After a month of waiting… the day of the race finally arrived! A month ago, I remember asking everyone I knew if they wanted to join my running team! You see, participating in the run as a team would automatically sponsor the cleft operation of one child! I wanted to be a part of that! It was difficult finding my 9 team mates because of the distance we had to run and the price we had to pay. Running as a team was 15,000 pesos (1,500 each) for 10 members, and there were only 2 race distance for the group category: 10km and 16km. Most of my friends are amateur runners just like myself. Most of them have never tried running more than 5km and others have never even run at all! It was a big leap to take… and we took it.
Just a few hours before the race, one of our members called me saying that she will be unable to join due to the illness of her 2 baby boys. Of course, family has to come first. It was just sad that she would not be able to join us. At least her money went to a good cause! So there were 9 of us left.
I’d like to commend the organizers for a very well organized race! It was also much appreciated that one of the organizers texted all the runners informing us of the time change. (From the 5:30am gun start, the time was moved to 5:45) This information was already posted on their facebook page, but it was very thoughtful of them to still text the runners and make sure everyone knew of the changes. The route taken during the race was not bad, though it did feel as if it were longer since it was a straight route. It felt as if I’ve been running for so long and still haven’t reached the end! It also became a little crowded when those who’ve already reached the turn-around point were running towards those still getting to it. Luckily though, there were not too many runners. I’d estimate there to be around 3thousand runners more or less. Other runs would reach 11thousand runners! Though more runners would mean more to beneficiaries, it also meant long lines and crowded spaces.
After the run, the 10km and 16km runners got free advocacy shirts. Awards were also given out to top finishers. It was well organized and the ceremony did not last too long. This was really good ‘coz people did not need to wait in the scorching heat for the results. The awards were quickly given out to top finishers and team runners.
Congratulations to my team: VICTORIOUS SECRET
runners 1301 to 1310!
Cheryl Golangco (www.littlerunningteacher.com), Philippe Villareal, Paul Villareal, Hannah Villasis (www.flaircandy.com), Sheena Gonzales, Joanne Gamo, Jessica Fernandez, Michelle Sunglao, Ronaldo Sunglao
Even though some of us wanted to give up half way, we still finished it! Good job guys! Good job! We received finishers’ medal and a plaque of appreciation with our team name on it! How wonderful! We were also interviewed by RunnersSpeak! Cool! Watch out for our faces on QTV Sundays 9:00 -9:30 AM. THe show however is on season break so I’m not sure when it will be aired or if it will be aired at all. It may just be posted on their website. It was a great experience nonetheless!
I think my only complaint regarding the race would be the gun start. There was no countdown or live music to pump up the runners. There was just a sudden gunshot and “poof”! Off went the runners! Also, towards the end of the 10km route, water ran out! There were signs saying “hydration area straight ahead”, this actually got me excited ‘coz I was really thirsty already, but when I got there…. NO WATER. If I were desperate enough I would have pulled the table cloth and sucked the water out! …nah. But besides these, I think the race was pretty damn good. Really well organized and fun! Cute singlets… good route… quick program… great cause!
Oh and my time… Around 1 hour and 12minutes. An improvement of 10minutes from my last race. This isn’t the official result though… just what my Suunto watch tells me. haha
Sorry not too many pictures of other runners.. It’s hard to take pictures when your running and bouncing! :) Oh, and P.S., our team name was suggested by my brother, Vince Golangco of www.wheninmanila.com, a lot of people seemed to really like it.. Thanks! :)
