Archive for September, 2009

I haven’t had the energy to write about running the past few days after seeing the devastating effects of the evil Ondoy.  While I continue to run, talking about running shoes or gear when others have lost everything, or thinking about hydration when others have none to eat or drink isn’t just insensitive, it’s wrong. And so I write today to tell you how YOU and I as runners can help the victims of Ondoy through running:

1. THE RESCUE RUN

A triathlete friend, Raoul Floresca, is currently planning THE RESCUE RUN…

WHAT: an organized run where, in lieu of registration fees, donations will be collected for the distance you will run. This is not a race so there will be no race bibs, no souvenir t-shirts, no swag bags, no finishers medals, no prize money.

WHEN: October 4, 2009 (Sunday) at 7 a.m.

DISTANCES: 3km, 5km, 10k

DONATIONS: 3km: P300, 5km: P400, 10km: P500

CORPORATE SPONSORS: P5,000 for 20 runners

VENUE: SM Mall of Asia (to be confirmed. Pls. visit this blog for final venue)

WHO CAN JOIN: open to all athletes, their families and friends. Anyone who is willing to help while getting a few minutes of exercise. Not just the tri community but everyone who’s willing to help.

BENEFICIARY: All proceeds will be donated to the Philippine National Red Cross for the Typhoon Ketsana victims

VOLUNTEERS: Logistics for the race will be purely voluntary. Post a comment here if you would like to volunteer.

Note from organizer: There are other races that could be scheduled for that weekend but we’re hoping that athletes are willing to forego them in order to help those who’ve lost homes, valuable possessions and loved ones.

2. TKO250: Takbo Kontra Ondoy

TKO250 is a fund raising event led by Team Hardcore…

WHAT: a fund raising run where anyone can pledge P1.00 for every kilometer run by Team Hardcore. Team Hardcore will cover a total of 250 km for a series of races. P1.00 x 250km = P250 pledge from each individual.

WHEN: Team Hardcore will run a total of 250km in the following races:

• October 11: Milo 42k
• October 18: QCIM 42k
• October 24: Subic Intl Marathon 42k
• October 25: Adidas 21k
• November 8: Phil Intl Marathon 42k
• November 15: Timex 21k
• November 28-29: Laguna Lake 200 (each runner of the 5-man team will do 40k

DONATIONS: P250. You can donate more if you wish. List of donations will be published later.

HOW TO DONATE: There will be a collection station at the parking lot behind ROX during the Octoberun on October 4 at the Fort. Look for the Team Hardcore tarpaulin for easy location.

WHO CAN JOIN: Anyone can pledge. Runners interested in running segments or run the entire 250k are welcome to join.

BENEFICIARY: Tentatively Marikina given the number of victims in that area. Plans to purchase medicines (at cost from the Generics Pharmacy) and/or mineral water to be delivered early as Monday, October 6.

CONTACT: Jonel Mendoza here

3. RUN FOR ONDOY VICTIMS (CEBU) – UPDATED 9/30

WHAT: “Run for Sight Foundation in cooperation with LARRAZABAL EYE will sponsor a charity run “Run for Ondoy Victims”

WHEN: October 18, 2009, 6am

WHERE: Cebu – along the traffic free course around Cebu Doctors’ University (P.Larrazabal Ave, Mandaue North Reclamation)

FEE: Registration is pegged at P300.00 or more from your heart

BENEFICIARY: all proceeds of this charity event will be given to the flood victims of Typhoon Ondoy

PRIZES: Top 10 male and female 10k runners will be awarded with prizes and medals

REGISTRATION: Registration will begin October 5 2009 at Centre for Sight , Cebu Doctors University Hospital

CONTACT: Call Lalyn at 256 2020 or 2555555 loc 356

The storm Ondoy has wreaked havoc in the city and deeply affected a lot of people.  This storm hit a little closer to home as most of us know someone whose house was flooded in, or some of us were victims ourselves.  After seeing the devastation the day after the storm, a postponed race or a missed training run loses all importance.  And, one who was spared from the storm can only be thankful.  But, it also calls us all to lend a helping hand.  

One way to help is to donate old clothes, canned goods, pots and pans, plastic plates/utensils/cups, blankets/banig, shoes/slippers.  Most of us have unused singlets or old rubber shoes we can donate as well.  

If you live in QC area, Second Wind is now accepting donations and will be sending these all to Ateneo.  You may drop them off at:

88 Maginhawa St.

Teachers Village, QC
Tel. No. 799.2089

I hope all of you are safe with your families.

New Balance has officially announced the postponement of its New Balance Power Run slated for tomorrow to November 29 instead due to bad weather and flooding.  I got this message from Bing Buenaventura at 12:30pm:

We wish to inform you that the New Balance Power Run Raising Hope is postponed due to weather conditions making it impossible (flooding) to set up and stage it properly tomorrow morning. The new date of the NB Power Run is November 29, 2009, Sunday.  Same venue.  Weekends in between are fully booked.  Please mark your calendars and keep your race kits for additional perks.  

Kindly check your favorite running blogs, radio, and other media announcements.  For any questions, call New Balance stores and Planet Sports registration stores ONLY.* 

Thank you very much for your understanding.

* According to NB, there is an anonymous texter sending false New Balance advisory and confusing runners regarding race packets.  Please make sure you get your race information from a credible source.

Great job to ExTribe and New Balance who managed this situation very well.  They decided promptly (and wisely) and they didn’t leave us all to wake up in the wee hours of race day morning to wonder if the race was pushing through.

Now, I need to run 21km tomorrow.  It’s in my program and I told myself when I committed to this that there would be no excuse for skipping a run.  So, I’m left with two choices: 1) run and die of boredom on a treadmill, or 2) run under the rain and have a grand time (aah, fond memories of EcoDash are getting me all teary eyed.)  If the wind isn’t too strong (and I don’t have to swim my way through the floods), I’ll probably run with friends in Makati or the Fort.  

To all the crazy runners out there who will do the same, I’ll see you on the road!  As Sen. Pia and Coach Ani said on Run Radio, it’s rain or rain!

As the 3rd issue (Oct-Dec 2009) gets inked and stapled at the press, I thought of sharing with you the behind the scenes shots of our last TBR Magazine issue (July-Sept 2009) with Drew Arellano on the cover.

Together with Ben Chan of Blacksheep Photography/ Photovendo, our photographer, and his crew, Maui and Kevin, and Marga and Jun, we set off to Sierra Madre for a full day shoot…

– It was the first time I’d ever been to Sierra Madre. Half the time I was wishing I had brought some run gear along. I hope to return for a long run on those roads. Beautiful! –

– Our team: Kevin, Marga, Ben, Drew, Maui, myself, and Jun –

– I’m sure Drew would’ve been willing to run 5k to make our running shots look more realistic. But, to save time, Ben’s trusty spritzer provided fake sweat for Drew –

– What a pro! –

– We wanted this shot to be our cover. Orange was our favored color, but we ended up choosing an even better image –

We also shot Joselyn Saw of Pinoy Ultra Runners who recently returned from the TNF UTMB at Chamonix, France. This was at U.P. Diliman…

– Marie Calica, former beauty and fitness editor of Marie Claire Philippines, did the make up for her good friend, Josaw –

– Josaw, in her element –

And, the fruits of our hardwork…(please refrain from grabbing these shots without permission)

– Loved this shot. But it didn’t make it to the mag –

I caught a nasty bug last night that’s draining all the energy out of me. The throat is scratchy and I’m sneezing every 15 seconds.

Earlier this morning, I tried my best to proceed with work: finalize TBR Magazine – October issue, and thankfully, I did. (Wait for my post about it!) But, there are still meetings to attend, and shopping to do (for the Li’l Miss Bull Runner who turns 5 tomorrow!)

Plan is to finish all these and head to the clinic tonight. No, not a doctor’s clinic, but a running clinic! Hah!

For the past two weeks, I’ve been regularly attending the Nike Training Clinic at Ultra on Tuesdays and the Mizuno Run Club at Bonifacio High Street on Thursdays. I don’t join the training session as I have my own program to follow, but I think being around runners and coaches gives me the motivation to accomplish my job for the day. Of course, great conversation with running friends makes the experience less dull, too.

Methinks that an 11k tempo run at 5:40 pace tonight may just be the thing to scare the virus away. Now, if that doesn’t work, you’ll hear from me tomorrow—after I visit a real doctor’s clinic!