined the event have their own individual reasons for picking up thesport of running. Whatever they may be, it is still a step forward for the wellbeing of each individual person. What has fascinated me were the smile and glowin the faces of the participants and even the non-participants who came alongto see their family and/or friends.

AsI was entered in the 10k event I was able to watch the gun start for the 21kwhich was a sight to behold with all 3500 runners just for the 21k event. The10k event due to the number has reached 5000 the gun start was in two wavesstarting from 5:30am and folowed 3 minutes after for safety reasons. This wasfollowed by the 5k/3k/ and the 500m events for kids.

Icompleted my 10k event in an unofficial time of 01h11m51s and a ton of joy inmy heart to share the road with the different runners in all walks of life.

Happy4^th anniversary to RUNRIO and may you continue to deliver worldclass road races in the Philippines.

Run and Leap - Making a Difference

2011-08-14T17:08:00.002+08:00

This weekend was another ofthose small scale running event for awhortwhile cause, for the benefit of OLOLHCHARITY PATIENTS. Our Lady Of Lourdes Hospital Medical Staff Organization, Inc.sponsored a ( click on distance to see route) 3K a 5K and a 10K run and andorganized by Run For Change.

Thevenue was at Venice Piazza, Mckinley Hill, Taguig City. When I arrived thevenue at around 5am officers of the sponsoring organization were already on thestage and providing the needed informations to participants and encouraging wordsto set the tempo before the gunstart. There were welcoming speeches, prayersand aerobic warm up to liven the crowd. At 6am the 10K event was gun startedand followed in intervals by the 5K and 3K events.

Iwould like to congratulate the organizers for a sucessful and well organizedevent. For possible improvement in future the following could be improved, correct positioning of thedistance markers which were not consistent to the actual distances. In particular, the 6kmmarker and the 7km marker was less than 0.5km apart and the total 10km distancewas short being only 9.81km. However, marshalling on street junctions,hydration stations were well handled. Again, for a non commercialized road raceit was a success.

Icompleted by 10k (9.81km by my Garmin 310xt) after 01h12m53s it was a struggle on my part considering the route was hilly comparative to the usual BGC route and that therace started already at 6am which brought about temperature at 28F by 7am considering the clear skies.

Conratulationsto OLOLH Medical Staff Organization, Inc. - you made a diffenece.

35th Milo Manila Elimination - Singing Dancing Running In The Rain (sidelight KSwiss Kwicky Blade Light)

2011-07-31T14:22:00.003+08:00

Inthe Philippines when you mention the product of Nestle’s MILO it is butsynonymous to RUNNING. Milo Marathon is on its 35^th year and on July31, 2011 it was the Manila Eliminations. The 42k and 21k events had their qualifying time that will eventually culminateto the 35^th Milo National Finals. As always there were also the 10k5K and 3k events.

Thisyear the weather was not as cooperative as in the past for this morning it wasnot only raining, but, it was pouring hard very hard. However, there were stilla great number of runners who braved the rain for all the categories. It makesme wonder what can prevent these runners from running?

Dueto the rain and the traffic congestion on the junction at Macapagal Highway andEDSA leading to Mall Of Asia (MOA) I barely made it to the starting pen of the10k event. It can be consideredsome sort of a blessing as I need not soak it out in the rain while waiting forthe gun start. At exactly 5:30am the starting gun was sounded amidst heavy rainand streets littered with ponds of water.

MiloMarathon in past has generated one of the most well attended if not the mostattended road race. However, due to the weather condition, I would safely saythat more than half of the usual number preferred to stay at home. For thosethat endured the rain, it was a great experience. It was singing, dancing andrunning in the rain.

01h13m26safter the start I crossed the finish line. The rain did not let up from startto finish and I was astonished to see that they were still runners andsupporters awaiting for the awarding program to start despite of the rain. I did not bother to linger around theactivity area, but choose to proceed to my car and head home for a well deservehot shower.

The35^th Milo elimination in Manila was a rain experience. Singing, dancingand running in the rain. Congratulations to all runners and to Nestle’s MiloMarathon Team.

Posted hereunder is my official 10k results;

SIDELIGHT– K-Swiss Kwicky Blade Light

Last21Jul11 I bought myself a K-SWISS KWICKY BLADE LIGHT at their Glorietta 4 outletstore. Today at the 35^th Milo Elimination I tested the shoes. It hada nice fit and ride all throughout my event. However when I arrived home Inoticed that yellow lining of the front foxing at the uppers of the shoe hasseparated. I love how the shoe responded in the rain run, however, it’s a greatdisappointment for the durability. Considering the cost is P6,500.00+ Ibrought the shoe back also today to the store. Being a Sunday I was promisedthat the quality control of their head office will give a feedback by Monday. Ihope and pray that I get a replacement shoe. Let us see what is the after salesdependability of K-Swiss.

(update as of 1Aug11 KSwiss outlet in Glorietta informed me that my defective pair of shoe will be change soonest the new stock of Kwicky Blade Lights arrive from USA)

(update as of 13Aug11 I received my replacement Kwicky Blade Lights from KSwiss Glorietta - Great after sales support and special thanks to store staff Richard and Fatima, I highly recommend this product in particular the professional after sales support)

Takbo.ph Runfest 2011 - "Lutong Bahay"

2011-07-24T16:47:00.003+08:00

Takbo.phis the largest RUNNING community and website in the Philippines. It has beenthree years since its birth in July 2008 which was conceptualized bysweethearts then (spouses now) Jinoe and Que Gavan with close running friends.For a short period of time Takbo.ph is now an institution with the runningcommunity in the Philippines.

Takbo.phhas been very close to my heart for I seen the group grow in numbers and matureto its task in coming up with a holistic running community. The group does nothave the written structural leadership but has been working on its day to dayaffairs more on voluntarism and love/passion of individual members and ourcourse the dedication and passion of Jinoe and Que in the field of running. Thecommunity does not limit itself to running, but, has ever since as well beencommitted to social responsibility having been involved in many social works inthe past. I for one have been supportive of the community and am proud toconsider myself part of this community (there is no formal membership to thecommunity).

Itwas therefore a must on my part to participate in the “Takbo.ph Runfest 2011”even if there was another race on the same day. But what really was the strongpoint of the runfest today? The Takbo.ph Runfest 2011 was a "LUTONG BAHAY” a“HOME COOKED MEAL”.

Icould not find any better analogy on how the event was held today. It wasperfect, great and fantastic in all aspect for the event was an offering ofrunners for runners in the spirit of volunteerism. It may lack the grand scalepresentations and commercialism of big running events we are use of now, but,it was meant to be a simple event of runners. It is as I have said a “LutongBahay” a great meal, good taste and labor of love as what we are fed at home.Comparatively not on the same scale as on a five star hotel food but definitelyon much intimate and personal touch.

Iparticipated in the 16k event today and completed the race in 02h03m48s(unofficial time). The figure may not be fantastic but the joy in my heart inseeing the volunteers manning whatever has been tasked to them and theencouraging words and smile you see in their faces were the highlights for mefor the Takbo.ph Runfest 2011.

Happy3^rd Anniversary Takbo.ph

Tagaytay Highlands Woodridge to Saratoga - 4.52k Photo Blog

2011-07-17T10:27:00.004+08:00

Ithas been more than 3 months since the family visited Tagaytay Highlands, giventhe good weather on the week end between 15-17 July 2011, late evening on 15Jul11we headed our way to Tagaytay Highlands for a much needed weekend rest.

Wakingup early on Saturday 16Jul11, I decided to take a short workout run fromWoodridge to Saratoga within the Highlands estate. I firmly believe that theplace has one of the best scenery for a road or trail run not onlylocally but comparative to any place in the region.

Ihave done a photo blog of the run point by point hoping to capture the beautyof the place. I usually have my 10k route but this time I decided to take onlythe 4.52k segment of the said route.

Ihope the picture gives justice to the beauty and freshness of the place.

Slimme Run 2011 - Wet and Wild

2011-07-10T11:31:00.002+08:00

Mywife “Hermie” has been a member of The Slimmers World North EDSA since 1991 sowhen Slimmers World announced to have their “Slimme Run” to be held on June 25,2011 it was but a must on my part to support the gym club membeship of my wife.

Jun25, 2011 came but the event was cancelled then due to heavy rain two days priorto the event. This prompted the sponsor (Slimmers World International) andorganizers (Argent Network International) to move the event to July 10, 2011. Iwas teasing then my wife that maybe in as much that they are more of gym peoplethat are used to indoors, they are afraid of getting wet and that rain preventsthem to run.

Forwhatever reasons the weather today July 11, 2011 was no better than the weatherthen when it was originally scheduled. I teased again my wife that SlimmersWorld better not cancel again this time. We arrived at the venue (BonifacioGlobal City) at 5:20am and I was relieved to see that the stage, booths andstarting/finishing line was rigged. At about the same time I could see a goodnumber of vehicles arriving and entering the parking area. For sure this eventis going to push through!

Ichecked-in at the starting gate just before 5:30am and by then I heard from theemcees that the start for the 10k category has been delayed to 6am. With therain, I thought the wait was a reasonable one. Just when I was thinking how tokeep myself warm for another 30 minutes, the emcees called the Slimmers Worlddancers/staff for a warm up. When the girls started dancing, I forgot the timeand started enjoying the graceful and tempting moves of those gorgeous girls.With the rain continuously pouring, runners at the starting coral were dancingtheir heart away unmindful of the rain. Had the sponsors/organizers cancelledthe run there and then I would not complaint with the gorgeous girls dancing!Anyways, the 30 minute wait run so fast and during that time the crowd has buildup and at exactly 6am the starting gun was sounded.

Therace route was on the usual BGC streets with last minute modification to avoidflooded streets. I was apprehensive at first with light to moderate rainshowers, however, I could see that all participants were enjoying running inthe rain with the lower temperature that goes with the rain. The race logistics(water station, marshals on junctions, directional signs and distance markers) wellmanaged by the organizers it was a smooth run. Congratulations to ArgentNetwork for a job well done in handling the technical aspect of the race. Icrossed the finish line with an unofficial time of 01h08m30s. A great run inthe rain.

AsI crossed the finish line, I came across a long queue of which I assumed wasfor the giveaways. I have never bother on my usual races to get my giveaways,but, I was a bit intrigued to see that guys have a big boxes of Purefoods MeatProducts so I patiently queued the line. It was good of me to be patient thistime as the giveaway was quite generous consisting of 500g German Franks, 500gCheese Franks, 200g Bologna, 200g Spiced Ham and 200g Salami which contains thePurefoods Gift Box. There was another bag that contained 200ml Nivea BodyMoisturizer, 150ml Intense Cologne, a bottle of Fit/Right, 100 plus, SummitWater, two cans of San Marino Tuna and assorted of vitamins and what have you.It was just like coming in from a grocery store, very generous loot bags.

Evenwith rain continuously pouring, the awarding and program after the race waswell attended by the runners (in as much that they are already wet).

SlimmersWorld International, it was a "wet and wild"run and a very much enjoyable and wellorganized run. Congratulations!

Manila Eliminations 35th National Milo Marathon - Runner's Handbook For 42k/21k/10k

2011-07-07T12:07:00.000+08:00

The Manila Eliminations for the 35^th National Milo Marathon will be on July 31, 2011 and as early as two weeks ago I have already received my race kit via courier service.

For the 35^th edition of the National Milo Marathon Nestle Philippines has chosen to partner with RunRio to handle the race organization. I do believe that this is a good partnership that will provide the technical push to the mission and vision of Milo Sports in its marathon part of the so many sports activities they are involved and immersed at for the improvement of the Filipino athlete. My best wishes to team of Pat Goc-ong and the team of Coach Rio Dela Cruz.

Included in the race packet I received is a “RUNNERS HANDBOOK FOR 42k / 21k / 10k”. I find the same simple but very informative to all participants and I wish to post the handbook page by page should by any chance not all participants are provided with a copy of the same.

Yamaha Run For Heroes - Making Time

2011-07-03T14:05:00.000+08:00

The past few days have been a very hectic on my personal schedule that it has destroyed my usual daily routine. Last Friday 01Jul11 I have to fulfill my promise to my son Dennis to bring him to “Transformers 3” on 3D at the Sharila-la Plaza (the effects and how the films was made was great, however, for somebody my age the fight scene every minute was too much for my ears and eyes to handle for a 2.5 hrs movie) which lasted until 12:30am only to be home at 1:30am. Then wake up at 4am for a golf tee time at 6:00am (you could just imagine how terrible my score was! My golf buddies were just happy to get even on our wagers!). I was back at home by 1:00pm then went for a needed nap and by 5:30pm was on our way to a birthday party (for the oldies) that lasted until 11:30pm (this was to accommodate my wife’s pleasure in ballroom dancing!). Arrived home at 12:30am and was awake at 4:30am to participate at the Yamaha Run for Heroes (10k category) at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC). You have just to make time to satisfy all and maintain a balance family life.

I was running late when I reached BGC that I met up with the 21k runners (there was a great number of them and I know that this will be a well attended event) at the Rizal Drive at about 5:20am (leaving me only 10 minutes to catch the 10k start at 5:30am). I squeezed my van through the traffic, parked and was literally running to the starting line. When I reached the starting line, the starting gun has already been sounded. I jumped over the coral fence to catch the tail end of the 10k runners. This is one race that I do not need any warm up as my catching the starting gun was more than a warm up by itself.

After the 10k runners there were also the 5k and 3k runners who consisted of the bulk of the participants. This event was organized by RunRio which again did a great job in handling all the aspects of a road race to the satisfaction of the participants. I do not exactly the number of participants, but this event was definitely well attended.

One special experience I had for the Yamaha Run For Heroes was the majestic scene of runners which was visible as you traverse 8^th Avenue leading to Kalayaan Avenue as you will witness a sea of runners on both lanes of 8^th avenue (Sorry I did not have my camera then with me). It was a sight to behold as it was also the converging straight course for all the race distance category which was the reason for the great volume of runners at that time and instant.

I finished the 10k event with an unofficial time of 01h12m06s fully satisfied of how the event was handled and how I was able to squeeze the Yamaha Run For Heroes with very little sleep/rest with a decent performance.

The run was for my personal satisfaction and need. I am happy that in the process I was also able to fulfill and satisfy the need(s) of my family. Keep everybody happy!

Making Time!

Bonifacio Global City 10k Route In The Rain - Photo Log

2011-06-25T17:21:00.000+08:00

For the past three days Metro Manila has been experiencing heavy rains brought about by tropical storm “Egay” and “Falcon”. However, the rain has not stopped me from doing my daily 10k exercise run at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC). Running in the rain is always a trill and enjoyment for me.

Today Jun 25^th 2011 as I woke up I could see in my window that heavy rain was still the order of the day. Being a Saturday my usual golf day is totally washed out. I decided instead to document by photo my usual 10k route at the Bonifacio Global City.

The following are series of photos of my 10k route;

Merrell Adventure Run 2011 - A No Show 24 Hours Late

2011-06-19T20:53:00.000+08:00

It was in June 13, 2009 that I had my very first mountain trail run “The 3^rd All Terra King Of The Mountain 10k Trail Run” done at the Timberland Heights San Mateo Rizal.

The experience and joy experienced then triggered my joining various trail runs since then. I was therefore trilled and did not waste time to register myself when they announced the “Merrell Adventure Run 2011” scheduled for June 18, 2011 also at the Timberland Heights, San Mateo Rizal. I was excited to relive my experience then.

The day before the race I had all my gears prepared and ready, I even asked the family if we could instead observe the Sunday anticipated mass to give me more flexible time for the race event. Being supportive of my running, the family was more than happy to oblige to my request. We joined the 5pm anticipated mass at the SM Mega Mall Eucharistic Chapel. After the mass I treated the family for a dinner at the “Mesa Restaurant”. While we were waiting for our orders to be served, I used my iPhone to browse my facebook and what I surprise I got. I saw pictures posted by “running atom” of the “Merrell Adventure Run” and I just could not believe that they held it a day earlier. I asked the family what date it was and to my shock they said it was June 18^th and not June 17^th as I believe it was!

I could not finish my dinner and soonest we arrive home I checked my race kit and indeed the race was on a Saturday and not on a Sunday. Luckily I opened my facebook otherwise I would have been at Timberland Heights in solitude.

Today being Father’s Day, I was the laughing subject by the whole family the whole day. I promise myself to be careful on dates next time. I have gotten so used to Sunday races that I have only but myself to blame.

My Merrell Adventure Run was a "No Show" and 24 hours late!

Mizuno Infinity Run 2011 - Beat My Time ? Good Race !

2011-06-11T11:01:00.000+08:00

Saturdays are primarily my golfing days that my golfing buddies circulate a text message on a Friday to remind us of tee time. Yesterday I received such message, however, I have to reluctantly inform the group that I cannot attend in as much that I have a scheduled road race. As ever, I do not think they do understand the craze in running as that of hitting a small ball and running after it.

Today was the Mizuno Infinity Run 2011 at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC). Surprisingly the organizers have scheduled the race this year on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday. I do not know their reason, maybe it was just making sure the run does not mix up the schedule for the Independence Day of the Philippines which falls on June 12^th Sunday.

Mizuno Infinity Run 2011 was build up as a race to face the biggest competition of a runner: THEMSELVES. Mizuno Infinity Run started the “Beat Your Own Time” challenge, and this year it is back with categories under 21k 10k and 5k events. It is primarily “Beat Your Own Pace” challenge.

When I arrived the race starting grounds, 21k runners were already checked-in at the starting line. As expected there were quite a substantial number of participants as Mizuno has a good record of races in the past. I was surprised to see Rudy Biscocho a seasoned race organizer who has been organizing races long way back before the advent of the likes of coach Rio Dela Cruz and the others. Seeing the guy assured me that the race should be well handled due to the experience of Rudy Biscocho. At exactly 5am the 21k runners were gunned off. I was entered for the 10k event so I had the opportunity to watch the start of the 21k.

At 5:17am (my watch time) 10k runners were gunned off heading to the very familiar route from BGC passing via Kalayaan flyover all the way to Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia) until just after Nicanor Garcia Street in front of MAPUA and back tracking on the same route all the way to BGC to finish the 10K route.

Nothing significant was noted all the way to Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue as the organizers have taken all the necessary steps to ensure safety of the runners. Just before reaching Makati Avenue I saw coach Rio Dela Cruz on his way back (I do not know if he was entered on the 21k or 10k). On this familiar route it always amazes me the junction of Makati Avenue and Buendia as no matter what you will always experience blaring horns from inpatient drivers insisting to cross the junction.

01h12m14s (unofficial) I crossed the finish line on a pace of 7:12/km and an average speed of 8.3km/hr. I didn’t have my previous Mizuno Infinity Time as I participated on the sideline in 2010 (Mizuno Infinity Run 2010), however, what I am sure is that I was fully satisfied and happy for my run and so with the event in itself.

What better way to refresh oneself after crossing the finish line by having a public shower!

AKTV RUN = Launching A Sports Block Timer

2011-06-05T19:40:00.000+08:00

When running begun its resurgence sometime in 2007, it was ABS-CBN (channel 2) who first made use of the running events to jump start its social/corporate advocacy in getting funds and public awareness in the likes of environment, Pasig river, education and the likes. Then GMA (channel 7) joined the bandwagon in sponsoring running events for its social projects as well.

Now not to be out done ABC (channel 5) in partnership with IBC (channel 13) has launched its AKTV a “block timer” which will cater to Filipino sports enthusiast, health buffs and those who live an active lifestyle. I hope AKTV will be a success in the future to be able to address the Filipino hunger is sports coverage.

It is to drum beat the launching of AKTV that the AKTV RUN was held today at the Mall Of Asia (MOA) covering 3k, 5k, 10k and 21k run categories. For the race event the sponsors tapped the services of RunRio who did an excellent job (as always) in conducting the race procedures. A minor problem of the event that I do take note was the late delivery of race packets which I do not know to what or to whom it could be attributed to. Claiming of race packets was still being done minutes before the start of the races. Anyways, other than this problem the event was a bid success with 6000+ runners participated for the different categories (data announced by the emcee prior to gun start). There were even numerous sports activities held after the actual races to highlight different sports to the trill of the public.

Again, it was a great Sunday morning. The weather was cooperative although as expected during this time of the year it was hot and humid all throughout the race. My 10k unofficial time was 01h18m02s.

To AKTV we look forward to quality sports broadcasting and wishing you all the best.

Venice Piazza McKinley Hills - Arias On Sunday Evenings

2011-05-30T13:15:00.000+08:00

It has been more or less a rule of the thumb for my family that we have a family dinner or lunch once a week together with my sons and my grandchildren. This family eat-out is normally done either dinner on a Saturday or a lunch on a Sunday.

However, lately I have accidentally discovered a relaxing place which is at VENICE PIAZZA at MCKINLEYHILLS wherein you could have a dinner “alfresco” on any of the restaurants at Venice Piazza. So since March of this year the place has been our nest every Saturday evenings. The place was perfect, your choice of good food from any of the different restaurants (I prefer KUSE and OLD VINE) , a cool breeze and open air for my grandchildren to play around while the adults discuss family matters.

I have not before considered Sunday dinner as I would like to have an early night on Sundays to be ready again for Monday work. However, by accident one Sunday evening last April due to some reasons the family instead had a Sunday dinner at Venice Piazza and to my surprise I found out that there were two performers (husband and wife) rendering ARIAS, Broadway songs, ballads and even Tagalog Kundiman music which were not only good but magnificently performed with great soprano voices performed in the middle of the piazza. To add a make believe Italian scenery, they have real painters whom you could commission (for a fee – I already had mine and my wife done) to draw you on the spot. There are also around six supposedly Italian ladies (third sex) dressed in ballroom costumes moving about the piazza with two or three pantomime performers to create that make believe Italian scenery. The whole performance is open to the public so it does not necessarily will cost you any. To attest to how good these performers are I have been back trice already.

The performance starts at 8pm and usually last for an hour an a half. I highly recommend the place to any family, those who are on date or even on your own to visit Venice Piazza every Sunday evening for a relaxing evening that would guarantee you all refreshed to begin your Monday work schedule.

Brooks Run Happy - A Happy Run Just Delayed

2011-05-22T17:27:00.000+08:00

When I registered to participate at the “Brooks Run Happy” I did not have much of an expectation. However, when I received my singlet I was surprised and impressed of the quality that was provided. It was made by Brooks itself in which I think only Adidas does the same on their sponsored runs while others use independent suppliers for their singlet to cut on cost. Further, a couple of weeks prior the race it was announced that a “finisher’s medal” will be provided. It was then that I had the feeling that the sponsor and organizer where serious in making the event a success.

On race day, I and my son Dennis arrived the venue at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) at 5am hoping to catch our 10k start time at 5:40am. Just after parking my car I was impressed on the brilliance on how the singlet fitted the participants that were also arriving.

At 5:10am participants for the 15k event where already called to check-in themselves at the starting coral. At 5:30am, 15k runners where already excited to start the run, however, due to unexplained reasons the two emcees where playing with words and trying to stretch time as much as possible hoping to hear their cue from the organizers to start the race. It was only at around 5:50am or 20 minutes delay that 15k runners were gunned-off. No actual reason was provided but according to grapevine it was due to delay in the positioning of water station along the route (not verified).

At around 6:00am the 10k runners were started. No untoward incident was experienced thereon and I would say the event run well. Having said this I would like to say that the Brooks Run Happy was also a Happy Run. Two possible improvement in the future the organizers should consider, first is the delay in the start-up which if it was true that the reason for the delay in positioning of water station, then the second point of improvement is also of the water station in the manner they were arranged to service runners (square table instead of long table to avoid congestion). I think the organizers better review and assess their water station suppliers and attendants for the negative side of the race. Otherwise, the event was worth your time, money and effort.

Brooks Run Happy was a Happy Run. It was just delayed.

Highlands Mizuno Fun-Run Challenge - Lung Buster and Knee Breaker

2011-05-15T16:14:00.000+08:00

With the recent visit of my balikbayan daughter last April, I have not been on any weekend road race for over a month. Having again found time, I am back to my regular weekend routine. I felt trilled and excited to participate on the Highlands Mizuno Fun-Run Challenge on 15May11 which is a trail and mountain run at the Tagaytay Highlands.

Being a trail run and out of metro Manila I was not expecting a sizeable number of participants, however I was surprised that the emcee mentioned that there are 820+ participants joining the 15K, 10K and 5K categories.

At around 6:14am the 10K participants numbering 350+ were started. I have always enjoyed my weekend road races but any trail run that I have participated has always been something special for me. I just cannot explain the trill and joy in running, walking and even crawling on trails and mountain slopes. The climbs are lung busting and down hills are knee breakers. With the picturesque scene and clean air, the combine chemistry I think makes a trail run rank better than a road run. While normally we do have cool weather at the Highlands as expected being right in the middle of summer temperature was really high and the humidity high even early in the morning.

The route was well marked with directional and distance signs with dangerous cliffs marked with temporary wooden guard rails for the safety of the runners. The hydration supply all throughout the route was more than adequate. I wish to congratulate the organizers and Mizuno for a well organized run. Unlike in previous trail runs in the Highlands on this occasion there were no back tracking on the route instead it was a single loop from Saratoga to Midlands and to the mountain leading to Highlands and down to the Batino entry gate of the Highlands before finishing at the Saratoga.

The distance that registered on my Garmin 310xt was only 9.54 for the 10K but I assume the difference is due to the vertical distance up/down along the trail. Unofficially I completed the course in 01h 25m 07s. It was a lung busting morning, but, again the difficulty was the trill of the day.

Sixty Years and Running

2011-05-03T17:27:00.001+08:00

Today May 3rd I just turned 60 years old!

When I woke up today at 4am I was feeling too lazy for my usual morning run so it took me about 15 minutes laying half asleep contemplating either to run or not. Luckily I was able to muster enough determination and standup from bed and dress and head my way to Bonifacio Global City. (BGC)

I have done this ritual for countless times, however, as I started my usual 10k run a crazy idea crossed my mind and told myself to play a game of recollection on the 60 years that I have had. I decided then that for each kilometer of run I will think of a six (6) year segment in my life. For the first two (2) kilometers 0-12 years old I had difficulty in remembering people and events that crossed my life. However from 3-4 kilometers or 13-24 years old there were so many nostalgic moments to remember, so many first things in life, love, high school and college days, I think I run this segment without too much effort not noticing that I have already completed 4km. As much as I wanted to dealt more on my hay days I need to proceed on the next stage 5-6 kilometers or 25-36 years old it was a life dedicated primarily for marriage, family, work not necessarily in that order and the different events that helped me establish my name in my chosen profession. Kilometer 7-8 or 36-48 was my mastery years in my profession and my private life, children getting married and enjoying the fruits of hardship. 8-9 kilometer of 48-54 was quite recent that it was not difficult to remember people and events and it was in this period that I was best in my golf game lowering my handicap to 9 (now its a miserable 21). Then finally 9-10 kilometers or 54-60 years I more or less was recollecting on when and how I took up running/race walking and the different events that I have joined since 2007 and the total distance I have logged since then. With so many things going into my mind I was back were I started and have already completed 10.20km. This was my 10km run in which I tried to recall people, events, places and what have you in the 60 years in my life.

I am having mixed feelings being 60 yrs. old. I do not feel I am 60 but I am really 60 and starting to have memory problem, body aches, erectile dysfunction and becoming more and more nostalgic and emotional in my life. They say age comes with wisdom, knowledge and achievements, but, I would not mind trading half of the good things that I have in exchange for a quarter of years of youth. But then again its just wishful thinking!

God I am old and I hate myself when I see 18-20 yera old girls noisy and enjoying themselves without care for the future. I could still remember in my youth that although I had not much money, I was able to enjoy life and hope that someday I have money to spend and enjoy more. God, now that I have money, I no longer have the youth to enjoy the good things in life. The Lord Almighty I think made sure that you cannot have both at the same time otherwise there will be chaos in this life of mine.

As a crowning glory for my 60th years, I have today obtained my SENIOR CITIZEN ID CARD and with all the accompanying booklets. Now I can watch free movie every Monday, and 20% percent on most of everything. (how I wish I get as well a 20% discount for my age .. 48 yrs na lang) So those of you who wish to invite for a meal, from hereon will be a good time!

I take this opportunity to thank all the people that has crossed my life in my 60 years. I will not name you one by one but you know very well who you are. I thank God for giving me as well the opportunity to be part of the lives of other people. In the end I pray that as I travel to my 7th decade in life, health, wealth and love (not in that order) will shine to my setting days in this world.

The Risen Christ - Happy Easter

2011-04-23T20:38:00.000+08:00

Our faith in Christianity is founded on our belief on Jesus Christ who died on the cross and has risen from the dead to redeem us from our sins.

Easter Sunday is a new beginning, a time to rejoice and live a life in accordance to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I take this opportunity to greet each and everyone a HAPPY EASTER. May the Risen Christ guide you and your love ones in accomplishing your individual endeavors and aspiration in this life.

HAPPY EASTER.

GMA All Star Kapuso Fun Run - Celebrity Watch

2011-04-13T16:04:00.000+08:00

April 10^th was another weekend race in Manila. There were two scheduled race event for the day, the NatGeo Run at the BGC and the other one is the GMA All Star Kapuso Fun Run at the MOA.

Having joined the NatGeo Run last 2010, I opted to pass on the same this year to be able to experience another type of event run. I had myself registered for the 10k event of the GMA All Star Kapuso Fun Run. I have no high expectation of the event but was only hoping to have an enjoyable weekend race to avoid the monotony of solitary run.

The GMA All Star Kapuso Fun Run was hosted by Richard Gutierrez with Izza Calzado. As what was expected a great majority of the participants that attended were more on the celebrity watch rather than on the run event. There were more than a handful of celebrity names that were mentioned present during the event but being of the old school the names mentioned during the lengthy pre-race program did not ring a bell on my memory.

The event was suppose to start at 6am but with so much scripted talks being done on stage the sun was already shining when the starting gun for the 10k event was sounded at around 6:20am. It was a 20 minutes delay which could have been easily avoided should the organizer/”stars” been on their toes when it comes to timing. The route was nothing special at it started along the Sunset Boulevard of MOA and all the way to PICC and back tracking to MOA going through the artery of roads within MOA before ending again at Sunset Boulevard.

The handling of traffic by the marshals was acceptable except within the area of PICC. At the said junction the traffic could not be controlled as there were so many cars dropping guests who were to attend a graduation ceremony. At PICC you need to literally fight for the road. I find this a struggle and a downer. On the hydration aspect of the race there were about three (3) stations for the 10k route spaced every 3 kilometers which was acceptable, however, there was no water provided after crossing the finish line.

While I was not really impressed on the run event in itself I would not fault it that much as the event was a “fun run” and more like a “celebrity watch” for TV stars of GMA channel 7.

As ever it was still a good Sunday run that could not be denied.

Hongkong Run - My Battle Of The Bulge

2011-04-08T17:42:00.000+08:00

For the past 10 days since my daughter arrived Manila, I had been very busy attending to her needs and accompanying the family on a vacation in Bohol and then to Hongkong. It has been almost a feast in every meal so much so that I have gained 4 pounds in the past 10 days.

Why is it that gaining weight is so easy whilst reducing weight of say equal pounds will entail 3 to 4 times the duration to lose the same weight. I could also feel that the extra weight gained was in the tummy of all places. Life is so unfair! Why oh why? My Battle of the Bulge has been declared.

On 7Apr11 it was difficult to wake up early in the morning that just getting out of bed is already a struggle in itself. We were then on our 3^rd day in Hongkong and with temperature at 19degC the weather was cooperating in my struggle to reduce the undesired weight.

At 6:51am I started my run at Butterfly On Prat Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. There were still very little traffic on the street and with barely a hundred meters from the start I was finding it difficult to continue the run as there were stop lights in almost every block and that overhead pedestrian bridge are a “must use” on major intersection.

With no pre-determined plan on my route, instinct told me to head toward the coast line and/or any open space away from the building so that I would be able to have an unobstructed route. After a kilometer of about 10 traffic lights and 4 overhead pedestrian bridges, I found myself along the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Tsui and saw a good number of joggers. It was then I told myself “this is it”.

The following are pictures of the scenery taken of the route that I took.

01h26m16s after and having logged 10.20km I was back at Butterfly On Prat Hotel with 764kCal burned during the run. God it was even short for a good meal! I have to push myself or otherwise I will be backsliding and recovery will be too hard.

I am on my Battle of the Bulge and I know there will be plenty of Battles to come, but, pray that I shall eventually win the war.

Panglao Bohol - Early Morning Run

2011-04-04T08:40:00.000+08:00

With 4 days to spend on my family’s holiday in Panglao Bohol, I was well decided to squeeze in a couple of daily morning run during our stay.

On our 2^nd day of our stay at the Dumaluan Beach Resort and with an early pickup from our guide at 8am for the Danao Enco Adventure Tour (EAT) I decided to take a very early morning run to be on time for an early breakfast and pickup.

At 4:30am I was all dressed and ready for my run. As ever when you are not well versed on the locality, I decided to make a 6km run with a 3km outbound and reverse track to come up with a 6km distance.

The road was unlighted that I have to guess where to land my foot. However, the terrain was fantastic with uphill and downhill slope to tackle. The best was that the early morning breeze was fresh and with zero pollution that you could smell. About a kilometer on my outbound run I passed the Bohol Beach Club on my right and proceed straight until I reach the 3km distance before back tracking. My only complaint during the run was that there were too many dogs that go after you. One thing I noticed was that I approach a dark area (maybe because of my heavy breathing) the dogs already could sense that someone is coming and start barking. They are quite domesticated with all bark and no bite type, but, it’s the “what if” this dog really do bites. I thing this was also a factor that made the run trilling.

0h47m18s after with 6.12km completed I was back at the Hotel with plenty of time to spare for the coming days family outing. The following was the route recorded on my Garmin 310xt.

Globe "Run 4 Home 2011" - Am Back on Big Events

2011-03-29T11:41:00.000+08:00

After trying on and experiencing the small race events on weekends it was time to go back to big events and last March 27, 2011 it was the Globe “Run 4 Home 2011”

The Globe “Run 4 Home 2011” had the 21k/15k/10k/5k/3k events which practically catered to all types of runners. I arrived at Bonlfacio Global City (BGC) at 5:00am with plenty of time to spare for my 10k schedule gun start at 5:30am. While I was expecting a good number of participants my best estimate will be only around 5200 which compared to the Unilab Run United 1 last 6Mar11 which accounted for 17,000+ participants dwarfs this event. I could only assume that the Yakult 10 Miler at CCP got also a good number of participants as it was also held on the same day and with a very minimal entry fee.

The 10k event started as scheduled at 5:30am and took the reversed route of the usual BGC-Kalayaan-Buendia. On most occasions the route goes first to the different streets/avenues in BGC and University area before leading to kalayaan all the way to Buendia/Paseo before returning to BGC. This time, it was direct straight to Buendia/Paseo and returning to BGC before going to the University area at BGC. I personally like the route last Sunday as you have to tackle the Kalayaan flyover while still fresh and strong and adjust your pace in reaching the university area. The race proper was of course handle by coach Rio Dela Cruz and nothing much can be said as he always deliver an international standard race event. I was even surprised that just about a couple of hours after the race the results were already posted at the internet.

I completed the 10k at 01h03m04s with the following detailed posted race official result;

I normally do not stay around after the race and immediate head back home to catch my family Sunday Mass and this time it was even an extra effort to head back home faster as I was to pick up my daughter Dawn and her husband Alex who have not been home for 7 years. With them in Manila and until 17Apr11, I will be easing up on my usual weekend races and just hope that I would still be able to log my usual daily early morning runs.

By the way, I am not sure if Coach Rio handled the after race events i.e. distribution of loot bags and water at the finish line or if Globe handled this themselves but just heard that it was a little bit disorganized that collection was bunch up for all categories and the difficulty to get water after crossing the finish line. Anyways, whoever was task to this job we hope that an improvement will be done in the future.

See you on the road!

Casino Filipino Sang Takbo Run 2011 - "The Price Is Right - Come On Down"

2011-03-21T10:51:00.000+08:00

With running in its peak of popularity in the country, runners now have an option to select their type of race. In my curiosity to experience the different types of road races available on weekends, I have tried small time races one of which was my last blog event the Race Against Trafficking (RAT) Race last 13Mar11 which turned out to be a good race considering it was small in numbers of participants.

Last Sunday I tried another unique race considering that the entry fee is only P300.00 for all category (3k/5k/10). It is the Casino Filipino 2011 “Sang Takbo” – Run For A Cause. The event was held at Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) with the 10k route going all the way to the SM Mall of Asia and back to Aliw Theater which is where start/finish line is.

Imagine only P300.00 this was like the going rate in 2007. Now a days, the 10k would be from P600-P1000. After having registered for the run, I was surprised to receive a singlet that is of good quality and design and the bib has a “gift bag” and “raffle stub” attached into it. Definitely already your money’s worth.

Race day came and I was already at the venue at 5:00am for a scheduled start at 5:30am. I was expecting a difficulty of parking in the area but was surprised that they have allowed participants to park their vehicles on the opposite road not to be used for running, however, parking fee was P60.00 it was a expensive but that is how the City of Manila charges for street parking.

The race started at 5:45am which was I think the actual schedule than the published 5:30am. Although the race lacks the magnitude and grand festival atmosphere of big time races, the Sang Takbo Run was handled and organized properly. The race marshals were more than sufficient to control the traffic and ensure safety of the runners, the distance markers are more or less the turn around points for the 3/5/10k events and the water station is more than adequate. Bottom line, P300.00 is feasible to have a decent road race. The next P300 race in the calendar will be next week for the Yakult 10 miler also to be on the same venue.

My only comment on this race was that it registered only 9.25km in my Garmin 310xt for the declared 10k route. Accordingly, I could not really say if my unofficial time of 01h02m33s can be considered a 10k run. Maybe a double check on distances can be done by the organizers.

In the end as they say a branded soft drink will cost you P240 on a five start hotel, P100 on a club, P60 on a restaurant and P20 on any convenience store. On each case they are one and the same soft drink, the same quantity, same product but only different venues. So it is up to the person where he prefers/enjoys to take his/her soft drink and how much he can afford in his pocket. Same scenario in running, its how much and how grand you want to take your race! Satisfaction is your personal feeling and experience.

In running, the best is still running on your own, it is free, no specific route, no cut-off time, with only you and the road to decide your ultimate satisfaction.

Happy Running to all.

RAT Race - A Boutique Race

2011-03-13T15:32:00.000+08:00

While I rarely miss major road races in Metro Manila, every now and then I do make selective small road races during weekends primarily because of the routes these small races are held and also to the advocacy that the sponsor of the races are supporting of which I personally do also support.

Today 13Mar11, I have selected to join the RAT RACE “Race Against Trafficking” sponsored by ZONTA of Makati and Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc. The race was held at McKinley Hills in Taguig City with 1k/3k/5k/10k categories.

Small races are like boutique stores/hotels which could be more personalized, intimate and cheaper (entry fee) which if handled correctly could be a good/great race on a weekend for any level of a running enthusiast.

RAT Race for sure had a great 10k route being at McKinley Hills. In my experience the Mckinley 10k route is the most challenging in Metro Manila. It starts at Venice Piazza at McKinley Hills through the hills in the area then to Lawton then backtrack and lo Bayani Road all the way to Heritage Park and back. The route is mostly covering up/down hill inherent of the venue topography.

The 10k category was flagged off at 5:28am with I roughly estimate to be no more than 400 participants for the category. Although small in number the organizers have provided a very dissent and acceptable start/finish and logistical supports. As we progress through the race I was fully satisfied of the number of hydration stations made available and the manner the road marshals have controlled the traffic.

Overall I would like to congratulate the sponsors and organizers for a good race. However, two minor improvements could be done in the future. First the distance for the 10k registered only 9.58k in my Garmin 310xt maybe a double check on the distance measurement to verify actual distance. Second, there were no distance markers along the route. Again, as I earlier mentioned, I am pretty satisfied on how the race when through and the comment is only for future improvement.

01h06m28s after the starting gun was sounded I completed my 10k (9.58k) run unofficial. Considering the hill climbs and terrain of the 10k route I would consider myself on one my stronger finish today.

Small races could be good races and such was the RAT Race which was a boutique in its own.

The Unilab Run United 1 - Start of the RunRIo Trilogy and Series 2011

2011-03-07T14:58:00.000+08:00

The Unilab Run United 1 last March 6, 2011 ushered not only the 1st leg of the RunRio Trilogy for 2011 but also opened the official running season of RunRio for the year 2011 and Runrio Series.

Even before the actual event of The Unilab Run United 1 it was no secret that the event will be well participated by the running community. A modest estimate of 17000+ runners showed up for three categories 21k, 10k and the 5k events. If figures are correct then this would be the biggest race for the year so far. When I arrived the venue at around 4:45am I was surprised by the volume of vehicles leading to Bonifacio Global City (BGC). There was the rush of cars looking for parking places. Wisely, BGC has converted vacant lots on both sides along 30th Streets into secured pay parking areas. It was sight to see a great number of cars parked at BGC early in the morning.

As I walked at 9th Avenue towards 28th Street I could see that the 21k participants were already corralled and the national anthem was already being played. This was followed by race route briefing and warm up exercises before being finally started at about 5:15am. Just shortly after that all 10k runners were required to proceed to the holding area and the same prerace formality was duplicated. With the huge number of participants, I could not hardly see the starting arc and if I look backward I still could see a good number of participants in my rear. At 5:30am the starting gun was sounded and it took me 02m40s before I was able to cross the starting line. Now that would give you a rough idea of the volume of runners in front of me. I just wonder how many minutes it took the tail enders.

The race route for the 10k was actually my daily 10k route at BGC so it was very familiar territory for me. For those who are not used to the venue it could be challenging route as it has twist and turns with equal ups and downs. 01h13m15s (unofficial) after I crossed the finish line a fully satisfied participant of the Unilab Run United 1.

RunRio has again established himself as one of the best if the not the very best in local road race organizers. I would limit myself to this comment not to sound as a pr man for coach Rio for all the logistical and operational needs of a road race was of world class standards.

United Laboratories being the sponsors of the event have definitely poured a sizeable amount of investment in providing the financial and logistical support. The event has so many side events that you could participate in after the race event. The partnership between RunRio and Unilab is indeed a match made in heaven for the running community to bring quality race event. Mind you it is now even going outside of metro Manila. For those who are in the province you could look forward to the following events to mark your calendar;

- August 14th Davao City

- October 2nd Iloilo City

- October 9th Bacolod City

- December 4th Baguio City

- December 18th Cebu City

That is a nationwide race event schedule. So for those in the province mark your calendars as early as now and braze yourselves to hit the road.

RunRio Trilogy Awards Night - "Philippine Oscar in Running"

2011-03-02T10:35:00.001+08:00

A day after the 83rd OSCAR Awards in Los Angeles, RunRio came up with its own RunRio Trilogy Awards Night on March 1, 2011 at the Decagon, Silver City Pasig.

The night was a fitting celebration in awarding runners who have completed the following Runrio races at 2010, Leg 1 “Century Superbods Run 2010’ (15Feb10) 21k, Leg 2 “Nature Valley Run” (30May10) 21k, and Leg 3 “Unilab Run United2” (21Nov10) 32K.

RunRio and its sponsors were great in coming up with a great theme for the awards night. Coach Rio and his staff being meticulous as they are did a great job with a great venue, OSCAR inspired props and décor, good food and equally great program. RunRio indeed is the name in local race organization.

It was also during the night that I heard the good news that RunRio has expanded its partnership with Unilab and that they are now going out of metro Manila and will be having races in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon. I did not catch the specific places but what I could recall was Cebu and Davao. So for runners in this places better start your training and look forward to the arrival of world class races in your places. Good race events should not only be in Manila.

I would just like to thank “Kulit Runner” Vims Mendoza and her husband Art for being so kind and accommodating in keeping me company during the event, introducing me to runners, bloggers, guests and most of all for getting me an opportunity for a photo op with Miss Venus Raj. (picture below)

To Coach Rio, keep up the good work. You make us all Filipino proud of your achievements. It was nice of you to give something back to the runners. Only a real runner can understand a runner’s needs to be able to deliver world class service. More power!

The EDSA Run - Something to Remember

2011-02-27T18:00:00.001+08:00

There is no denying that one of the most significant part in the history of the Philippines is the PEOPLES POWER which happened 25 years ago on February 25, 1986. It was the first peaceful revolution in the modern day history that toppled a government/dictator with the citizenry being driven by the drive of “enough is enough”. It was like a wave of unexplained power and phenomena that swept to other parts of the world after the Philippines with the fever catching on then in Europe and the Soviet nations and more. Today 25 years after, the PEOPLES POWER spirit is still alive as what we have witnessed in Egypt and what is on-going in Bahrain and Libya.

To commemorate the 25 years of EDSA People Power, The EDSA RUN – A People powered Run To Build Classrooms” was held today February 27, 2011. There were two category of race the 10k and the 5k events.

EDSA being a main thoroughfare in Metro Manila is by in itself a unique venue to hold a road run. With parking as a problem in the area, two areas were designated by the organizers. One was along the Temple Drive with limited unsecured parking located about 0.7km from the starting line and the more secured parking at Robinsons Galleria which is 1km south of the start/finish line. I opted for the latter in as much it was guarded and secured. To my great surprise upon exiting the parking area there were three electrically driven jeepneys that were being utilized to shuttle participants to the starting line. However, when asked if the said transport will be made available on completion of the race the driver just said you are on your own.

At 4:45am I was already in the venue and notice that a great number of participants are from the military, government offices and non-government offices that have pledged contingents for the event. The usual representation from the running community was there but was not of great number. I took sometime to take pictures of the People Power Monument which was the place where people convergence in 1986.

At 5:30am on time and schedule 10k runners were gunned off from White Plains Avenue going straight to EDSA and turning right southwards to Ortigas Avenue. It was a nice feeling as always to run along EDSA and particularly this cool morning (22deg C). The route was well manned and the organizers have done their assignment on hydration and distance markers. From Ortigas Avenue the route turned left to Green Meadows Avenue all the way to C5 turning right all the way just before the flyover before turning back to Green Meadows Avenue. On reaching the 6.5km marker the route became challenging as it was an all-uphill climb to the 9.3km marker. The Temple Drive sector of the route was indeed a back breaking climb. Upon turning left to White Plains Avenue it was an easy stretch all the way to the finish line.

My unofficial time for the EDSA Run as per my Garmin 310xt was 01h10m15s for 10.11km another good run for my standards. I enjoyed the route and do not regret to have participated, although, I would have wished that the running community would have participated more in numbers as they have missed a good Sunday race.

Race Results can be viewed at here

Walking back all the way to Robinsons Galleria after the race was a good 1km cool down which was forced on me as there was no transport available.

Anyways, the EDSA Run was worth my time. Congratulations to the organizers.

Running - Burned Out and Rekindling the Fire

2011-02-21T12:06:00.000+08:00

Since 2007 when I took up running I have been so passionate about the sport that I have already logged 10,935 kilometers to date. During the earlier days, I was running and/or doing my workouts almost daily. The worst that I would log then will be a minimum of 50km a week and with that figure I was already feeling guilty for being relaxed. However, of lately I have felt that my weekly mileage has been reducing. Initially I did not bother to think about it and just thought that maybe I am just aging and that I am no longer as strong as I was four years or two years back.

However, I know feel that problem is much deeper than getting of age. As in any endeavor in life our drive to do a task at hand is only equal to the fire within us to accomplish such a task. As time goes by, either due to regularity or due to having taken things for granted, the flame that drives us just die down and with it is the feeling of burned out.

While I would certainly not have any antidote for the aging part of the problem, the solution is a straight forward acceptance of the reality to adjust on the mileage of which my target mileage is now 40-45km a week.

The serious part of the problem is the MOTIVATION and FIRE to continuously do the exercise. They say that even in sex you need to spice up things to ensure the drive will be as fresh as ever. Whilst I mainly do my daily morning run at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC), I think I need to find alternative venue once in a while to avoid falling on the trap of boredom. This will not be easy as in my experience it is only in BGC that I feel the security (safety) in running with well lighted streets and ample security people almost every corner, but, I need to find other venue. (Does anybody have a suggestion here?)

Another solution for MOTIVATION and FIRE is getting oneself a new equipment/gears/clothings which I have found to work on me. My enthusiasm and motivation gets lifted whenever I have a newly purchased running shoes, shorts, shirt etc., but, these material items can only be as often as the budget permits and cannot be on daily basis.

Last Saturday, I rewarded myself with the following ADIDAS gears hoping to rekindle the fire in me.

Running as in any part of life will always have its UPs and DOWNs but what is important is to ensure that when the flame is starting to die down all available means are used to rekindle the FIRE in running.

If in sex you have a Viagra or Cialis, what do you have for running?

35th MILO Marathon - Schedule of Races

2011-02-11T14:08:00.000+08:00

Received the following information from Mr. Andrew Neri of Milo Sports providing the 35th MILO Marathon schedule of elimination races for the different regions and eventually to culminate for the Finals at Manila on Dec. 11, 2011.

Its time to clear your schedule and decide on which region you want to enter for the elimination. Good luck to all!

Condura Run 2011 - A Dream Run

2011-02-07T10:32:00.001+08:00

For the next couple of weeks there will be stories and experiences told of the CONDURA 2011 Run For Dolphins. A great number of them if not all of them will be of how great and wonderful was the event! To the Concepcion brothers Ton and Patrick thank you for your commitment and dedication, we also acknowledge your well and able CONDURA EVENTS TEAM who left no stones unturned to ensure the success of the run.

The Condura Run premiered on 2008 dubbed as “Run for Tubbataha Reef” was attended by 2000 participants. On 2009 dubbed as “Run for the Whale Sharks” it tripled its number to 6279 runners. Last year 2010, dubbed as “Run For The Dolphins” it attracted 8500 runners and this year 2011 also dubbed as “Run For The Dolphins” it has reached 13000+ runners. The main attraction of the Condura Run for the last three years has been their partnership with the SKYWAY. With forthcoming completion of the Skyway all the way to Alabang it would be a runner’s dream to have a point to point running event from Alabang all the way to Global City via skyway with adjusted starting points for 42/21/10k categories and all finishing in one place. Realities were once but only dreams and I hope that this dream of mine will be a reality soon.

As a seasoned participant of running events abroad and locally, I have only but good comments of the Condura 2011. In fact I feel proud that we have now race events (include those of Coach Rio) that are not only comparable to races abroad, but, are even BETTER and well organized than those that are already long running events abroad. And to think of it was only in 2007 that things started on a roll locally on road races.

As there were 13000+ for the Condura 2011, there will be 13000+ different stories and experiences of how they performed and faired during the event. For my personal performance in the 21K it was my worst clocking at 03h00m18s (unofficial my Garmin 310xt). As the race event was perfect, weather condition was great (great weather with cloudy skies) support ample (hydration and banana station with portalets even on the skyway) I need to find a good excuse. On the night before the race I was at the Manila Peninsula Hotel to attend to a family wedding reception in which I was only able to leave at 11pm and be in bed only at 12 midnight only to wake up at 3am or just barely 3 hours of sleep. To add to this as the occasion was a happy one, I do not think it was “carbo loading” but more of “wine loading”. As earlier mentioned this is my excuse, but the reality I think is that AGE is fast creeping in on me. Hopefully I would still have five more years in my running life.

Condura Run 2011 – “Run For The Dolphins” was a great success for runners, family bonding, social life of friends, athletic and sports oriented individuals, even for arts with the 300 foot dolphin mural. I cannot wait for next year! Will my dream be a reality?

Xterra Philippines - Pang Rave Run!

2011-01-30T16:20:00.000+08:00

The last time I joined a mountain trail run was last June 13, 2009 which was the 3^rd ALL TERRA KING OF THE MOUNTAIN which done at Timberland Heights San Mateo Rizal. When I was scanning for running events for January 2011 what got my attention immediately was the flyer of XTERRA Philippines “PANG RAVE RUN” which was offering a 21k and 10k trail run at the Midlands Compound of Tagaytay Highlands.

No double thoughts and I had myself, son DAX and daughter-in-law PAM registered for the 10k trail event. Another plus factor in entering the event was that the venue was within our weekend residence.

I have not done any trail practices nor have I done even just hill runs at that as most of my daily run is just at BGC which is a fairly flat terrain. For these reasons I had my apprehensions and doubts, but as they say the more you have doubts the more anticipated and exciting is run expectation.

At 6:00am we arrived at the venue and was surprised that a good volume of cars were already parked from Bistro Saratoga all the way to Batino Gate of the compound. The 21k runners were already on the trail as they were flagged off at 5:30am. Majority of runners on trail runs are from the different crowd as that of the crowd from road races. However, It was great to see BARDS the “BananaRunning” whose blog postings I regularly read. Lately I have not seen her on road race events as often as in the past where she was visible always. Coach Rio was as well at the races and did the 10k category. What surprised me most was to see Kenyan runners on trail run event. Maybe they are just all over the place and practically making use of the event as an add-on training with incentives as there is no doubt that they would land the top positions for each category.

At 6:30am the 10k trail run was flagged off, it is not as many as on road races but the number is quite substantial and was even more than my previous mountain trail run experience. I do not know how best to describe the event except with the name “PANG RAVE RUN” the name used by XTERRA definitely sums the whole experience to the letter. It was tough! Really touch with steep climbs! Tougher than the Timberland route which was my last experience. It was well organized and the crowd was very different. As in any trail run particularly before reaching mountain peak, you wish to quit but how could you as you still need to go back to the starting point so there is no choice but continue. With all the twist and turn my Garmin 310XT recorded a total distance of 10.54k and limped to finish the event in 01h39m09s.

My muscles still ache as I write this blog. I have a very different fulfillment within me from the experience. But, I do not think I will do it next week or month but allow healing from my aching muscles I WILL DO (Mountain) TRAIL RUN AGAIN. It was my PANG RAVE RUN!

My Dinagyang Run - Sen. Efrain Trenas Boulevard at Boardwalk Iloilo

2011-01-24T20:44:00.000+08:00

I have long registered and set my mind in running the Greentennial Run (this race event I think has the longest registration period locally) scheduled for 23Jan11. However, with a sudden twist in my work calendar requiring my presence in Iloilo on 24Jan11, I took the opportunity to have my family join me for a weekend in Iloilo City and witness the Dinagyang Festival from 22-23^rd January.

While the main purpose of the trip was the business meeting which was still on a Monday and the side events is that of the Dinagyan Festival, incorporating my daily workout run in the schedule was a must. When packing for the trip, part of the essential items for packing were my running gears.

This is not my first trip to Iloilo for almost every month I am required to attend to a board meeting in one of the universities in the city. As in the past, I normally take my workout at the Sports Center were all you need is P10.00 usage fee and you can use the oval for your workout which is quite popular with the locals. However, with the Dinagyan Festival on Sunday the oval was closed as it was to be used by ABS-CBN for their ASAP live coverage. There was no alternative but use the streets which in my past experience was not a exciting and inviting due to pollution and safety issues.

Hoping to find an alternative venue, the SENATOR EFRAIN TRENAS BOULEVARD at the BOARDWALK was suggested to me. As we were staying at Hotel Del Rio the place was just across a river or about a 0.7 kilometer from the hotel. I left the hotel at 5:15am and after about 5 minutes was already at the venue. God the place was an idea venue to do your run/jog/walk or whatever mobile exercise you want to do. End to end is 1.1kilometer stretch or a loop of 1.2kilometers. It is just like a boardwalk closed to vehicular traffic and mainly used for run/walking exercise. It is clean free of litters and free of pollution with fresh air conducive to a healthy run. I made four lops which is already a good 8.8kilometer and with the travel to/from the hotel, the actual run totaled 10.2kilometers which I covered in 01h14m15s.

To any visitors in Iloilo City who wish to find a great place to run, I highly recommend the area as it is clean, well lighted, secured and with only fresh air to breath. To the local city officials my congratulations to you for giving your local citizens a great place for physical exercise.

Dinagyang Festival is another story, but in a nutshell it can be summed up as GREAT and WONDERFUL. Congratulations to Tribu PAN-AY who won the grand prize, they were just amazing. Now I have seen SINULOG and DINAGYANG both very distinct from one another. Which one is better? I will leave it hanging in the air to keep my Cebuano and Ilonggo readers at bay.

Meantime, anytime you are in Iloilo try running at the Senator Efrain Trenas Boulevard at the Boardwalk. You will not be disappointed.

The PSE Bull Run 2011 - Lost In Translation

2011-01-09T15:08:00.003+08:00

After a long holiday season the start for the running events for the year 2011 begun today 09Jan11. Unlike in previous years that only a single run event has the bragging rights, this year three great events opened the running season. For the Visayas and Mindanao region, the CEBU MARATHON, which due to calendar conformity advanced the event so as it coincide with the SINULOG FESTIVAL. For the Luzon area you have the Subic International Marathon. For the Metro Manila we have the usual BULL RUN of the Philippine Stock Exchange to signal the start for the trading/business season for 2011. That's only for the first days of the running season!

Last year I participated in both the CEBU MARATHON and SUBIC INTERNATIONAL MARATHON, however, as I have from previous years opened my running year with the BULL RUN, I decided to stay at home and do the BULL RUN 2011 “Takbo Para Sa Ekonomiya”.

Allow me to comment on the race event for this year and "TRANSLATE" the same with the present economic condition in the country;

- Compared with previous years, this year’s “Takbo Para Sa Economiya” drew more participants. Translated to economy – business is more bullish on all sectors with more confidence in the present administration.

- The running event started on time with very modest logistical hardwares in the starting/finsh line. Translated to economy – Present administration and other NGOCC have on track economic program to move the country onwards making use of the minimal or what financial capability the government has.

- Water station although sufficient and well positioned was limited to only one tent per station instead of long watertable to avoid congestion to runners who want to hydrate themselves. Translated to economy – while there is sufficient programs and finance/capitalization to jump start the economy they are not well distributed so as to be readily available to (SME) Small and Medium Enterprises thus causing queue or congestion for financial loan packages.

- Although directional signs were available on the race route there was no distance markers along the route. Translated to economy – As with the present economy there is no distance markers or fix definite plans laid out by the administration for the onward movement of the economy leaving institution guessing their actual position in their field of business.

- The race route was great with the 16k and 10k going up until Buendia and Reposo, but, vehicules particularly in Buendia and Makati avenue were very impatient and feel inconvenienced that they keep on blaring their horns causing great noise and much irritation to runners. Translated to economy – While government and other institutions are willing to provide new direction for economic improvement of the country, there are much distraction coming from opposition politicians, leftwing sector, communist and rebels that make noise to distract the good intentions of the government.

- There were participants in the race due to their impatience and needs to overtake others used the pedestrian walkways instead of the road thus cutting distance from actual distance measured. Translated to economy – we see a number of businesses that in their desire to obtain immediate ROI and/or increase their earning are cutting/short changing their customers/clients instead of delivering quality services/products.

- There were too many late starters during the race for each race category some maybe have overslept or were just late because of their nature. Translated in economy - we do also have this same scenario in the business community with corporations and/or individuals just are late in starting.

- The race made use of the RFID which is laudable considering the minimal entry fee of P450 however, there were not enough check points along the route to verify compliance. It was more on start and finish line only. Translated to economy – the government and its control agencies have very minimal check and control mechanism to ensure compliance to government regulatory policies.

As I write and find for similarities in his year’s BULL RUN (or for any running event) I tend to believe more that RUNNING as a sport is very identical to the economic conditions in our country.

I only pray that as the race was ‘bullish” in its outlook the same fever will usher a great running event for the year! Translated to economy – its about time we move forward with an economic growth that would be on the higher bracket of the countries in ASEAN if not in the whole of ASIA.

Hopefully there were none “lost in translation”.

Let’s run for our health and fitness. Let’s have the Philippines run for the economic improvement!

I completed my first race for the year in the 10k event in 01hour 11minute 02 seconds.

Blogging - Sharing Knowledge, Experience And Even Mistakes

2010-12-21T21:23:00.000+08:00

In the course of our lives there might be simple and even maybe very minute things that we have done that could touch the lives of others and in the process share experience, knowledge and even mistakes with the ultimate goal of being able to make use of these matters for the benefit of oneself.

Today I received an unexpected email from a certain JOHN FLETEMEYER of Germantown MD USA. I wish to share the following email;

Mr. Castro

We happen to come by your blog on race walking. We found it very useful. My wife Mary Ann is from the Philippines. We adopted our daughter, Irene from there when she was 12. Although having never participated in athletic programs before, we put her in track. I am a track coach. She placed in the National AAU Jr Olympics in 3000m race walk her first season as a 13 yo. She also placed at 14 and 15.
We plan to use all your suggested drills. She just entered HS and we plan to do some 1500m indoor events. I attached some pictures from the JO 2010 and 2009 seasons.

Thanks for sharing your race walk knowledge

The following are the pictures attached to the email.

I tried very hard to answer the email of JOHN, however, for whatever reason/s my attempted relies just bounces back and gets a fatal error. Another unexplained matter is that when I received the email it was incorrectly address (not my email) but I just found it in one of my email boxes as a message forwarded.

Anyways JOHN, I am making use of this blog post to reply and share your kind words with my readers and wish to take this opportunity as well to greet your wife, MARY ANN and all the best wishes to your daughter IRENE in her endeavors in RACE WALKING.

We all learn from one another.