Earth Run 2009

I had seconds thoughts leaving the house to go to the race venue since it was raining really hard. I was unsure if the race organizers are planning to cancel the race event. But since I made a promise to kuya Melvin that I'll be assisting in pacing the event, I needed to go to the race venue. I prepared my things and headed to the venue.

I was suprised that amidst the rain, packs of people went to the place. Now it was clear that whatever happens, the race will push through. I got the pace flag, and got myself ready for the start of the race.

When the gun sounded I started running at a comfortable pace just a little bit faster than 5min/km to compensate with the hilly terrains of the course. My friend Teddy tagged along for the first 1 or 2 kilometers. But since he was planning to only do 5:30min/km so he told me to move along. At the 3rd kilometer marker I saw my officemate Narod and his girlfriend.

The road was wet and drizzles of rain was falling, but it was quite a blessing because it made the run a lot more relaxing. The only problem was my shoe was filled with water and it was quite uncomfortable and heavy. But it was a fun experience for me. You don't get to run in the rain that often. :)

I finished the race a little bit faster than the desired pace flag though. I also got a hold of the Earth Run shirt!

To think that the weather did not cooperate, but the organizers were able to pull off a great race.

PROS:
- Enough water supply
- Clear race direction markers
- Lot of race Marshalls
- Great freebies after the race
- There were race pacers during the race (hehehe i'm one of them)

CONS:
- There was an incident of Robbery in the area
- All race category all started at the same time that caused some traffic.

But overall the race was really well organized.

Pacing for Earth Run

I wasn't aware of the upcoming Earth Run until I walked inside R.O.X. and saw people clamoring for a red gorgeous singlet made by Boon equipment for only 200pesos. I've had so many running singlets, and this one stands out. The Earth Run singlet was so gorgeous, I wouldn't be surprised if people registered only to get a hand of the singlet. I registered myself for the 16K and my wife for the 5K (which she intends to change to 10K after experiencing the TNF 100). I got hold of the blue singlet, while my wife got the red singlet.

This morning, I went to our usual tambayan where I saw kuya Melvin who asked me if I could pace during the Earth Run in exchange for a running singlet.

I said yes to get a red one of my size. Now I'll have blue and red Earth Run singlets. :)

I'll be pacing 5min/km for the 16K category. A 1 hour and 20 minutes work for a free nice red singlet and to shave 1000+ calories from the double Whopper I ate last weekend.

Oh, and if I'm lucky enough to be one of the top 300 to finish 16K I can get the Earth run shirt: