Eco Dash Race Report

TBR RACE REVIEW: ECO-DASH: THE AYALA MALLS ENVIRONMENT RUN
Overall rating (10 highest): 7

THUMBS UP:
• Enjoyable race course.
• Organizers set up tents for runners due to the rain.
• Race was delayed by 30 mins to accommodate late runners due to the rain.
• Adequate water and Gatorade at stations.

BETTER JOB NEXT TIME:
• Lack of km markers along the route.

The Eco Dash was a well-organized and smooth run (no pun intended). The half marathon course took runners around Glorietta, which was a delightful change from the usual Buendia route. Despite the pouring rain, the organizers managed the affair fairly well, providing tents and delaying race start to wait for runners who arrived late due to the weather. The Eco Dash was one of those races that you could miss, but had you joined, you would’ve left feeling glad that you did.

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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

The night before the race, I did a little rain dance, sang a couple of out of tune songs, and placed this in my Facebook status and twitter pages: “all set for the Eco Dash half marathon tomorrow. I hope it rains!”

At 3:45 a.m., hubby and I woke up to the wonderful sound of the pitter-patter of raindrops on our roof. I got my wish…woohoo! Then, within a few minutes, the rain poured madly and loudly. Uh oh, this was much more than I asked for, I thought. But, what the heck, we dressed, packed our rain jackets into our bags, and left the house…albeit a little bit late.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

The half marathon race start was 5:00 a.m. I arrived at the Bonifacio High Street parking lot at 5:25 a.m. Thankfully, the organizers moved all race start times 30 minutes later as most runners were late as well.

I left hubby to park (his 10k race started at 6:00 a.m.) and headed for the starting chute. There, I found Mon Domingo of Happy Feet who introduced me to Leo Valdez, yes the ultra-talented singer who played the engineer in Miss Saigon. As if on cue, my good friend, Kim (same name as the lead character in Miss Saigon) approached me along with her friend, Ivy. We chat briefly until the race begins.

SOAKED AND SMILING

My target pace for this half marathon was 6:40 min/km, in other words, kwento- or chatting-pace, which is my favorite pace of all! I find that, at this pace, the time flies by quickly and I usually end the run without injury nor pains in my legs. Sure, I won’t end with a PR, but that really isn’t my goal for now.

It was great then that I found myself running alongside good friends JunC (Solemates) and Dindo (runningDATcom), who has been sorely missed after his Milo Marathon a few months back. We ran together under the rain, chatting away about anything under the…rain.

The strong rains didn’t let up: we ran wet and soaked. In the beginning, I would try to avoid puddles to avoid getting my feet wet, but after a while, it just didn’t matter anymore. The weather was cool and sometimes windy, which was good since I didn’t feel tired nor thirsty at all. I took my Fuel Belt with me—2 8-0z bottle of Gatorade and 1 bottle of water—but only sipped after the first 10km. That’s how cool it was! I cannot count how many times I told my running buddies “This is so much fun!”

From Bonifacio Global City until we descended Buendia flyover to head off to Lawton, the three of us ran side-by-side. When we reached Chowking, I bid them goodbye as I had to make a visit to the little girls’ room. When I got out, I bumped into another friend, Charlie, who I hadn’t seen for quite some time as well.

Charlie and I chatted through the rest of the race. There was talk about massage, ITBS (the evil injury we’re both plagued with), triathlons, and many more. Before we knew it, we were down to the last kilometer to the finish. Jonel (BugoBugo), who had finished and was running the opposite way for his extended long run, accompanied us instead until the finish line. Jonel told us “Finish strong. Go for a sprint.” I was feeling strong, but I replied to Jonel “Nah, it’s okay. I’m running slow and easy until the end.” That really was my plan, and that’s how I ended it with a smile.

My Polar recorded a time of 2:14 (I paused it during my bathroom break). Not bad for a happy run with friends.

* Sorry, no race photos! I enjoyed the run so much, I completely forgot to pull out the camera!

Posted on 09.14.09 to 2 Race Reports. Tags: Eco Dash, race. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 21 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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21 Responses to “Eco Dash Race Report”

i agree – one of the most enjoyable races
if not – the most enjoyable race for the year!

ton concepcion said on Sep 14 09 at 11:16 AM Reply
- Ton, I would say it was just as fun as Condura
  
  thebullrunner said on Sep 14 09 at 5:27 PM Reply
I knew I saw you. hehe. Was not sure though as I am so bad with connecting photos with the real person. Congrats for the successful and enjoyable run Bull Runner.

Markathon said on Sep 14 09 at 2:09 PM Reply
- Hey markathon, thanks. I hope you enjoyed your run too!
  
  thebullrunner said on Sep 14 09 at 5:27 PM Reply
2:14 for a 21K was “running slow”? For others, that’s a PR! heard from friends that it was indeed a great run, and the rains made it even more fun. kudos to the organizers and those who completed it!

khun said on Sep 14 09 at 2:10 PM Reply
- Khun, oh that’s slow for a lot of the faster runners I heard that a lot of runners PR’d in this race. Great course, wonderful weather. You didn’t join?
  
  thebullrunner said on Sep 14 09 at 5:29 PM Reply
I checked our stats and km 21 was the fastest lap!

DATC said on Sep 14 09 at 2:10 PM Reply
- Really? Maybe due to Jonel’s prodding? hahaha
  
  thebullrunner said on Sep 14 09 at 5:30 PM Reply
” The Eco Dash was one of those races that you could miss, but had you joined, you would’ve left feeling glad that you did.”

I agree. Somehow I felt the race did not live up to my expectation of an Ayala-organized race. But despite that and despite the fact that I had to pay P400 for an on-site registration (I decided to run the 21k at 4:25am ) without the singlet, I went home satisfied in my rain-drenched running gear. I’m glad I joined the race not exactly because of how the race was organized but because of the refreshing experience of running in the rain.

Dindo Perlas said on Sep 14 09 at 4:22 PM Reply
- Hey dindo, yes exactly. Glad that you decided to join at the last minute despite the heavy rains. After this race experience, I’m hoping that all future races will be rained upon
  
  thebullrunner said on Sep 14 09 at 5:32 PM Reply
Hi TBR!
no race result yet?

Caryl Jongko said on Sep 14 09 at 5:44 PM Reply
talk about our data man,dindo.you guys still did that mean last kilometer in the end without even really trying(obviously)but stats don’t lie.hahaha.

jonel said on Sep 14 09 at 5:47 PM Reply
it was indeed a great race…can’t wait for the new balance power run…

Rommer said on Sep 14 09 at 9:51 PM Reply
I was also secretly praying that the rain pour down during the race the night before. And the rain was indeed refreshing and made the run easy and fun. This was my first 21k and very glad I finished it with a 2:07 time. Great to see you (I greeted you after the race) since I’ve been following your blog and your radio program.

Rev said on Sep 14 09 at 10:50 PM Reply
I’m a beginner in running. This is just my 2nd time to join a 5km run. ’twas really fun! It’s a rare opportunity to run while it’s raining. Soon I’ll try 10 km too! Nice site btw. more power!

cfire said on Sep 14 09 at 11:08 PM Reply
no km mark…… babae na kumukuha ng stub masungit na mabagal pa,,,,,.. lack of singlet…the rest ok..

totoy ocampo said on Sep 15 09 at 3:19 PM Reply
A most enjoyable race indeed! It reminded me and others of our childhood, when we would run in the rain, live in the moment, and not care about shoes getting wet or stepping into puddles. The don’t worry, be happy days! I ran the 21K in 1:54 and made a lot of new friends along the way.

Willie Guevara said on Sep 16 09 at 6:43 PM Reply
Ayala can do better next time….It’s Ayala Mall….they have serendra, glorietta, trinoma…can’t they beautify the race set-up next time?

Mike said on Sep 17 09 at 11:38 PM Reply
I really enjoyed the rain, just like the old days. It’s a bit late than the usual gun time, but it’s ok. This was one of the most memorable run that I had.

Jessica said on Sep 18 09 at 2:52 PM Reply
Hi, When’s the race result going to be posted? Any Idea?

king said on Sep 23 09 at 1:53 PM Reply