Condura Run 2010

TBR RACE REVIEW: CONDURA RUN FOR DOLPHINS 2010
DETAILS: 7 February 2010, Sunday
ORGANIZERS: Condura and Rudy Biscocho

RATING: Very Good

LEGEND:
5 TBR medals – Excellent | 4 TBR Medals – Very Good | 3 TBR Medals – Average |
2 TBR Medals – Poor| 1 TBR Medal – Terrible

THUMBS UP:

Only race on the Skyway. 42k runners went as far as the Bicutan exit.
Condura Hill, Condura’s own version of Boston’s Heartbreak hill on the Skyway heading towards Villamor, was a great idea; it provided a scenic view of the city while runners trudged up the hill
Abundant supply of water and 100 Plus at stations. Cups were readily filled with fluids and prepared on long tables. Marshals were on standby handing out water to runners.
Traffic was well-managed
Water shower from the tank. I personally avoid this, but I’m sure it was well appreciated by runners
Sponges at two points during the race
LCD screen and fireworks at the race start
Plenty portalets at the race start and some on Buendia
Distance was 42.5, not perfect but good enough
Quick and easy redemption. Start of Day 1 was troublesome but with more tents and manpower deployed the redemption problem was solved
Philstar supplement with details about the race included in the race kit
Organizers kept the runners well informed regarding the route and weather in the days leading up to the race
Cotton shirts now had better fit and design
Immediate release of race results for 42k, 21k, and 10k (Click HERE to view CONDURA RUN 2010 RACE RESULTS)

BETTER JOB NEXT TIME:

Lack of kilometer markers. Some were off
Unlit roads for 42k runners at Bayani Road. It was pitch black!
Friends informed me that 21k was actually 21.8k
Oversight on the missing barcode for the race bib but this was quickly addressed
Entertainment was a wonderful treat, but the bands lacked enthusiasm. Band members barely smiled. On Condura Hill, half the band members were asleep!
No medals for some runners as I was informed that the medals were “stolen” and later found near the trash. Condura promises to mail medals to those who didn’t receive. For inquiries, email secretariat@condurarun.com

For the past couple of years, Condura Run has always been one of the most anticipated races of the year. This year was no different with 8,500 runners registered for the race. Condura running brothers Patrick and Ton Concepcion with race organizer Rudy Biscocho left no stone unturned in trying to give the runners the race they wanted.

How did they fare? It was a good race with no major issues. There were a few road bumps but it turned out fairly well with majority of runners enjoying the overall race experience.

Having said that, if Condura Run hopes to remain as one of the best races in the country, it must step up its offerings next year and inject newer, fresher ideas to compete with world-class local races that runners will definitely see this year.

Hats off to brothers Ton and Patrick Concepcion and the entire team! I was a witness to how you all worked so hard to make this event the best for runners. Congratulations for putting up a wonderful event!

—————————————–

THE PLAN

My coach-friend Alvin and I had discussed our Condura Run strategy over a hundred times during training runs. But, for some reason, I couldn’t recall exactly what we agreed on. Perhaps it’s because, no matter what anyone says, I listen to my own body and run based on how I feel.

For the Condura Run, Alvin was supposed to pace me all the way. Unfortunately, he didn’t know that the race start was at 4 a.m.

– with Team Secondwind -

- with good friend Jay and his burger conveniently stashed in his race belt -

– Fireworks before the race start -

When the gun went off, I found myself running alongside Jay (Prometheus Cometh) who is currently deep in training for Bataan Death March 102km. He obviously had no plans of running fast that morning while he chomped down on his sumptuous burger as we crossed the starting line.

Shortly after, I found myself running alone. And, without Alvin there, I thought I could implement my race strategy that he hated (as I’m sure many of you will not agree with as well.) My plan was to run the first half full blast, no holds barred. Then, with plenty of time saved in the bank, I could run-walk the last half of the race to reach my goal time of 4:30. Positive splits, baby!

FIRST HALF: FASTEST HALF MARATHON

I ran full speed ahead knowing full well that I was risking a lot. I could suffer cramps or bonk by the latter half. But, in the back of my mind, based on my training runs, I was also pretty confident that I could reach 32k without any worries. As for the last 10k, that was like the twilight zone.

The first half was magical. At certain moments, especially on the Skyway, I felt like I was in a complete trance. My gaze was fixed on nothing and everything, my body was relaxed, and my thoughts focused solely on my footsteps. It was here that I practiced what I learned at Chi running by just allowing my body to fall forward with gravity. I felt like the Energizer Bunny on caffeine overdose.

My time for the 1st half: 1.58. First time I did a sub-2! I beat my Cebu Half Marathon PR of 2:01.

SECOND HALF: FASTEST MARATHON

At the 21k turnaround, Alvin appeared from nowhere yelling: “You are going too fast!” I smiled and shouted back: “I know!” and I pushed forward. He caught up with me and paced me all the way till the end.

My favorite part of the race was Condura Hill at around 27km. This was also where Alvin and I just decided to walk up the hill than suffer climbing it. The view from the top was breathtaking. While the sight of Metro Manila was beautiful in the morning, it was seeing the runners on the Skyway below, all lined up like little working ants, that truly amazed me.

After Condura Hill, we started employing my run-walk strategy. My legs were tightening up and I knew my heart rate had increased. We laughed and chatted while walking, completely confident that with all the time I had saved from the 1st half we could reach my 4:30 goal.

THE LAST STRETCH

As luck would have it, the last stretch of the course took Alvin and I through our usual training ground. Alvin told me that we couldn’t possibly mess it up as “We own that route!” Yeah right.

My legs had turned to lead and I was so exhausted that, in the last uphill climb, we just had to walk. I tried to forget the fact that we had ran that ascent a couple of times at 5 min pace.

When the road went flat, I trailed Alvin from behind as he sped up. I followed him all the way to the finish line.

My official time for 42.53 km was 4:24:39, 6 mins ahead of my 4:30 goal. And, a whopping 25 minutes ahead of my time at Singapore Marathon.

– Sprint to do a sub-4:25! Thanks to Natz (I2Runner) for the photo -

– To Alvin, my coach-friend, I could never have done this without you! Thank you for pushing me to run faster or longer! -

– with best running buddy Annie who flew in from Singapore. She’s in pain here. Crazy girl ran the full with injury! -

– with Francis and Marge from CDO. Nice meeting you both! -

– with fun group Pace Partners. Congrats to April Lee for finishing her first marathon! -

– Runners resting after the race. Nice background, don’t you think?! -

Click HERE to view more photos of CONDURA RUN 2010

Posted on 02.08.10 to 02 Race Reports. Tags: Condura. Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 35 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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35 Responses to “Condura Run 2010”

It was definitely a very good and a well organized run. Save for the finisher medals that were lacking for the 21K runners and lack of lighting on the Buendia flyover. But I definitely enjoyed the whole Condura experience. Inspiring to see all those who finished the 42K, cant wait for our first 42K Congratulations on your very impressive time.

Gino Vineli said on Feb 08 10 at 8:02 AM Reply
Jaymie… congratulations! Wow, you cut 25 minutes from your Singapore Marathon time? That’s an amazing achievement… and to think that the route was more challenging than Singapore. GREAT RUN… Congrats, Jaymie!!!

John P. said on Feb 08 10 at 8:35 AM Reply
Congratulations jaymie! Thanks for the cheers along the way!It was a great exprience!

Bro J said on Feb 08 10 at 8:40 AM Reply
congratulations on your new PR! overall, it was a good race except for the long cue at the 10K chute. i could have beaten my PR if not for the additional 10 mins or so. i hope they will use timing chips next time. looking forward to they skyway route in 2011! kudos to the Condura organizers!

giddyyap said on Feb 08 10 at 10:01 AM Reply
congrats jaymie! so proud of you!

armie said on Feb 08 10 at 10:13 AM Reply
Well done babe! Really proud of you! An excellent timing!

Andrea said on Feb 08 10 at 10:27 AM Reply
Congratulations, Jaymie!

Pinoy Weekend Warrior said on Feb 08 10 at 11:18 AM Reply
Wow that was fast Jaymie. Milo qualifier time na yan! All those long runs paid off. Congratulations!

sheerwill said on Feb 08 10 at 12:44 PM Reply
perfect race jaymie!congrats!

norman said on Feb 08 10 at 12:58 PM Reply
“…My plan was to run the first half full blast…”

Nice. It always works. Whatever the distance…

Paolo Manuel said on Feb 08 10 at 1:11 PM Reply
Congrats Ms. Jaymie, ’twas also nice finally meeting you in person. Our group (with MinnieRunner) was just so amazed at you during our photo-op with you, still full of smiles and energy after the run…

RunningAtom said on Feb 08 10 at 3:54 PM Reply
Congrats, Jaymie.

xty said on Feb 08 10 at 4:16 PM Reply
Magkakasundo nga kayo ni Mr. Positive Split – si Robocop. Seryoso ka nga pala na hinataw mo unang half

Congrats Jaymie!!!

Ate Virgie said on Feb 08 10 at 4:22 PM Reply
Overall i had a good experience. However, it was dark along the buendia flyover, and there was a long queue at the 10k finish line. Official results was far from the watch time

kat said on Feb 08 10 at 5:12 PM Reply
It was really nice that they had released the race result that quick.. But I am saddened that the result is not accurate.. I just can’t accept the result that they had.. Even I am just a beginner runner..

MinnieRunner said on Feb 08 10 at 5:45 PM Reply
Congrats Jaymie!

If you can run the Condura 42K course that fast even with the heat in the last 10K, HK should be a walk in the park.

The best of luck in HK! Recover well and keep those legs fresh for Feb 28.

Haide said on Feb 08 10 at 6:13 PM Reply
Congrats to your good preparation and gutsy race strategy. It takes guts to do a positive split!

I agree that the Condura Run was very organized, kudos to the Organizers! I would just like to highlight (pun intended) the lack of lights in some areas of the course. 2 minutes into the 21K, a tall Caucasian guys was running on the island (of course he should not have done that) and he nearly wiped on the nearly invisible wires supporting the palm trees!! Good thing he was not badly injured as he was able to continue. Bad “trip” yun if he dropped out after 2 minutes!! Before the Buendia Petron station, another guy tripped on the square road reflectors and fell almost flat on his face! I was kinda paranoid up to the Skyway coz am not used to running in the dark plus I am very nearsighted. So maybe the organizers can ask the city officials to coordinate the turning on of the street lights. Good job pa din overall!!

Dennis said on Feb 08 10 at 7:35 PM Reply
CONGRATULATIONS JAYMIE!!!
and the results were released quite quick! that was great although not accurate but .. well, great going Condura! Congratulations to the Concepcion Brothers and Mr Biscocho

kassy said on Feb 08 10 at 8:49 PM Reply
Great time, Jaymie! ‘Twas my dad’s first marathon as well! I was able to finish 10k @ 1:22, which was awesome since my parents thought I couldn’t do it and should just run five due to cough + colds. I was running for all those who believed in themselves against the odds . The route was great, and sunrise on the flyover was epic. Another “Better Luck Next Time” for me was the congested check-in. I aimed for a sub-1:30, which I DID achieve, but my official time was 1:30:something . Truth be told, I crossed the finish (whilst in a long, slow-moving line) @ 1:29:50, but the time clicking thingy was a few steps after the line ;.; . Anyway, it was still a great race . Grats again

Cougcat said on Feb 08 10 at 9:02 PM Reply
I’ve noticed that you always have your shades on your cap when you run. I’ve never seen a picture of you actually wearing it. =)

TJ said on Feb 08 10 at 11:07 PM Reply
Congratulations, Jayme!

Sunworshiper said on Feb 08 10 at 11:26 PM Reply
Congratulations, Jaymie!

Sunworshiper said on Feb 08 10 at 11:27 PM Reply
thanks manang guru! i hope the runners found the supplement useful haha. ton’s got 2011 all planned out in his head and we’re so excited to do this again!

marga said on Feb 09 10 at 12:53 AM Reply
wow, congrats for getting a new PR!

happy runner said on Feb 09 10 at 9:39 AM Reply
Impressive and inspiring! Congrats Jaymie.

Nathaniel said on Feb 09 10 at 10:06 AM Reply
Hi Jaymie! Congrats on your great time! You looked like you were having fun on the skyway Any news regarding the 42K medals? secretariat@condurarun.com bounced back my mail. So did condura.com. Wonder why? Congrats again and good luck in HK!

archmage said on Feb 09 10 at 11:47 AM Reply
- Got my medal today!
  
  archmage said on Feb 10 10 at 10:36 PM Reply
hi jaymie! here are my few cents worth of what needs to be improved for the next condura run.
1. the unfortunate medal incident.if indeed it was stolen then there’s nothing we can do about that. the quality of the medal needs to be improved also(may i refer them to suarez bros?) maybe one reason why the thief returned them was he didn’t like the quality of the medal. a separate medal for the full marathon.
2. somebody should coordinate w/ mmda or whoever was in charge of the streetlights so we don’t have to run in the dark again
3.adjust the route so the skyway part is in the first half of the race.
4.have the bananas ,tonic 100 drinks available after the first half of the race not in the end part. maybe they could also spare a few bags of cloud nine or big bang chocolate bars.
5.we noticed people were dismantling some booths/tents even if the 42k runners were still coming in. out of respect to this participants couldn’t they wait?
6. marshals were not in their post in the last loop near the finish

our group flew in all the way from cebu. over all the race was good.and we look forward to coming back next year. it’s just too bad when we got to the finish no medals were available.

dr. peter mancao said on Feb 09 10 at 12:07 PM Reply
It was my 3rd. 21K and was a very good experience as I felt much more capable than my last one -KOTR 2009-. I had my doubts on the distance covered, as is mentioned on the article above so I went to dailymile.com and mapped it (Google Powered):
http://www.dailymile.com/routes/77189-running-route-in-makati-city-ph
To me, the turn around point on the Skyway was much more closer to the Skyway Toll Plaza A than what is indicated on the 21K Condura map.
The result is approximately 21.8K
If it was mapped to the approximate turn around point in the Condura 21K map, is approximatly 21.1K
No one is perfect and I don’t know the accuracy of Google Maps on distance measurements, but as a runner, every meter and every second counts… don’t you think so?
Cheers!!! Keep running and enjoy it!
(^c^,)

Enrique said on Feb 09 10 at 12:30 PM Reply
it was my first ever 21k and the experience was great! love the views on the skyway! i hope on next year’s race streetlights on the flyover will be open so we will not run in the dark again. kudos to those bunch of people who are giving out ‘gatorade’ ice candies in buendia – it helped quenched my dry throat for the last 4 kms! congrats to you too jaymie!

odie said on Feb 09 10 at 3:20 PM Reply
Congratulations Jaymie impressive time. did you know you just beaten Oprah’s marathon time?

TRF said on Feb 10 10 at 8:13 AM Reply
Galing naman Jaymie!

Bong Ortiz said on Feb 10 10 at 10:41 AM Reply
Condura was a great race as usual. I do agree though with some of the comments made:
- Buendia flyover was too dark. I was so afraid I’d step on a pothole and injure myself.
- My Garmin measured the 21K at around 21.66K. So looks like it did exceed the distance a bit.

Rina Azcuna-Siongco said on Feb 19 10 at 11:14 AM Reply