Robinson’s Fit & Fun Buddy Run

TBR RACE REVIEW: ROBINSONS FIT & FUN BUDDY RUN

Overall Rating (10 highest): 7
Organizer: ExTribe

THUMBS UP:

1. Great 10k course. Relatively flat except for gradual yet manageable inclines and downhills around Bonifacio Global City. I especially enjoyed running on that narrow, car-less strip of road after Bayani heading towards the rotonda.
2. Unique concept.
3. Ample water at stations, mineral water at that.
4. Lots of freebies and drool-worthy prizes for race and raffle winners. There were even pre-race freebies such as iced tea, Milo, and strepsils!
5. Limited number of participants (they only accepted 1,000) made it a controlled affair.
6. Very well organized from check-in to distribution of freebies (right after exiting the finisher’s chute)
7. Presence of marshals all throughout the route
8. Complete race packet.

BETTER JOB NEXT TIME

1. Late start. 10k started at 6:15 a.m.
2. No kilometer markers or directional signs.

You can always depend on ExTribe to organize a great race. The Robinsons Fit N’ Fun Buddy Run was a well planned event from beginning to end. Although relatively small compared to other major races, this race was well-attended with the elite racing to win the all-expense paid trip to Boracay and CEOs (Lance Gokongwei & Fernando Zobel), politicians (Sen. Pia Cayetano and Rep. Gilbert Remulla) and celebrities (Drew Arellano and Paolo Abrera) running with their respective buddies. The flaws of the race were negligible and forgiveable. Hats off to Robinsons and ExTribe.

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This was the 2nd Buddy Run that hubby and I were joining. Last year, he could hardly keep up with me for our 5k. This year, with more races under his belt, we registered for 10k and I was afraid I would slow him down.  For the past two days, I had been getting less than three hours of sleep due to tight work deadlines. Best case scenario would be for me to finish the 10k race without collapsing due to exhaustion. I took two Hammer anti-fatigue capsules and said a prayer.

FIRST 5K: FOR BETTER

Hubby and I practically went on a double race date running alongside two couples: Vince and Jun who crept up from behind to surprise us with their pinkies gripped tightly around each other’s and their hands playfully swinging in the air (I hope Mariel, Jun’s wife, isn’t the jealous type) and, soon after, we ran with inseparable running couple, Mark and Tiffin.

The first 5k was incident free. In fact, our pace hovered around 5:30 to 5:45, much faster than our planned training pace of 6.

SECOND 5K: FOR WORSE

After passing Paul Calvin’s deli, hubby and I realized we both needed to pee. We decided to bite the bullet and enter McDonald’s at Forbes Town. The other two couples ran ahead.

As soon as I stepped out of McDo, I felt the intense heat of the sun. When we started to run, my feet felt heavy and it was difficult to find my momentum again. My heart rate was too high for such a slow pace.

When we entered Bayani Road, I started feeling side stitches. I focused on breathing properly, watched all the other runners make their way back from the turnaround, and soon enough, the minor pain went away.

By this time, I was also depending on the hubby for distance and pace. My Garmin decided to conk out and die early on, so hubby had to deal with my constant nagging: “What’s our pace?”, “Distance?”, or “Did you pay the bills already?” (I’m kidding about the last one.)

There was improvement at the last kilometer where hubby and I went faster and finished strong. Our unofficial time was 58.29 mins for 9.98km with average pace of 5:52.

Hubby would’ve PR’d if we hadn’t stopped at McDo…argh.  I was satisfied with my performance considering how tired I felt the night before.  I was pretty surprised with myself when I invited hubby to run extra miles around Bonifacio High Street as we had initially planned.  We met up with oh-so romantic couple Vince and Jun for additional miles. Plan was 5k but we stopped at 2k and headed for Pancake House for a well-deserved breakfast with other running friends.

– Made a quick stop at Starbucks for my favorite low fat iced chocolate with mint and guess who I bumped into. TBR Mag cover boy himself: Drew Arellano. Thanks again Drew! P.S. TBR Mags will be at all Starbucks branches soon –

– Breakfast with friends (with Vince, Bobby, Mariel, Jun, Tiffin, Tin, Vimz, Ben, Mark, my hubby, Aljo, Ipe, Art)   –

First thing I did when I get home: checked out the loot…

– These huge bags of freebies (green for hubby, orange for me) intrigued me… –

– Groceries to last a month! Okay, I’m exaggerating, but this is a lot! The only thing I probably won’t use here is Anlene (I’m an Alaska Slim milk loyalist…so yummy) but even our dog can enjoy that –

– Even Li’l Miss Bull Runner got flashcards and tshirts from the loot. Thank you Robinsons. Great job! –