Posts Tagged with: "race"

I didn’t make it to this Halloween race last year, so I missed seeing Coach Rio as cupid, showing off his well-sculpted abs with nothing but a diaper on, Marga in her school girl costume, Gelo A. with his Lance Armstrong christmas balls, and many more.  It looked like one of the most hilarious and fun races held last year.  

For this year, I nominate Shake, Rattle and Run for the scariest teaser design of the year! More details to follow soon, but block off your sched (and think of your costume) already…

Last Sunday, June 28, two races were held at U.P. Diliman Campus: the GIG Run and the Botak Paa-Tibayan Takbo 100k.  I chose to participate in the GIG Run’s 10k event and delayed plans for signing up for Botak’s 100k until—uhm—maybe when my kids are already in college.

I’ve been neck deep in work (worked on TBR Magazine Issue 2 which will be released next week—woohoo!) so I failed to write my race report for GIG.  (So sorry to the organizers!)  But, it was a well-organized fun run which I thoroughly enjoyed despite how exhausted I felt at a mere 5k.  (Lesson: never watch a long movie such as Transformers 2 the night prior to a race.)

As for Botak, I have heard nothing but good reviews about the race.  Big congratulations to Botak and good friend, Neville Manaois, who organized the ultramarathon.  What you guys did was no mean feat!

Below is the race report as shared by Botak.  Congratulations to Coach Roel’s little bro Jesse Ano who broke the record for the 100km!…

It all started at 1am on the crisp morning of June 28, 2009 when 81 brave souls assembled to the starting line at Yllanan road in UP Diliman for the first 100 kilometer race in Metro Manila.

Everybody was so eager especially the support officials coming from the City Governments of Quezon City and Marikina. There was a ratio of three marshals to every participant. One motorbike, one scooter marshal and one ground marshal. There were also seventeen mobile patrol cars with blinkers-on, that safe guarded all the participants. As I quote one participant “It was iron clad from start to finish”.

The race had turned out as a day for Jessie Ano whose performance was worthy of breaking the 26 year old national record of Mr. Felix Baredo the time of 8:27.10. Jessie Ano clocked in at an amazing 8:06.56 to win by 59 mins ahead of 2008 Koko Marathon Champion Pepito Deapera clocking in at 9:01:04

Official results of Botak Paa-Tibayan 100km:

For those who sent in questions regarding online registration for Run for Home, here’s a note from Vince Mendoza of Finish Line, the organizer of Run for Home:

Hi Everyone,

Good new, we’ve already sent out all online registration confirmation email. For those will do the online registration (which was fixed already a couple of days ago), please expect the confirmation email within 24 hours. We need to wait for the bank to confirm the payment first before we send out your confirmation. This means that transaction made on weekend will have to wait till Monday to get their confirmation emails. Thanks

I was invited to the press conference for Run For Home, Globe-Ayala City Run For Habitat for Humanity slated for July 19, 2009 last night.  Speakers included Angelo from Globe and Vince Mendoza and Coach Rio de la Cruz from Finish Line.  

– Globe Team –

I took down notes and came up with the following reasons why you should NOT join this race:

1. Disposable champion chips will be used for all race distances.  No need to squeeze into crowded assembly areas and crawl your way to the front line.  Your time starts when you cross the starting line, not when the gun fires, so it doesn’t matter if you start a few seconds or minutes late.  See, there’s no reward for being an early bird at this race.
2. You can’t use thirst or dehydration as an excuse for your slow time at this race.  For the 21km, Coach Rio said that he plans to have water stations at every kilometer.  Sponges will be available too.
3. The race course includes Ayala Avenue, an area that is rarely used in races, and will turn around Ayala Triangle.  If you’re a regular racer, you’ve memorized all the bumps, humps, and cracks on the usual race roads of Bonifacio Global City, so running in this new uncharted territory may be quite a challenge for you.
4. There will be live microblogging (Twitter and Plurk) during the race.  Everyone—even non-running friends and relatives—will get live updates on your run.  Pressure!
5. Results will be provided with RunPix, the exact program used at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon last year.  (Click here to get a visual)  So, you’ll know how many runners outpaced you, exactly where you were when the first runner crossed the finish line, your place among all the other finishers, or—if you’re male—your worst nightmare yet: how many women finished ahead of you.  Are you ready to face the truth?
6. PixLink and Tattoo blogging at the race area may be too entertaining and you forget to run.
7. You’ll have a memorabilia of the race depicting a drenched and exhausted version of you when you claim your FREE race photo available for download at PhotoVendo.  
8. The scrumptious food at the bazaar ala Salcedo Market after the race will make you gain back all the calories you lost during the run.
9. 6,500 runners are expected to show up.  More people to chase after.
10. This race promises to be one of the best races ever held in Manila.  If the organizers are successful at pulling this off, then all other races you’ll join in the future will pale in comparison.

I’ve registered for the 21km already.  I’m ready to take all the risks I’ve mentioned above if only to experience this one-of-a-kind, well-planned event.

REGISTRATION AREAS (only until JULY 3, 2009):
– all Globe business centers
– all Fitness First branches (Metro Manila)
– Runnr, Bonifacio High Street
– online at www.globe.com.ph/runforhome

– Vince of Finish Line –

– Vince, Jay, Vimz, Coach Rio, myself, Raymund, Taki, Marga, Dingdong, and Jun –

Allow me to start at the end of the race because that’s where all the excitement was—at least for me. Here’s the loot I took home from my 5k run at Takbo Para sa Puso in U.P. Diliman this morning…

Do you see the medal right smack at the center of the photo? Yes, that’s mine—woohoo! I won 10th place in the non-MD Women’s Category for 5k. My official time was 29.03 mins.

– Top 10 winners for Women’s 5k. Check out the 3 winners behind me…they could be my kids! –

I took home the drawstring bag and singlet they gave to all runners, plus P1,000 cash and other freebies from sponsors. What a pleasant surprise for me!

You see, I arrived at the assembly area a little bit concerned about the pain in my left shin. I did my warm-ups and stretching with Annie then set my negative thoughts aside. I forced myself to think that I would survive a short 5k run with this slight discomfort. No pain, no prize, right?

As soon as the gun went off, I had little time to think at all. I ran at a steady pace of 5 min/km thereabouts from Km 1 to 3. At the 4th km, my lack of endurance finally showed as I slowed to an average pace of around 5:30. The uphill climb in that portion made things a little bit more difficult, but images of our hill training with Coach Jo-Ar came to mind and when I applied the techniques he taught me, they just worked like magic! I ran the last kilometers again at a steady 5 min/km pace.

– with Coach Jo-Ar. Salamat Coach para sa lahat ng hirap! haha –

– with my training buddies, Annie and Zorro (Yes, I’m kidding!) –

The race was as smooth as it could be for me. No negatives, all positives: (See what a thousand bucks can do to my mood!)

• My pace was steady. I think next time I should throw more sprints in there, but maybe when I’m a little bit stronger already.
• The pain subsided for the most part of the race and only returned (with a vengeance if I may say so) around lunchtime today.
• The race was very well-organized by Coach Rio once again. I especially liked the fact that Coach Rio is the emcee of his own races. At the finish line, he could easily identify the elite runners and share their resume with all of us less talented runners! Hah!
• Bonus: Mark P. of Happy Feet shared his secret restroom with me. (Sorry I’m not telling!)
• I met a lot of readers from the blog. Finally, they aren’t only names, but runners with faces! It was a pleasure to meet you!

– with Jujet de Asis, 1st place 5k Men’s Category (17.38 mins). Jujet and I share the same birthdate. Do you think we’ll have the same finishing time in the future too? –

– Marieton Pacheco reads TBR! How cool is that?! Here I am with Marieton, her hubby and friends –

– with good friend Marga (Transition Zero) and her friend Jenna –

– Finally! A photo with Eric (Run For Change) –

– with Skinhead81 –

– with Coach Rio, Councilor Dorothy (1st place 10k Women’s MD Category), and real “Doc Fit” runners. Dr. Yong Larrazabal (3rd from right) and Dr. Peter Mancao (rightmost) joined NYC Marathon last year and are eyeing the Chicago Marathon this year. Go docs! –

For official race results of Takbo Para sa Puso, click here.