BMO Vancouver Marathon is the city’s one and only marathon.  My Vancouverite cousin says it’s because May is the only time the weather is perfect to stage one!

For the 45th BMO Vancouver Marathon, total number of participants reached its record high this year with 16,500 runners.  This would be for all categories: 2.5k walk, kids’ run, 8k, 21k, 42k relay and 42k. The BMO Vancouver Marathon is a relatively small race compared to any of the World Marathon Majors which have 42k runners alone reaching over 40,000 in number.  With only around 5,000 runners participating in this marathon, I actually looked forward to experiencing a smaller race with less of the foot traffic and craziness that goes with the bigger races.

I came to this marathon as I have done with my past races lately.  I just wanted to have fun.  Turning 40 was a huge milestone in my life and I just needed to celebrate it in a big way.  I didn’t need to prove to myself that I was fit at 40, or that I could break a PR I hit a few years ago when I was younger.  In fact, I didn’t feel the need to prove myself to anything or anyone.

At 40, I just wanted to celebrate the life I have now.  A life that is my own, independent, honest, peaceful, content, free, and hopeful.

I finished with a time of 4:54.  Not that great a time, but I did have a great time! Hah!

Here goes my race review for BMO Vancouver Marathon:

EVENT: 45^th BMO Vancouver Marathon 2016
DATE: May 1, 2016
START: Queen Elizabeth Park
FINISH: West Pender St. 
CUT OFF TIME: 7hrs (more…)

I chose Vancouver Marathon for the simple reason that I wanted to run a marathon for my 40^th birthday. This was one of the races on the first weekend of May that popped up on Google. With a number of relatives who call Vancouver home, Vancouver was perfect. I registered for the race without batting an eyelash and booked our flights.

Discovering that Forbes.com named it as a top destination marathon in the world and CNN Travel calling it one of the world’s most “exotic” marathons (don’t ask me why!) a couple of weeks after registering was a wonderful bonus. (more…)

Saucony officially unveils EVERUN™, its most advanced technology to date highly anticipated by runners everywhere.

“One of the primary objectives in the development of EVERUN™ was to deliver a continuous cushioning experience to runners, combining smoother landings in the heel with reduced pressure in the forefoot.” said Patrick O’Malley, senior vice president of global product for Saucony.

EVERUN has a new Topsole™, a breakthrough construction process that positions the cushioning material closer to the foot, which delivers the same plush feel from the start of a run until the end. (more…)

Must watch: The official video of TBR Smart Dream Marathon 2016 held last February 21, 2016 at Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

After running Tokyo Marathon and Osaka Marathon in two consecutive years, I completely fell head over heels in love with Japan. So, when I heard about Regetta Canoe, a unique and modern Japanese footwear brand inspired by the traditional Japanese clog or Geta, I definitely wanted to give their shoes a try. The shoes are lifestyle shoes, but it’s an added bonus that it is recommend for runners since it helps with recovery after long runs. (more…)