Category Archives: Race Announcements

Takbo Bayani is an upcoming race organized by the City of Marikina and the Marikina Sports Commission through Hon. Marides Fernando and Hon. Vic Sabiniano.  There are two things terribly wrong about this race:

1) Bayani Fernando’s head superimposed over his clipart physique on the registration form.  Que horror!  A graphic designer’s worst nightmare…

2) The exclusion of women in the 21k race.  Yes, you read it right.  Only men are allowed to participate in the half marathon.

I was bothered by this last week but I gave the race organizers the benefit of the doubt thinking that they must have had a good reason to ban women from the half.  Apparently not.

From Marga’s blog, she quotes a runner friend who questioned the race organizers about the gender bias and this was the response:

“It was a decision made by the Marikina Sports Commission to limit the 21k to male participants only because they felt that there might be very few or no female participants at all. We’ll take note of your concern and maybe in our succeeding events we will consider all genders in the 21k category.”

I think that’s the lamest excuse. Have these race organizers ever attended a race? Are they implying that we women can only run as far as a 10k? Do they not know that some women can even outrun men? And, one last question, are they living in the 21st century?

I am certainly not joining Takbo Bayani.  And I hope no one else does.  That’s why I’ve scrapped it from my list of races.

For weeks, I was mourning the loss of the opportunity to join The North Face 100.  In fact, as I’ve said, I ran the Robinson’s Buddy Wellness thinking of how much fun all the other runners were having at TNF in Batangas.  Little did I know that I should’ve been glad I didn’t join (only because I’m not a mud-loving, rock climbing type of girl.)

Word is out that it was a tremendously tough course reserved for the more experienced runners.  There were four river crossings, dilapidated bridges and snakes!  They say it was more of an adventure race than a marathon.  For the 100km, of the 90 teams (including relay) that joined, I heard that only 30-40 crossed the finishline.  An HK runner who finished the Gobi Desert Ultra Marathon didn’t finish either.

But, despite the toughness of the course, there were runners that did finish and conquer the trails. All of them deserve a big congratulations and a warm cup of hot chocolate: 

– The first runner for 100km crossed in at 13 hours male and 15 hours female.   

– A Singaporean couple joined for the relay.  The first was the man who arrived late in the afternoon.  The woman should have been next, but it was too dark already and the course was dangerous.  So, the man ran another 50km loop to accompany his partner. 

– Jeremy Go, my unofficial editor in this blog, who I met only a few weeks back and came across as an unassuming guy (who I thought at that time was a newbie runner) finished the 100km beating the 30 hour cut off time by 10mins.  While other runners had quit and gone to sleep, he trekked throughout the night without anyone to accompany him.  

– My friend Annie won the 20km despite it being her 1st trail run.  She split four times and ran through slippery, narrow trails yet came out unscathed.  Congrats again Annie!  I’m so proud of you.

How about you?  What’s your story?  Would you do this again?

I texted Neville Manaois of Pinoy Ultra Runners last night wishing him a great run for tomorrow’s TNF (which I am still moping over since I forbade myself from joining due to the risk of re-injury).  He replied from Batangas with this SMS:

“Raining hard here. River rising daw. Winds picking up.  And temperature dropping.  This will be fun.”

Followed an hour or so after with this update:

“River is rising really fast.  Really cold.  Good luck to us. hehe.”

Neville added that there are 90 runners joining the 100km (that’s a lot eh?), 100+ for 21km, and 210 for 10km.  It sure sounds like these 400+ runners are going to have the time of their lives tomorrow.  Good luck to you if you’re running at TNF…especially my friends Annie, Coach Jo-Ar, Taki, and highschool buddies Bau and Tin.  (Who else is joining?)  Stay safe!

As for me, I’ll be at light, easy and wholesome Robinsons Wellness Buddy run with the hubby with thoughts of TNF on my mind.

First the BAD NEWS: Manila wasn’t chosen as one of the 25 cities where the Nike Human Race would be held. The lucky 25 are: 

1. Austin
2. Bogotá
3. Buenos Aires
4. Caracas
5. Chicago
6. Istanbul
7. London
8. Los Angeles
9. Lima
10. Madrid
11. Melbourne
12. Mexico City
13. Munich
14. New York
15. Paris
16. Quito
17. Rome
18. São Paulo
19. Seoul
20. Shanghai
21. Singapore
22. Taipei
23. Tokyo
24. Warsaw
25. Vancouver

But, the GOOD NEWS for us Pinoys is this: we can still join the Nike Human Race without booking a flight to nos. 1 to 25 above.  One can join the race by joining VIRTUALLY.

All you have to do is track your run with a Nike+ Sport Kit or Nike+ Sport Band (yes, you can only join the Nike+ Virtual Race if you have the Nike+ kit or band) then sync your run to nikeplus.com.ph. You can run anywhere at any time of the day starting 12:00am until 11:59pm on August 31.  Just run a total of 10k throughout the day to contribute to the global mileage on August 31, 2008.

Now even BETTER NEWS for Nike+ members: A little birdie told me (okay, it’s Coach Rio) that Nike Philippines is organizing a local Nike+ Virtual Race to be held on the same day, 08.31.08, to gather all Nike+ members to run together instead of having to run alone. Coach Rio emphasizes it will NOT be an official race, hence registration is free. However, it will definitely feel like one with prizes for top placers, race bibs, water stations, raffle prizes (drool drool), and more. They’re still deciding on the course: Bonifacio High Street or U.P.  Details to follow.  

– Pining for a new Nike+ Sport Band?  TBR is giving out 5 Nike+ Sport Bands to lucky readers. –

And, more GOOD NEWS…or perhaps the BEST NEWS for you guys: I will be giving away 5 new Nike+ Sport Bands (retail price of P3,295) in the days leading up to the race on August 31.  I’m still brainstorming how to give these out to deserving runners but let me warn you: it will not be easy.  More on this in future posts.

Nike celebrates runners and their sport while uniting athletes all over the globe through the world’s largest running event. On 08.31.08, join a million runners worldwide for a 10k event like no other at the Nike+ Human Race. By combining Nike’s digital running world with the physical, the Nike+ Human Race is open to anyone, anywhere.

Besides running the Nike+ Human Race physically in any of the 25 host cities, participants can choose to take part in the virtual race. This means you can run anywhere at any time of the day starting 12:00am until 11:59pm on August 31, track your run with a Nike+ Sport Kit or Nike+ Sport Band, then sync your run to nikeplus.com.ph. Just run a total of 10k throughout the day to contribute to the global mileage on August 31, 2008.

Furthermore, Vote With Your Feet (VWYF) allows all virtual runners to log their miles from the day they register themselves on the website. Once the participant signs up for the virtual race, he can choose one of the three global charities to donate to. The cumulative miles run for the individual charities will result in what the allocation of Nike’s contribution will be among the three charities September 1, 2008.

VIRTUAL RACE FAQs

Why did Nike decide to organize this event?
Simply put, Nike is celebrating runners and their sport. This is going to be the World’s Largest Running Event and provide a global connection point for every athlete. By using tools that Nike created like Nike+ and the Nike+ SportBand, people can now participate from anywhere: a country road, an urban sidewalk or at one of the 25 designated Nike+ Human Race cities.

If I’m not running in a Nike+ Human Race city, can I still join the Human Race?
Anyone that registers for the Nike+ Human Race can participate. If you’re not running at the host city, you can participate through the virtual race. By registering for the race at nikeplus.com.ph, runners can simply run from their home, track their run with Nike+ iPod or Nike+ SportBand, then log their miles and contribute to the global mileage occurring simultaneously on 08.31.08.

How can I sign up for the virtual race?

Participants merely have to register for it here to join the virtual race with Nike+

Step 1: Ensure that you have a Nike+ SportKit or Nike+ SportBand to track your miles. Both can be purchased from any Nike retail outlets.

Step 2: Select to join the race with Nike+

Step 3: Train for race day with Nike+

Step 4: Race and sync your 10k run on 31.8.2008

What is the difference between the physical and virtual race?

Difference 1: The physical race requires you to be present at any of the 25 cities worldwide on 31^st August 2008, closest to the Philippines is in Singapore. The virtual race on the other hand requires you to run anywhere, anytime, before 11:59pm on August 31, 2008.

Difference 2: The physical race requires a registration fee, depending on your respective category and city. The virtual race requires no entry fee.

Difference 3: The physical race participants will run with a ChampionChip device whereas all virtual runners simply need to log their miles with a Nike+ SportKit or Nike+ SportBand.

If I signed up for the virtual race, do I have to complete the 10KM?

Yes. You have to run a 10K or more on August 31 for you to be count in the Human Race. You can run in blocks, like 5KM/5KM or 2KM/3KM/5KM, as long as your total is at least 10K.

What benefits do I stand to enjoy as a virtual race participant?

Virtual race participants get to enjoy:

– A Nike+ Finisher Bracelet for the first 250 Filipino participants to log their 10km on to www.nikeplus.com.ph by 11:59pm at August 31, 2008.

– 15% off* on purchase of a Nike+ SportBand or Nike+ Kit. (I may be giving out 10 discount coupons I’ll confirm this later.)

*At selected Nike retail stores only. Offer is valid until August 30, 2008.

How do I contribute to charity by running the virtual race?

Once you join the race as a Nike+ participant, all the distance loaded via Nike+ prior to and on the race day will be tracked. Vote With Your Feet (VWYF) allows all virtual runners to log their miles from the day they register themselves on the website. Once the participant signs up for the virtual race, he can choose one of the three global charities to donate to. The cumulative miles run for the individual charities will result in what the apportionment of Nike’s contribution will be amongst the three charities.

What if I would like to donate to charity?

Virtual racers can also make direct money donations to charities using the Nike+ Pledge Tool.

On August 31, 2008, Nike will be conducting The Human Race, a 10k run to be done simultaneously in 25 cities around the the world.  

Here in the Philippines though it seems as if they’re still gathering a list of interested participants before they organize the Manila leg.  (What for?!  Singapore is all set to go!)

If you’re interested in joining, you should raise your hand (perhaps a bit useless if you’re not within sight of any Nike manager), post a comment here, or email feedback@runrio.com to let them know you’ve actually started training already.

As for me, I only have one thing to say to Nike people:  Just Do It!

* Thanks to Passion Runner for info.