TBR Race Review: The Greenfield Sunset Run 2010
Rating:
Organizers: Finish Line
THUMBS UP:
- out-of-town sunset run as a unique concept
- majority of the roads (specifically within Greenfield City and Pramana Village) were wonderful to run on
- ample floodlights throughout the dark roads
- mobile system throughout the route blasting music
- use of timing chip
- free transportation to Greenfield City
- festive post-race atmosphere
- bands after the race
- discounts at outlet stores
- kids play area
BETTER JOB NEXT TIME:
- lack of water at one station
- vehicles and motorcycles entered a portion of the course
- some roads were dusty and polluted
- late start
- heavy traffic entering and exiting race
The idea of an out-of-town sunset run conjures images of fresh air, a calm breeze, and wide, open roads for runners to tread on. The Greenfield Sunset Run provided all that for the most part of the 21km race, but gave the runners a tough challenge during the last kilometers with lack of water at stations, dusty and polluted roads, and cars lining the latter part of the course.
Thankfully, the race ended with a fun, festive atmosphere, one that was enough to make this runner forget about the difficulties of the race and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow runners in a much deserved late dinner.
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WHAT WAS I THINKING?
Early that day I spoke for three long hours at a workshop, had a tiny bowl of Minestrone for lunch, rushed to dress the kids and leave them at the in-laws forgetting completely about merienda. At 5:30 PM, as hubby and I, along with a wonderfully large group of running friends we happened to bump into at the race, I realized I was in for some big trouble.
– with JunC & Mariel (Solemates), Jay (Prometheus Cometh), Aljo, Raymund (Rain Man), Bobby, Hubby, Art and Little Kulit Runner in front –
I glanced at my watch. Ran the numbers. And told the hubby: “If we do your 9 run: 1 walk intervals, we may finish in 2 hours 30 mins right?” Hubby nodded his head. I shook mine. “Oh no, we’ll finish at 8! I am going to get hungry!”
With that, the race started. And I ran it off with a smile. Bahala na. That’s what I get for not being in full race mode and completely forgetting that a night race was different from the morning races I was so accustomed to.
EASY DOES IT
Hubby and I ran with Bobby and Raymund in the early part of the race. The course was awesome. The roads were wide and traffic-free, the sky was dim and the weather cool, a strong breeze didn’t allow us to break a sweat.
As in the past training runs, every 9 minutes, I would yell “WALK!” and we would all slow to a walk and start yakking away. After a minute, we would proceed to run in silence.
AND THE GROUP GETS BIGGER…
We passed several TBR Dream Marathoners along the way. And, almost like evangelists (or party list representatives if you want to be more relevant), we would encourage them to join us and try the run:walk intervals.
JV, hubby’s officemate, started running with us but decided to go his own pace after a few kilometers. Then, we bumped into Ricky who joined our pace group. Then, for a while, Dra. Lora who is part of the organizing committee of Runew, and Macky ran along with us.
AND THE RUN GETS TOUGHER
It was smooth sailing for us all throughout the first 15km. We actually struggled to keep our pace slow and steady at 6:30 min/km as we often found ourselves running at 6 to 6:15.
As the sky turned to black and the roads became narrower and filled with cars, the run doubled in difficulty.
At around 15km, I stopped at a water station only to discover they had run out of water. Of all times to leave my hydration belt behind! I yelled to hubby “What do I do with no water now?” And, as expected, he held out his water bottle for me to drink.
By the last 3km, cars started to fill both lanes of the road. A motorcyle from behind almost sideswiped me. Strike 2, I thought. Hubby and I managed to find humor in the situation as it was deja vu of The Great Lapu-Lapu Run in Cebu, where the last 3k was troubled by traffic, and a motorcyle had almost hit me as well.
Runners were forced to run on the middle of the road, so our group was in a single-line formation. By the time we stopped at the next water station (which had water already), our group was down to three. Just hubby, Bobby, and myself.
HAPPY FINISH
We crossed the finish at 2:26. It was one of our slowest runs. Once we stopped, my legs turned to lead with the lactic-acid build up. I knew that this was due to the fact that I didn’t run at my natural pace, forcing myself to run along with the group’s pace. This was fine, a happy consequence of running with a fine group of runners.
– with Bobby and Hubby nearing the finish –
– Coach Lit, are we leaning forward enough? –
– Near the end of what might be my last half marathon night race. I think I’ll stick to morning long runs! –
– with hubby –
The other runners from our pace group arrived. First Ricky, then Macky. Macky was on cloud 9 as he beat his PR by a whopping 20 minutes! (Thanks for the email and photo, Macky. Congrats again!)
– Macky writes: This boosted my confidence that I will be able to finish the full marathon come May 22. I must admit there have been doubts but each small achievement(s) helps me to soldier on. –
Raymund was nowhere in sight. It turned out that he felt lightheaded midway through the run (most probably due to hunger) and was compelled to walk instead.
RUNNERS’ DINNER
With no Sunday morning activities to rush to like the regular morning race, most of us had time for a well-deserved dinner. A large group of us, most of my best running friends, shared an awful Japanese dinner over some fantastic runner’s chatter. A great way to end yet another running adventure.
– awful food over great dinner with friends –
* Thank you to Vima (Kulit Runner) and PhotoVendo Team (especially Ben Chan) for some of the photos.
