Run and Leap - Making a Difference

This weekend was another of those small scale running event for awhortwhile cause, for the benefit of OLOLH CHARITY 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 and organized by Run For Change.

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

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

I completed 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 the race started already at 6am which brought about temperature at 28F by 7am considering the clear skies.

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

October Run Festival - "You'll Never Walk (RUN) Alone

When you walk (RUN) through the storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark

The song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in its 1st stanza clearly describes the picture above and can be associated in the recent developments in Metro Manila after the tropical storm “ONDOY” and typhoon “PEPENG”. Further, if you change the word “walk” to “run" it will describe the atmosphere in today’s 5TH OCTOBER RUN FESTIVAL.

Today 04Oct09, was such a significant day to be thankful to the Lord that he has spared Manila from the wrath of “PEPENG”. It was so nice to see familiar faces again on the road. It was great to see Bald Runner (Jovie Narcise) and the Team Bald Runners, Jinoe and Que Gavan and the Takbo.ph group, Jonel Mendoza and the Team Hardcore and others as if to signal and welcome the day for life to move on.



I was only entered in the 5K run, so, I had the opportunity to talk with the guys running the 16K while they were inside the holding area waiting for the gun start. I was still having my casual talk with some of the 16K runners that suddenly without warning the starting gun was sounder. Those that I was talking to have that surprised look of “do we start to run now”. After three seconds or so, by instinct the flow of runners just started.

After the 16K left the starting line, all 5K runners were called to check-in themselves and await the start. It was at this time that I joined Queenie and Luis of Takbo.ph We were having some casual talk that again without any warning the starting gun was sounded. Wow! This race does have a quick start! So much so that it was only after about 500 meters that I remember to push the start button on my Garmin Forerunner 405.

5K run was but a short run, so there is nothing much to say of the route, although there were a sufficient number of marshals along the route and a good number and well positioned water stations. I do not know if I just missed it, but I was not aware if there were distance markers along the route. Congratulations to The Fort Striders Club, Inc. for holding the event on its 5th year. It was a good race after a storm.

My 5k today was 28m03s a great way to welcome the golden sky!