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2009 Timex Run

2009 Timex Run

Race Organizer: Finish Line
Overall rating (10 highest): 10

THUMBS UP:

  • Very well organized from beginning to end
  • Use of timing chip
  • Race packets were organized: bib and chips sealed in plastic
  • Nice singlet
  • Accurate and sufficient number of kilometer markers and directional signs
  • Marshals in uniform at every corner
  • Hydration stations had long tables containing cups readily filled with very cold water or 100Plus
  • Bananas provided for half marathoners
  • More than enough portalets at the race start
  • Excellent pre- and post- hosting of the show
  • Loot bags, shirts, and towels distributed for free after the race
  • No lines at the assembly, finish, or picking up of loot bags
  • Entertainment such as cheerleaders and music
  • Announcement of race number and name upon nearing the finish
  • Awesome race medals
  • Runpix race analysis
  • Photovendo photos
  • Booths and shopping after the race
  • Option to watch Pacquiao match at a nearby tent
  • Immediate release of results (Click here for official race results)

BETTER JOB NEXT TIME:

  • None

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The Timex race was the best organized local race by far. There was nothing to rant about and more than enough to rave about. Truth to tell, Timex and Finish Line didn’t just fulfill runners’ expectations for a well-organized race but exceeded it. Every single detail was covered in this race down to the cold water at the many water stations to the uniformed marshals every 10 meters of Lawton Avenue. As I said to Timex manager Gemma Pagsibigan and race organizers Coach Rio de la Cruz and Vince Mendoza just hours after the event, the race was perfect! Hats off to Timex and Finish Line and may you continue to spoil us runners with such a remarkable race in the years to come.

———————————————-

My 2nd and Last 20 Miler before Singapore

Timex was going to be my last 20 mile run before Singapore Marathon on Dec. 6. Along with my coach-friend Alvin, we planned on running 21k at an easy 6:30 min/km and the balance 11k at 6 min/km. Sounded good to me!

Right on Track…for Km 1!

For the first kilometer, we were right on track at 6:30 pace. Alvin, the hubby—who was going for his first ever 21k (woohooo!)—and I ran alongside each other. By kilometer 2, we were still fine going at 6:25. When we reached Buendia flyover, we slowly started picking up the pace. Hubby took it easy and ran with a cousin, while Alvin and I went ahead.

Speeding Up

So much for plans! For the rest of the half marathon, our pace was sub 6 all the way, except for Km 15 & 16 which went up to 6:05. I felt strong and I was having fun (which is always the priority at every run, is it not?) so we just went on and on and on.

Every now and then, Alvin would gingerly tell me to slow down, and I would retort the same way he would during our lung-busting tempo runs: “This is downhill so we can go a bit faster here.” or “It’s fine. This will average out at the end.”

I don’t even recall any major incident during this joyous run, except for the motorist caught in Pasong Tamo traffic who stuck out his middle finger at all of us runners (I wanted to yell to him: Hey Buddy, you ought to run to relieve all the pent up anger!)

The Last Kilometer

I do remember the 21st kilometer and how, after taking a quick peek at my watch, I realized that while a sub-2 was impossible, a sub-2:05 was well within my reach. So, I sped up, and with Alvin’s friendly coaching: “lean forward”, “breathe!” and “c’mon, you can do it!” I managed to grab a new PR for my half marathon.

I finished at 2:04:27 (official time) with an average pace of 5:54 min/km. And what a pleasant surprise: I ranked 4th place in my age category and top 15 for females in the 21k category! Not bad at all! 

Timex_Emil
- New PR! Thanks to Alvin (to my left) for the support! Photo courtesy of Emil Ancheta -

The Next 11km

As much as I wanted to pop a wine bottle and celebrate, there was still work to be done. So, I popped open a Gatorade bottle in the car instead, refilled my amphipod with more fluids, and set out to run the next 11km around Bonifacio High Street with Alvin.

If I felt strong and invincible during the Timex Run, I was completely exhausted in the long run. During the short break after the race, I felt like my legs had turned to lead and my tummy was bloated with fluids. The heat was also getting to me. And, as much as I’d hate to admit it, going at a sub-6 pace during the 21k had burnt me out.

Alvin and I ran very slow and easy just to get the mileage in. By this time, the assembly area was nearly empty and there were only a couple of other crazy runners like us who were running under the sweltering sun. We were exhausted and we were counting down to every meter left to run. In all honesty, it felt much tougher than my first accidental QCIM Marathon!

DSC01438
- At Km 31, with Rhei… -

DSC01439
– with Joey… -

DSC01440
– with JJ and Leslie. I was shuffling here as I couldn’t stop for too long lest my legs turn to lead.  Photos courtesy of Rhei -

Thankfully, as we neared Nike Park, Alvin and I heard that little beep from the Garmin marking the end of our 32km run. And what a wonderful sound it was!  32km = DONE! It’s all downhill from now until Singapore!  Woohooo!

Posted on 11.16.09 to 02 Race Reports. Tags: , . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 26 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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26 Responses to “2009 Timex Run”

  1. Hi Jaymie. I was one of the “crazy” people doing the long run after this race. I actually saw you and your friend somewhere along fort. We were going at opposite directions and I gave you a smile. You’re right, for me this was far more difficult than my 42km SIM! Must be the extreme heat. I can only hope SG’s weather is not as harsh but I sincerely doubt it. See you in SG! Best of luck :)

    Iah said on Nov 16 09 at 8:24 PM Reply

  2. Congratulations! :-)

    reylynne said on Nov 16 09 at 9:09 PM Reply

  3. kudos to finishline for a superbly-organized Timex run. i wanted to shed tears of happiness when i saw the loooong water station tables. here’s one race where you could say “sulit talaga ang bayad”. there were a bunch of comments about the race being too expensive… well here’s what you get for your money – a race where runners just had to do their thing – run!

    congrats to your sub-6min pace 21K! you’re off to a great start for SG.

    khun said on Nov 16 09 at 9:51 PM Reply

  4. galing!

    jay said on Nov 16 09 at 9:58 PM Reply

  5. too bad i didn’t get to see you in person at the timex race. i still had to catch a plane to cagayan de oro. but i agree with you, i find the race very well-organized. flying all the way from cagayan de oro was worth it. i had really, really a great time :-D

    Pamela Bacan-Pagente said on Nov 16 09 at 10:16 PM Reply

  6. it was a weird feeling not going through the mob towards the finish line. there’s a long list of good points for this race. kudos to rio, vince and the other race partners.

    what a run for you also! you must be evolving v8, 4×4 engines!

    Raymund said on Nov 16 09 at 10:21 PM Reply

  7. The Timex is just my 2nd 10km and am really enjoying the sport. This is far better than the first one I joined a weeks back. I saw the results and I have a couple of questions, first, why is there a difference in the finish time and chip time? And secondly, what do Cat (category, I suppose), RkCat and RkGdr mean? Am a newbie, so my apologies for these questions. And to TBR, this is actually the first website I check when I wake up and just before I go to sleep – such a great site! Keep it up

    john said on Nov 16 09 at 10:46 PM Reply

    • hi! Cat- yes, category. RkCat- rank category (your rank in your age category), RkGdr- rank gender (your rank in your gender category).

      rippedandrun said on Dec 16 09 at 11:25 PM Reply

  8. i want to kill that motorist who showed a dirty finger on you guys!

    ling said on Nov 16 09 at 11:18 PM Reply

  9. Большой пост Занесу в закладки. С утра прочту

    новые картинки кошек said on Nov 17 09 at 4:08 AM Reply

  10. Congratulations. Too bad I missed this race.

    Gino Vineli said on Nov 17 09 at 9:02 AM Reply

  11. Hey Jaymie, anong “took it easy” with a cousin?! Baka si Hubby lang. Ako muntik na akong himatayin as 19k. Ha ha. Good luck with Sing.

    Cousin said on Nov 17 09 at 10:59 AM Reply

  12. great race!

    odie cacho said on Nov 17 09 at 11:27 AM Reply

  13. THUMBS UP:

    Piolo Pascual! Haha

    I’ll give it a 10 too. The best race of the year for me.

    pumpkinpastry said on Nov 17 09 at 2:31 PM Reply

  14. hey jayms, great race, great run! goodluck with SG marathon! I’ll join you at your very easy pace, taper run.haha that at NB?

    mond said on Nov 17 09 at 10:14 PM Reply

  15. Hi John, just to answer your question. You are right Cat means category while RkCat means rank in the category and RkGdr means rank in gender. Hope this helps.

    vince said on Nov 17 09 at 11:15 PM Reply

  16. Congratulations on the top 15 finish!!!
    I saw you on your way to Heritage Park and wanted to say hi but didn’t want to bother you as you looked like you had your game face on at that time. :-)

    Alfred / El Kyoshi said on Nov 18 09 at 3:46 PM Reply

  17. the only thing needed next are huge trash bins to throw the water cups…

    Olonam said on Nov 19 09 at 6:36 PM Reply

  18. i’m running the SG marathon too!!! question, i see a lot of runners continue running after the race. why is that? sorry, i’m still a newbie to all of this running but i’m learning as i go :)

    jamie said on Nov 21 09 at 3:19 PM Reply

  19. Agree, one of the best marathon event that I ever participated in. Keep it up! God Bless. :)

    Jay said on Nov 23 09 at 12:50 PM Reply

  20. congrats ” the bull runner ” for your new PR, grabe that was fast,

    michael galas said on Nov 23 09 at 2:28 PM Reply

  21. Constructive input here: Maybe Rio can consider changing the medal design so that we don’t end up having an Afroman collection of medals. I think more runners will appreciate the name of the event emblazoned on the front of the medal instead.
    All told, i agree with your assessment of the conduct of this race, Jaymie. It was one of the best-organized ones thus far.

    Bobby said on Nov 23 09 at 4:20 PM Reply

  22. Congratulations to the organizers! The Ateneo Run should have consulted them…so much to be done and really disappointing. At a steep participation fee, it was probably the only worthless race ever. Was expecting more, funny they didnt even give any finishers certificate nor medals nor certificates to the winners…BOO (lok!!!!)!

    zi said on Dec 13 09 at 9:40 PM Reply

    • i also joined that BS race (sorry!).
      > there were even confirmed reports of mobbed cars and lost valuables at the baggage area!
      > not even an update on the race result!
      > timer weirdly displayed and started at 1 minute (wow very smart ateneo!)

      rippedandrun said on Dec 16 09 at 11:31 PM Reply

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