Antipolo Practice Run

It all started with a post by Happy Feet buddy, Wilbert (vballrunner) in his blog on his practice run with Bobby Cruz and Mikey Macainag to Hinulugang Taktak.  The post contained beautiful and breathtaking pictures of Hinulugang Taktak falls and the hills of Antipolo.  More became curious when Bobby called the run LSD2X – Long Steep Distance and Long Slow Death because of the challenging nature of the hills coming from Valley Golf via Victoria Valley and to Hinulugang Taktak and back.

Hinulugang Taktak Falls – A view from the Top

The group started ribbing Bobby starting from the VSO Bahaginan Run to organize another run because of the excellent feedback.  We were hopeful na maraming ma-uuto pa dyan lalo na sa Happy Feet.

True enough Bobby posted an e-mail last November 26 that today’s run will push through.  As expected sila Gigi (fitmommy), Roselle (running diva), Wilbert (vballrunner), Mr. future President Lito O and Moi ang mga na-uto.  We all showed up at the meeting place and started our run at 5:45am.

A Miracle at Guadalupe

I was supposed to pick up Roselle at Jollibee, Guadalupe but for some strange reason I got enexpected delays along the way that I did not make it to Guadalupe at 5:00am.  While waiting at the MRT Stairway, Roselle saw a familiar silhouette running along EDSA.  As the silhouette came closer it became apparent that it was Sensei John Ting.  She called on Sensei John but no pansin si running diva.  The second attempt caught Sensei John’s attention.  After an exchange of pleasantries Roselle found out that Sensei John was on his way to Cainta!  He only knew that there was a run and did not have the slightest idea where to meet up with Bobby.  Later, he confided that he was praying hard so that he can find his way to Cainta.  Roselle immediately got hold of him and asked him to join us.

Finding Sensei John along EDSA who was on his way to nowhere in Cainta is to my mind a miracle of sorts.

LSD2X

We started our run at Brookside Subdivision on the way to Valley Golf and Country Club, which was mostly flat terrain.  As we reached Valley Golf we turned right to the first of several long hard climbs.  The first climb was manageable and it was followed by a steep down hill.

The second climb was even tougher.  It was a loooooong hard uphill climb which left me gasping for breath.  As we reached the turn, the down hill that I expected turned out to be another looooooooooonnnnnnggggeeerrrrrrrrr uphill climb, which I managed to negotiate by doing a brisk walk.  As we reached the top, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of foliage with the Makati-Pasig-Eastwood-Quezon City skyline as a backdrop.  Awesome indeed!! This was followed by a steep downhill run.

As we reached the Hinulugang Taktak road, things started to go uphill again.  But this time it was moderate.  We managed to run at a leisurely pace up to Antipolo Cathedral, the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Cathedral.  After paying our respects and a round of native kakanin we were on our way back to Valley Golf.

It was an enjoyable and at the same time a very challenging run.  The weather was perfect – sight occasional  drizzles to cool us down and overcast skies.

Here are pictures of the run courtesy of the ever Fit Mommy Gigi A and The Traveller Wilbert.

Towards Antipolo Church

Victoria Valley

On a personal note, the practice run gave me the chance to complete my first 1,000 kilometers since I started recording my runs in May 2008.  The 16 kms that we negotiated upped my mileage to 1,007kms.  I am doubly elated that I did it with my Happy Feet buddies.  Thanks fellas!  You’re the best!

Antipolo Hills, we will definitely meet again!  Next time we will be better prepared!!  Pictures to follow.

What Runners Prefer

Thank you for visiting this site.  Runners World has been making an online poll/survey for quite some time now to check on the preferences or thinking of runners.   I am unaware if a similar poll or survey has been conducted in the Philippines.

The purpose of this poll is simply to check on the preferences of visitors on race entry fees.  Please take time to answer the polls below.

New Balance Power Race OFFICIAL RESULTS

Finally 12 days after the race, the Official Results have been released by New Balance in its website.  While we have been in suspense for the past 12 days as to the results, we feel relieved that the results of that wonderful race we ran in Clark Field are out.  The delay is just a minor glitch and to my mind does not detract from the fact that the race was well-organized and challenging.

From the looks of it, New Balance set the standards for road races higher.  Lets just hope the next major races will not just follow suit but be better.

Congratulations New Balance and Extribe!  Will look forward to your next race or sponsored event.

HiSkool Musicale

SOS Children’s Villages will be presenting a musicale variety show on December 6, 2008 (Saturday) at the SOS Manila Social Hall at Mindanao Avenue, Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa and December 15, 2008 (Monday) at the Alabang Town Center – Town Plaza, Muntinlupa.  The show starts at 6:00 p.m. and features SOS kids performing their own version of the High School Musicale.  Admission is free.

The show is one of means for the kids to express their gratitude to the friends who have supported them.  I hope you can take time to watch the show at its play dates.

A Runner’s Wish for 2009

I went back to my inbox and found this November 3, 2008 post by Lito Evite at the Pinoy Runners e-groups.  I find his wish list very reasonable.  I just hope that his message resonated to the organizers and consider them when they plan their races for 2009.  I am certain that he had the best interests of runners when he e-mailed his post.

Dear running organizers,

I hope you won’t mind if I ask you a wish (magpapasko na kasi).  These wishes are based on the experiences I’ve had in the past races I’ve joined and some comments/blogs I’ve heard/read:

1.  Race schedules
- Schedules must be coordinated with all race groups so we don’t have simultaneous
races with the same race dates

2.  Registration
- there should be multiple registration centers
- race packets should be given upon registration
- race day on-site registration should be allowed but should close 15 minutes before the
scheduled race starts (sometimes the race gets delayed because there are still on-site
registrants queuing)

3.  Singlets/T-shirts (walang kokontra sa nakalista, wish nga eh!)
- T-shirts should be pure cotton (malamig sa katawan)
- singlets should be ‘true’ dri-fit or climacool (masarap sa katawan)
- singlets must not have ‘tahi’ in front as this causes flaking and wounds the
err..uhm…nips…

4.  Age Cheating
- there should be a way to check for age cheating
- for races with age category, there are those who register to an older race category
(ex. the runner’s real age is 48, but registers with the 50-59 age group or
the runner’s real age is 16, but registers with the 10-13 age group)

5.  Race Time
- races must start on-time (runners wake up early to make it on time during race day,
this must be respected by organizers plus the sun would already be hot if the race gets
delayed)
- let us do away with the ‘Filipino Time’ instead let us be the ‘Filipino on Time’
- should there be speeches by guests and/or programs, these must be done before be
scheduled race time
- guest speakers must be given specific time limits for their speeches

6.  Runner Check-in
- runners that check-in should not be allowed to leave the holding area
(there are others that sneak out and position themselves few meters away from the
starting line, so that they would have a headstart when the race begins. Cheaters!!!)

7.  Release of runners on race day
- Runners must be released by race category (3k, 5K, 10K, 21K, …)
- there should be no classification of elite, advanced, beginner runners

8.  Marshalls
- marshalls must be strategically located in all turns from start to finish
- marshalls must control vehicular traffic to protect the runners
- marshalls must direct the runners to the proper side of the road
- marshalls must have a communication equipment and list of emergency contact
numbers
- marshalls must be briefed of their roles and responsibilities
- marshalls must apprehend or report cheating runners
- escort marshalls must not only be escorting the lead runners but should there should
also be escorts for the last runner (leave no one behind)

9.  Ambulance and medical services
- there must be a first aid/medical services available
- at least one ambulance/emergency vehicle must be available and strategically located
in the middle of the race route (ex. for a 21k race, the ambulance must be located at
the 5K post not at the starting line for quick response in the shortest possible time)

10.  Water stations
- there should be ample water stations located at least every 2.5km
- there should also be enough plastic cups and ‘clean’ cold water
- there should be trash bags to throw the used plastics cups/containers
(we runners should not litter our streets)

11.  Route Markers
- the whole stretch of the race route must be properly marked
(this is especially true for marathons, some runners get lost)

12. Finish line
- there should be ample race chutes for each race category to prevent long lines
- race certificates and other giveaways must be given as the runner exits the race chute
(do not let him/her line up again just to get those souvenirs)
I’ve been good this year so I hope that my wish gets to be granted.

Race Schedules - Its about time that the organizers coordinate so there would be no conflict of schedules.  It is sad to have simultaneous races at the same day in Metro Manila.  It is not  always easy to choose.  Having simultaneous races on the same day also effectively reduces the income to be generated by the race.  What is important is for the organizers to give courtesy to each other and not to compete with each other. Engaging in cut throat competition is a recipe for disaster to the organizers.

Race Time – I fully agree that all races should start on time.  No more Filipino time.  If we say we start at 6:00 am, we should start at that time.  Running is a disciplined sport and we runners should develop the discipline of being at the race site on time.  If you are late, humabol ka na lang.  On the other hand organizers should have the discipline to start the race on the stipulated time.  The sun gets hot when the race is delayed, particularly during the summer months when the days are longer.

Water Stations – Organizers should always consider the runners’ need to be hydrated.  By this I mean providing them with POTABLE DRINKING WATER.  Organizers should do away with the “the tabo at timba” system.  On the other hand runners should always prepare and have their own hydration kit, which can be a simple water bottle or a hydration belt.

All for the improvement of running in the Philippines!

UNICEF Walk in the Child’s Side & Official Results

McKinley Hill at Bayani Road uphills, magkikita ulit tayo!  These I said a full 2 weeks ago at the VSO Bahaginan Run.

I arrived at the site a around 5:15 am, eager to do a short warm up stretching and run for the reason that I no longer need to worry about water stations.  The site was busy with pre-race activities from the organizer.  Lito O of Happy Feet followed shortly and thereafter Roselle (running diva).  We had a short warm up run.  I made it a point to run only 2 laps to conserve my energy while Roselle and Lito decided to extend their warm up.

The runners began to swell by 5:45am.  I bumped into Happy Feet peeps Carmen, Zinnia, Mikey, Bobby, Wilbert (vballrunner), Tina, Doc Gigi, Mark and Tiffin, Vimz (kulit on the run), Art and family, Ben Chan (photographer on the run) with his PhotoVendo staff, Sensei John and of course birthday boy Boss Chief Mon Domingo.

Happy Birthday Mon!  May you have many more to come!  We deeply appreciate the little big things that you do for Happy Feet.  I pray that God shower you abundantly with His blessings.

The run started at 6:00 am. with semi-overcast skies – perfect running weather.  The 10k runners started first.  The 5k runners followed 5 minutes thereafter.  I had only one strategy for this run – start slow and relaxed; FINISH STRONG.  I took it easy for the first 5 kilometers where it was mostly downhill with McKinley Hill being the only uphill segment.

McKinley Hill is sooooo unforgiving to runners who sap themselves early.  By the time we went uphill, a number of runners started to walk and you could see that their energy level was low.  By the time we reached the left turn to C5 Road, I was tempted to accellerate but I thought that I should conserve my energy for the uphill on the way back.  I guess lessons brought about by the lactic acid burns that Country Club Dive, Santiago loop and Palms Country Club in Alabang clearly resonated to my mind and paid handsomely in this run.

The serenity of Heritage Park was something to behold.  I paid my usual respects to a friend, Serge Ayson as I passed by his grave near the man-made lake.  I felt a gentle nudge and started to pass a number of runners.  This trend continued when we reached the uphill portion to Lawton.  I could see a lot of runners already spent as I passed them.

The 9km mark was just before we turned right to Lawton.  I decided to test myself and accelerate further.  Lo and behold, I continued to make progress.  By the time we reached the downhill portion of McKinley Hill, I decided to go all out and make headway up to the finish line.

I finished the race with an unofficial time of 1:11:00.  While this may be slow to the experienced runners, this is a milestone to a 52 year old newbie runner!  How I wished that I went to serious running earlier.

The race was well-organized.  Congratulations Rio!!  Water stations were more than adequate.  There were even a segment in Heritage Park where volunteers handed out bananas and ensaymada (a very generous gesture indeed) to the runners.

More importantly, Rio came out with the official results on the same day.  To my mind this is a first in Philippine running.  Great Job!  Click here for the official results.

Not to be outdone, the post-race features were great to say the least – Hidden Spring and Rush water freebies, photographs, Starbucks coffee, UNICEF goodies and Pinoy Star Wars characters among others.

The Happy Feet post race activities consisted of a birthday treat by Chief Mon at McDonalds plus the usual kwentos and race recap.

This UNICEF race is indeed a race to remember.  Will look forward to the next one.

Me, Lito and Doc Gigi.

New Balance Power Race 08 – Updated Unofficial Results

Our friend Dindo (runningDATCom) published in his post this morning an e-mail from Eric Imperio of extribe regarding the New Balance Power Race Unofficial Results:

We have been getting a lot of questions about the results being termed
unofficial.. …. well, this is just a technicality because as a
“hired” organizers- we are not authorized to release results of a
client’s event. Making things unofficial is the best compromise we can
propose so that we can already release finish times for the
participants- something we know everyone was itching to have already.

This also works better for extribe in general- it gives us a chance to
clear up individual issues (changing of race numbers, starting at a
different wave, arrving at finish line withou a band marker,
registering at a different age group…etc etc etc) which we take on a
case to case basis as much as we can.

Extribe has to be commended with coming up with the “Unofficial Results” as it appears to be the win-win solution under the circumstances.  Runners are obviously anxious to know how they fared.  On the other hand extribe is at a bind not to release the results without the approval of New Balance.

I just checked the results and found out that they have updated it. Check out their extribe website here to see the Updated Unofficial Results.

I must say that Extribe went further in verifying the results.  I got a call from Eric Imperio yesterday where he asked me to clarify why my bib was checked in at the 25k category. I told him that the gate marshal represented that it will be sorted out and I later went to the 10k corral to start the race with them.  I really appreciate what Eric and Extribe did

PMA Kaakibat Class 2001 Fun Run

Kaakibat Class 2001 of the Philippine Military Academy is sponsoring a 5k and 3k fun run on December 14, 2008 at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.  Assembly time is 5:00 a.m. and gun start at 6:00 a.m.  Details of the run and the registration form can be downloaded at the AFP website.

New Balance Power Race 08 – Unofficial Results

Extribe has released the “unofficial results” of the New Balance Power Race 2008 in its website. The results are arranged according to our bib number and not according to race time.

I am disappointed that my bib no. 1400 was not included in the unofficial results. What the heck!  These are still Unofficial Results.  What is important is that I completed the race fair and square.  Hopefully bib no. 1400 will come out when the official results are released.

To my mind this is just a minor glitch that does not in any way make the race a bad one.  The race itself was well organized.  Still, my congratulations to New Balance!

Caring Circle

In the St. James Renewal Movement each Marriage Encounter (ME), Singles Encounter (SE) and Family Encounter (FE) Classes come together regularly for a Caring Circle (CC) where they share and meditate on the word of God and how it affected them in their lives.  A CC is also an opportunity for members to share their concerns and blessings. It is also a time for members to pray for each other.  Isn’t it comforting to know that somebody is there praying for you? To sum it up CCs have deepened the spirituality of and strengthened the relationships among the individual members of the classes.

Singles Encounter Class No. 1 (SE1) is no exception.  We came together in July 1999 and have been having Caring Circles since.  One unique characteristic of our CC which our Shepherds, Manny and Wena Blas introduced is to share our “resolve” or what we intend to do in order to be a better person or to improve our character.

SE1 remained strong as a class because of the fellowship and bonding brought about by the CC.  A number of its members also became leaders in the St. James the Great Singles Apostolate.  Even if others have moved on to be married, they still strongly identify themselves with SE1.

Last night SE1 had its Caring Circle, which was also in celebration of Chippy Fandino’s birthday.  We had a good number of attendees and of course a sumptuous dinner.  This I can say the sharing and reflections on the word of God showed a deep sense of caring among the members.

Seated – Lourdes Mapa, Paolo Reyes, Edna Reyes, Chona Esbuerra Standing – Manny Blas, Arnold del Rosario, me, Chippy Fandino, AJ Araneta, Tintin San Juan and Egg Mendoza