Bull Session 4: 30km in NUVALI, Baby!

This BULL SESSION 4 makes it to my list of memorable runs. And, I hope it’s the same for most of the TBR Dream Marathoners Batch 2011.

Last Saturday, Feb. 20, 2011, over 200 of our TBR Dream Marathoners and friends came for their last long run—30k at NUVALI—before marathon day on March 20, 2011. Everything was perfect for a long slow run: the air was fresh, the weather cool and windy, portalets, hydration, and security from NUVALI (you guys are awesome!), Gatorade, plus lots of smiles and light conversation among future marathoners to keep us all entertained for hours.

– More than half of all our registered participants showed up for this practice run at NUVALI. Less than a month to go before the big day! –

– Lit Onrubia (right) led the briefing which had our runners going into groups: run all the way, run:walk intervals of 9:1, 4:1, and 2:1. Other runners trained at their own walk intervals like 3:1 and 1:1. Also in the pic are Ton and Jaimie from Team Bacon, a group of TBRDM runners who thrive on bacon after LSDs –

– TBRDM alumni, Lito Lopez, Jun Bisnar, GM of NUVALI, and Reylynne de la Paz, show their support for the next batch. TBRDM is all about paying it forward, after all! Thank you to NUVALI Team for the all out support during the practice run and for the race. –

– The hubby (center) was one of the pacers for 9:1. Thanks to all our volunteer pacers! –

– We owned the road that morning! –

– Some runners chose to run by the lake of Evoliving Center. Love this area especially in the morning –

Our TBRDM runners were committed, determined, and all smiles!  It was great getting to know each runner—not just by their race numbers but by their life stories and personal experiences.  If there’s something that sets TBRDM apart, it’s the intimate and personal bond that is formed among runners, volunteers, and organizers as we train for their first or second marathon.  We’re one big happy bunch!

You won’t see anyone frowning in these pics—even if we ran for over 4 hours!…

– Last year, Marc was a participant and Gail was a volunteer. This year, she’s the participant while Marc signed up as her pacer –

– Who would’ve known that one of my favorite professors at ADMU would join TBRDM?!  Sir Bobby Guev in white along with other TBRDM runners –

– Girl bonding at 2:1 pace. So much fun! –

– Yup, we have triathletes who’ve signed up for TBRDM too! –

Congratulations to all our TBRDM runners who ran their longest run last Saturday! See you on race day!

Thanks to Eric Alfonso for all the images. More photos on my Facebook account.

Thank you to our Partner NUVALI and Co-Presenters New Balance and Cherifer Premium.

Major sponsors: Secondwind Running Store, Gatorade, Photovendo and Run Rio.

Minor sponsors: Timex, Thermos, Omron, Milo, Hammer Nutrition, Nutribar, Nathan, ROX, Chris Sports, Health Food, Forward Lean Running, Cadbury Zip, Kinesio Tex, Robinsons Supermarket, Starbucks.

Hotel Partners: Paseo Premiere and El Cielito. Media Partners: Runner’s World,  Men’s Health, Women’s Health. Logistics partner: Creative Juice.