Registration:
Available at SMDC residences, the Quezon City Hall and select Mizuno branches.
Race Kit:
Includes race bib with the time chip attached to it, ad inserts, literature about the rules and regulations of the race, and a running shirt. I'm not a fan of the shirt. Though it's comfortable, I personally prefer sleeveless tops when running, and I didn't like the design so much this year, so I wore last year's singlet (which is one of my favorite singlets because of its good material).
Race:
The QCIM organizers used the same route as last year, and for the 10 km route, it was good and simple. For the 21 km and 42 route, and what's unique about it is the bit of it that passes through the Eco Park (La Mesa Dam). Part of it meant that you had to go through a village wherein belt bags were not allowed, a policy that doesn't make sense to me if I may add, so if you were conscious about your time, it would've been a hassle to leave and later look for and pick it up again. However, the scenery in the Eco Park would've made it all worthwhile.
Program:
The races began a little past 4 am for the full and half marathoners. The 10 km runners began shortly before 6am. As the runners were rolling in to the activity area, the hosts reminded the participants that in order to claim the raffle prize, the winner must be present to claim it from them. The raffle was announced to be drawn at 11am. Seriously. I did not bother turning in my raffle stub (which was attached to the singlet).
Showing posts with label Fun Run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun Run. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Million Hectare Challenge
Organizer:
Haribon Foundation
Registration:
Could be done online through the Haribon official website, Runner's Runner, R.O.X., and many different Mizuno branches. I'm not sure if they got more than 200 people to sign up, and I think that the marketing strategy could have been better. My first suggestion for next year's race would be for the organizers to revisit the accessibility of the registration details--postings on different web pages should not only focus on the online process, which based on the comments of some runners in www.takbo.ph would be out of the question for non-credit card holders, and had there been more information (or more venues, for that matter) on walk-in registrations, it might have helped drive the participation rate from running communities. The elusive race map might have been a factor in the low turnout, as it was only available in the race kit, though the websites did say that it will be in the Pasay area (CCP Liwasang Ullalim). I heard there was information available in the FAQ's, but I didn't have the patience to look for it there.
Race Kit:
Includes singlet, race bib with attached time chip, race guidelines, route map, and inserts about Haribon. Per the literature provided, participating in the run also means you adopted a seedling in support of the movement "Road to 2020", which aims to plant 1 million hectares of native trees all over the Philippines. Excellent cause, which is why it was quite regrettable that there weren't that many participants.
The Race:
The 15-km route was made of two laps around the CCP area, and fortunately today was a cloudy day, so I didn't finish my run "two-toned", as my boyfriend puts it. There were only a handful of water stations along the way, but after the U-turn point on Roxas Boulevard, they were giving away full bottles of mineral water, which makes up for the scarcity of the stations. The race marshalls at the turning points of the second lap were no longer there to help direct traffic and inform runners of their turning points, which worried me because I am probably the lousiest of the lousiest at directions on this planet. I'm sure other runners there would agree that we appreciated their encouraging cheers when they were there, though. At times they made me chuckle, too, those nuts.
The Activity Area:
Among the numerous booths in the small activity area were the onsite registration booth, baggage area, food stalls (which offered "real meals", not just pre-packed "silog" meals--a plus for me), free massage area, first aid, and the Haribon booths that sold different Haribon products, offered free face painting service, activity areas for kids, and informational booths about the many initiatives of the Haribon Foundation. Of course, during the program, they awarded the fastest male and female runners of each race category, and they also raffled off prizes from sponsors.
Overall, it was a good run. I sincerely hope that next year's MHC would entice more people to sign up than this year.
Haribon Foundation
Registration:
Could be done online through the Haribon official website, Runner's Runner, R.O.X., and many different Mizuno branches. I'm not sure if they got more than 200 people to sign up, and I think that the marketing strategy could have been better. My first suggestion for next year's race would be for the organizers to revisit the accessibility of the registration details--postings on different web pages should not only focus on the online process, which based on the comments of some runners in www.takbo.ph would be out of the question for non-credit card holders, and had there been more information (or more venues, for that matter) on walk-in registrations, it might have helped drive the participation rate from running communities. The elusive race map might have been a factor in the low turnout, as it was only available in the race kit, though the websites did say that it will be in the Pasay area (CCP Liwasang Ullalim). I heard there was information available in the FAQ's, but I didn't have the patience to look for it there.
Race Kit:
Includes singlet, race bib with attached time chip, race guidelines, route map, and inserts about Haribon. Per the literature provided, participating in the run also means you adopted a seedling in support of the movement "Road to 2020", which aims to plant 1 million hectares of native trees all over the Philippines. Excellent cause, which is why it was quite regrettable that there weren't that many participants.
The Race:
The 15-km route was made of two laps around the CCP area, and fortunately today was a cloudy day, so I didn't finish my run "two-toned", as my boyfriend puts it. There were only a handful of water stations along the way, but after the U-turn point on Roxas Boulevard, they were giving away full bottles of mineral water, which makes up for the scarcity of the stations. The race marshalls at the turning points of the second lap were no longer there to help direct traffic and inform runners of their turning points, which worried me because I am probably the lousiest of the lousiest at directions on this planet. I'm sure other runners there would agree that we appreciated their encouraging cheers when they were there, though. At times they made me chuckle, too, those nuts.
The Activity Area:
Among the numerous booths in the small activity area were the onsite registration booth, baggage area, food stalls (which offered "real meals", not just pre-packed "silog" meals--a plus for me), free massage area, first aid, and the Haribon booths that sold different Haribon products, offered free face painting service, activity areas for kids, and informational booths about the many initiatives of the Haribon Foundation. Of course, during the program, they awarded the fastest male and female runners of each race category, and they also raffled off prizes from sponsors.
Overall, it was a good run. I sincerely hope that next year's MHC would entice more people to sign up than this year.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Unilab Run United Leg 3
The Race Kit
Includes singlet, race bib, Unilab goody bag (contains items that vary per race category), and possibly a time chip. The finisher's kit includes various items as well, and this time, the actual goody bag is a shoe bag. For the long distance runners, the 21km participant's kit comes with a silver medal, and gold ones for the 32km runners.
Registration
The time chip according to the RunRio staff in Planet Sports Trinoma Mall is reusable, which makes perfect sense. There are no instructions on any of the literature provided or on the time chip itself that says it is so, and if you threw out your time chip from the previous race, well, that's too bad, because you will have to pay Php 300 for a new time chip on your next RunRio run. It's absolutely free though if you're a first timer. I seriously doubt that they still get to accurately track that, because upon purchasing the race kit, they asked me what was the most recent race I joined, and if I joined the Rexona Run in particular (and because they had to ask, and they did none of their magic taps on their iPads to verify that, anybody can easily claim that they have no time chip). When I gave them a quick run-down of the races I joined, they decided not to give me a time chip because apparently, the chip provided in the KOTR race can be reused for the Unilab run. However, when my boyfriend signed up at Planet Sports Glorietta, who also joined the KOTR race, they gave him a brand new time chip and they said the one he used at KOTR cannot be reused for the Unilab Run.
Wish list item: consistency in the information provided by the RunRio staff. At the race itself, I approached the information desk to confirm if I needed to buy a new chip (which I shouldn't have to in the first place) but get this--this was the answer that I got, and it's a direct quote--"Sorry ma'am, I have no idea." That's customer service for you. As of writing, the race results aren't available, so I have yet to find out if the KOTR time chip that I used last Sunday is indeed just as good for Unilab. Good thing I have my own tracking system so I'm not so fussy about it, but if I didn't, it would be a shame if I wouldn't be able to see my numbers.
Race Course:
There were enough hydration stations along the way, but there was room for improvement on the locations. They set a two-kilometer stretch right before the finish line under the effing sun without hope for a shade from trees or nearby buildings, and sadly, the last hydration station before that stretch did not distribute sponges (should've kept the one I got mid-way, had I known). As it was towards the end of the race, the supply of fluids in my water bottle and my body were running out, so it was torture. Good route though, with one flyover along Roxas Boulevard.
Post-Race Program:
I had no strength to check out the booths in the activity area due to the compelling need to cool down during a long bath.
Includes singlet, race bib, Unilab goody bag (contains items that vary per race category), and possibly a time chip. The finisher's kit includes various items as well, and this time, the actual goody bag is a shoe bag. For the long distance runners, the 21km participant's kit comes with a silver medal, and gold ones for the 32km runners.
Registration
The time chip according to the RunRio staff in Planet Sports Trinoma Mall is reusable, which makes perfect sense. There are no instructions on any of the literature provided or on the time chip itself that says it is so, and if you threw out your time chip from the previous race, well, that's too bad, because you will have to pay Php 300 for a new time chip on your next RunRio run. It's absolutely free though if you're a first timer. I seriously doubt that they still get to accurately track that, because upon purchasing the race kit, they asked me what was the most recent race I joined, and if I joined the Rexona Run in particular (and because they had to ask, and they did none of their magic taps on their iPads to verify that, anybody can easily claim that they have no time chip). When I gave them a quick run-down of the races I joined, they decided not to give me a time chip because apparently, the chip provided in the KOTR race can be reused for the Unilab run. However, when my boyfriend signed up at Planet Sports Glorietta, who also joined the KOTR race, they gave him a brand new time chip and they said the one he used at KOTR cannot be reused for the Unilab Run.
Wish list item: consistency in the information provided by the RunRio staff. At the race itself, I approached the information desk to confirm if I needed to buy a new chip (which I shouldn't have to in the first place) but get this--this was the answer that I got, and it's a direct quote--"Sorry ma'am, I have no idea." That's customer service for you. As of writing, the race results aren't available, so I have yet to find out if the KOTR time chip that I used last Sunday is indeed just as good for Unilab. Good thing I have my own tracking system so I'm not so fussy about it, but if I didn't, it would be a shame if I wouldn't be able to see my numbers.
Race Course:
There were enough hydration stations along the way, but there was room for improvement on the locations. They set a two-kilometer stretch right before the finish line under the effing sun without hope for a shade from trees or nearby buildings, and sadly, the last hydration station before that stretch did not distribute sponges (should've kept the one I got mid-way, had I known). As it was towards the end of the race, the supply of fluids in my water bottle and my body were running out, so it was torture. Good route though, with one flyover along Roxas Boulevard.
Post-Race Program:
I had no strength to check out the booths in the activity area due to the compelling need to cool down during a long bath.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Energizer Night Race
The Race Kit
Includes race bib with the time chip, singlet, route info, black Energizer cap, and head lamp.
The Singlet Design
Comfortable fit, but the material is likely to cause chafing through the arm hole when wet--not good for a run on rainy days. Black, Energizer logo on chest.
Cool Factor:
Cool Factor:
Because of the free head lamps, there were dancing white lights on the streets--definitely a Kodak moment.
The Race Course
Set at night on the dark and wet streets of BGC. No uphill or downhill routes, but because of the rain, parts of it were slippery. Runners with 20/20 vision also had advantage over the others at the muddy bumpy part of the course.
The Post-Race Program
Kapuso hosts facilitated over different games and raffled off many prize packages from sponsors, and while the programme was on-going, the friendly Energizer battery mascot was roaming around the audience to pose for his fans, if not joining the hosts on-stage. Apart from the male and female winners of each race category (3km, 5km, and 10km), they also gave away prizes to recognize the Oldest Runner and the Youngest Runner in the pool of participants (like!).
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Adobo Night Run (October 29, 2011)
The Race Kit
Includes race bib with the laminated time chip, singlet, route info, and two glow sticks.
The Singlet Design
If I were to grade it, I'd give it a 5 out of 10. Good material, cool design, but the printing made it heavy to wear. Also, I am not sure I liked how it felt when the print got soaked with sweat, because the print somehow felt like dampened sponge against half my torso. Ick. Cool reflectors on the back though.
The Race Course
The start and finish lines were on Aseana Avenue near Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, left on an unnamed road (per Nike+ GPS route into), right on Bradco, turning on yet two other unnamed streets, back on Bradco, another turn going to Aseana, and back to the start/finish line, where we were to turn around to follow the same race route two more times to complete fifteen kilometers. As there were no buildings around with the wide roads in excellent (newly constructed) conditions, it was a great course because there was plenty of space for running (unlike in the Nike We Walk este, Run Manila, where the pictures looked more like a rally than a fun run). No uphill or downhill routes--perfect for runners with knee issues. There were a lot of race marshals and hydration stations, to the point where a runner behind me, who for some reason felt that he had to drink water every time there is a hydration station, became exasperated. The marshals also cheered on the runners--very good for morale. It also helped me to know that I was running beside V for Vendetta, Wolverine, a mental patient, Cloud, and "Coach Rio" (the race was also a costume party). It was one of the best routes I've ran on so far, and I do hope that there will be more runs to be held there while the area isn't so urbanized yet. The only problem I have with it is that it is inaccessible to commuters like me (the closest that a cab can drop us off was about 1.25 km to the activity area, and upon going home to hail another one is to walk just about the same distance--not good after running fifteen kilometers).
The Post-Race Program
After the race, a series of bands took on the stage in between raffle draws, and acts like Ebe Dancel, Jeepney Joyride, Roots of Nature and many others kept a party going. The crowd wasn't so enthusiastic about it though, perhaps due to the exhaustion, though there was a lot of free Manila Beer. There were food stalls, a changing area, a booth for the St. Luke's medical crew, a baggage repository area, and booths that sold sporting goods. And no, there were no issues with the loot bags like last year.
Overall, I'd say it was one of the better runs organized this year so far.
Next reviews: The Energizer Night Race
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