Oops! The Rain Did It Again: 36th Milo Marathon

I saw it coming from the bay approaching my pack heading to the finish line.  Never was I that eager to touch the FINISH line than this race.  I tried to race against it and run as fast as I could! But few meters away from the FINISH LINE, the heavy downpour rammed on my head, then to my body, to my legs and settled in my toes.  I crossed the finish line dripping in wet.  My finisher’s certificate is handed to me with rain drops. Oops! the rain did it again!

It was a reminiscence of last year’s (35th) Milo Marathon, we woke up on a wet July morning.  But unlike last year that we’re hesitant, today we’re determined to go for we know by now that the Milo Marathon pushes through “rain or shine”.

Who’s running?  We are a lot! Hubby is running 21K, I am running in 10K while my two kids and the rest of Team QuekQuek and friends are running in the 5K category.  So the problem now is if the Running Tot will wake and run, and also if the rest of the team and friends will show up.   Luckily we all did! (except for just one who’s on leave).

Group/Team Pic after the race – we are all dripping

and more friends…

“Wet look” photos with our WET Finisher’s Certificates and medal

The rain at around 3:00AM (42K) gun start wasn’t that intimidating at all.  It will rain a bit stronger then will stop, then it will rain again from time to time.  But it isn’t anything that the elite and distance runners would mind. Hubby went ahead with our teenage son and his pal to catch up with the 21K gun start at 4:30AM.   Then I followed with the running tot and another running buddy hoping to catch my 10K gun start at 5:00AM.

There was drizzle all along since we left the house.  I arrived at the START line just few minutes before the 10K gun start and found myself a good spot at 2nd wave.

Sharing some short stories and photos…

my spot at the 2nd Wave 10K Gun Start (guy in yellow facing my cam is a race bouncer)

Can you find the Kenyan  in this photo?
Just trying my luck.  I’ve said it over and over – you can not catch a good shot of a speeding Kenyan while you are running.
You need to pause and aim!  

An early pack of returning 21K runners.  The road is still dark and wet.
  I’m slowing a bit here trying to catch a glimpse of hubby who’s running on this category.
Yep! the family is running in different category.

My most hated scene in running events.  How can you even run here?  But it’s understandable for the organizer if they can’t provide bottled water.  The registration fee is very minimal and they have yet to share the fee to the cause of this run – that is providing shoes to under privilege children.  It is really up to the runners to be more responsible in disposing disposable cups.
C’mon runners be a bit responsible!

There would be a lot more stories to share, so expect more post race piece about the 36th Milo Marathon.  I will also be sharing some official info and photo links in the coming days.  You know, when it comes to Milo Marathon – you will never run out of stories.  I am just too excited to share that the “rain did it again”, but!  “Kinaya namin to!”

The 36th Milo Marathon Media Photo and Writing Contest

Not only that runners are in for exciting competition and prices in the coming 36th Milo Marathon but! 

Calling all members of the media, you are invited to “shoot the action, capture the drama and win cash prizes!”

Join the 36^th National MILO® Marathon media photo and writing contest for a chance to win cash prizes! The photo and writing contest is open to all accredited media photographers and journalists*. To qualify, entries must be taken or written during the 36^th National MILO® Marathon Metro Manila Eliminations and the National Finals in Manila.

Theme:  “36^th National MILO® Marathon: Iba’t ibang hinahabol, iisang takbuhan.”

Me paying attention to Manila Bulletin's reporter's question - bloggers are not qualified to join this contest :(

 Event date and contest deadlines

 Manila Eliminations: July 29, 2012

• Deadline: August 15, 2012
• Manila Finals: December 09, 2012
• Deadline: December 21, 2012

PHOTO CONTEST	WRITING CONTEST
Entry Specifications · Format: Printed on 8” x 10” · Mounted on ½ Illustration Board · Digital copies/negatives of photo must be copied to a CD/DVD and submitted together with the entry	Entry Specifications · No minimum or maximum word limit · Can be submitted in English or Filipino · Can be in feature or news format
Judging Criteria Relevance to theme (20%) Composition (20%) Creativity (30%) Technical Quality (20%) Overall Impression (10%)	Judging Criteria Relevance to the theme (20%) Content (40%) Style / Composition (20%) Overall Impression (20%)

* NOTE: Contest strictly for sports writers and photographers under legitimate publications with regular circulation.



General Guidelines

1. Entries must be aligned to theme “36^th National MILO® Marathon: Iba’t ibang hinahabol, iisang takbuhan.”
2. To qualify, entries must be written or shot (photography) during the indicated dates above.
3. Entries must be published within the time frame given.
4. Contestants MUST be present during the actual events. Only registered participants will be allowed to join and whose entry/entries will be considered.
5. The contest is strictly for sports writers and photographers under legitimate publications with regular circulation.
6. An independent panel of experts in the field of photography and journalism will be judging the entries to ensure impartiality.
7. There will be two language categories for the writing contest: English and Filipino—each category will have a separate set of winners. The top 3 entries will be awarded the cash prizes.
8. Participants may submit as many entries in both categories but may win only once in each category.
9. Submitted entries MUST follow the criteria and format below.
10. All winning entries become the property of Nestlé Philippines, Inc., which reserves the right to use the photos without any liability whatsoever.
11. Winners of the writing contest are entitled to the following prizes:

ENGLISH CATEGORY	FILIPINO CATEGORY
1st Place PhP 10,000.00	1st Place PhP 10,000.00
2nd Place PhP 8,000.00	2nd Place PhP 8,000.00
3rd Place PhP 5,000.00	3rd Place PhP 5,000.00

** Editors of the winning entries will receive the same prizes.
   12. Winners of the photo contest are entitled to the following prizes:

PHOTO CONTEST

1st Place PhP 12,000.00

2nd Place PhP  8,000.00

3rd Place PhP  6,000.00

Consolation PhP 3,000.00

** Editors of the winning entries will receive the same prizes.

Entry Submission:
Send all entries to ALEXYS DELGADO / CAMILA CALIZO/JINNY JACARIA, Strategic Edge Inc. 5^th Floor Emmanuel House, 115 Aguirre St. Legaspi Village, Makati City
Winners’ guidelines:

• · Winning entries submitted for the Manila elimination leg will be announced via SMS and/or email on August 22, 2012.

o Prizes can be claimed from August 23 – 27, 2012 from 9AM-5PM.

• Winning entries submitted for the National MILO Marathon finals leg will be announced via SMS and/or email on January 4, 2013.

o Prizes can be claimed from January 7 – 9, 2013 FROM 9AM-5PM.

• Prizes can be claimed at Strategic Edge Inc. 5^th Floor Emmanuel House, 115 Aguirre St. Legaspi Village,
• When claiming the prize, winners must present their press ID and sign the acknowledgement receipt. Proxies can claim prizes on behalf of the winner, but must present a valid ID and an authorization letter from the winner. NO ID / UTHORIZATION LETTER, NO CASH PRIZE.

* For further inquiries, please contact Alexys Delgado, Camila Calizo or Jinny Jacaria of Strategic Edge, Inc. at 892-0247 / 50 and group3@seinc.com.ph.

So come and capture the essence of MILO® either in photos or in words and you just might end up taking home great loads of prizes!

Post Race Piece: Manila Bay Clean Up Run 2012

Voiceless due to cough, on the second day of monthly period and just two of hours of sleep trying to fix a current adversity, I headed to the CCP Grounds fronting MBC and Star City where the START line of the Manila Bay Clean Up Run 2012 is located.

We arrived early at the START line and we are wondering why the organizers made the 15K runners fall in line just to put a red stickers on our bibs.  If the sticker’s purpose is publicly announced I didn’t catch and so do with my two running buddies.  We’re all wondering what the sticker is for.  My wild guess is that, it’s their last minute inventory of the 15K runner (just a wild guess).

15K runners queuing for a sticker which purpose we’re not aware of lol

The lazy dawn is made alive by the hosting of two house DJ’s of MBC/DZRH.  The program opening must-haves proceeded with all the speakers emphasizing the purpose of this run which is the campaign to clean up Manila Bay.  The "gun start" is fired by no less than Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. 

MBC/DZRH house DJ’s hosting the pre-run program and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim doing the gun start

The gun is fired about ten to fifteen minutes late from the scheduled time of 5:15.  This is one thing that I really dislike with runs – late gun start.

Off we go! 15K runners!

To complete the excitement on this run, of course we have to tackle the “FLY OVER!”  where the first plastic straw marker is given

After the fly-over is a series of confusing turn around and kilometer markers.

 











I dislike the running route of this event because:

• There was a point where the 15K runners shared the lane with the 3K and 5K runners who’s majority are walking in abreast.
  I don’t have anything against the fun runners in the lower distance category.  I’ve been there.  But all runners who are joining a race should learn that they are not the only people in the running route.  They should learn the ethics of not occupying the whole lane while “walking abreast”.  I’m a slow runner too, but I am conscious not to be a nuisance with my co-runners especially those in the longer distance.
• The kilometer markers are confusing
• I just simply don’t like tackling the same route more than once.  For me, it makes the running boring.

Anyway, I forgot about the boring route once I saw what’s waiting for me at the finish line aside from the medal.  It’s a SHOWER!  It was refreshing and truly enjoyable!




Me and my buddies finished just good. I think I’m a bit faster than my last 16K run in spite that I’m not feeling well. My buddy Dodeng who ran more than 10K for the first time really did a great job – she’s really fast wow! My other buddy, Mac suffered from cramps due to lack of training.  The official race result is not yet available as of this posting

Reuniting with my buddies at the finish line, happy with our medals though we found it NOT as nice as it looks like in the photo when it was presented during the event's promotional posts.
  Mac, Dodeng and Me
(our other team mate is on leave from running LOL)

The loot bag quality and design is good but there were two sets of contents:
Loot Bag 1: a bottled water, a ball pen, anti-mosquito lotion, a 100 ml tooth paste and two Ride All You Can tickets from Star City
Loot Bag 2: a bottled water, a twisting fan, a brand less pouch, a white face towel and two  Ride All You Can tickets from Star City

I chose Loot Bag 1 

All in all the event went fine.  The hydration is good.  The organizers provided bottled water and Pocari Sweat instead of the messy plastic cups so there wasn’t much litters along the road.  But I didn’t see any portalets.  Good thing I’m training to hydrate less when I’m running longer than 10K so I don’t need to urinate more often.  But I heard people asking about the portalet’s location.  Aaaw too bad for them they didn’t find any.

Till next year Manila Bay Clean Up Run!  Please improve on the medals and provide portalets!

Sunday Running Motivation: It’s an Odd Thing When Your Body Says No

It's an odd thing,

when your body says no

and your mind and your spirit say yes.

It's frightening and empowering

and clarifying and beautiful all at once.

Source: Kristin Armstrong, The Next Big Step, Runner's World.com

Voiceless due to cough, on the second day of monthly period, just two of hours of sleep trying to fix a current adversity, who would think that I could still smile on this fly-over while tackling my 15 kilometer run on this sunny Sunday though the Manila Bay Clean Up Run 2012? 

In spite of the adversities, I have finished!

Tomorrow I Will Run… and Everything’s Gonna Be Okay

I’ve got one of the worst weekends of my life.  The  Friday night when I’m supposed to be relaxed and lightly fixing some things for the coming week activities turned out to be one of the most stressful one. 

It seems that the odds are against me last night which happens to be a Friday the 13th.  Not that I believe about the negative connotation related to this date.  I believe that the date has nothing to do with it but because of the thoughtless and careless people who are causing a bad day.

Really, it was a day full of… I don’t know!  From that call on a Friday night, it became a series of unfortunate events until the day that followed.  The phone is suddenly not working when I needed it most, the monthly period, the sudden change in body condition and some more small incidents that piled up and turned into a big bunch of a frustrating day/weekend.  The sad thing is that, I am registered to a 15K run on a Sunday of the same weekend.

But not to my kind of spirit, I’m taking it back.  My having a 15K run tomorrow is not a sad thing rather, a good thing.  Running never fails me.

Tomorrow I will run!  For I know that after running, everything is gonna be okay!

My First 15K Run: Manila Bay Clean-up Run 2012

I will be running with two of my running buddies from Team QuekQuek at the Manila Bay Clean Up Run happening on July 15, 2012 at CCP Complex . Good thing we were able to secure our registrations early because I just saw this morning that the registration is closed!  We joined this run for two major reasons.

• Cause – the regular clean-up activities to contain and manage the pollution in the bay, and help the bio-diversity in the area to recover and flourish.

•  15 Distance Category – This will be the first time for one of my running buddy to "level-up" from the 10K category.  We are just more than glad to run with her in 15K much more with such cause, plus we get to get a medal when we finish!

I’ve read from various feed backs that there was a good turn out of interested runners this year compared to last year, resulting to the organizers running out of race kits and then the delay for the release of race kits for later registrations.

I just hope that the good turn out of runners is due to interest for this run’s cause or the run itself and not the loot bag contents which include two “Ride All You Can” Star City tickets (LOL). 

Anyway, I will be talking more about the loot bags and everything about this race during my post race piece, meanwhile let me check our 15K running route!



What about you?  Are you running to clean up Manila Bay?

Sunday Running Motivation: Just To Gain A Passion For Running

Number one is just to gain a passion for running.

To love the morning,

to love the trail,

to love the pace on the track.

And if some kid gets really good at it,

that's cool too.

Pat Tyson, track and cross country coach

Why I Love Running Under the Rain

Yesterday the 4th of July, I was discussing on my other blog that classes were suspended for two days due to continuous rain, making most areas in Metro Manila flooded. This means that my running tot is free for the whole day, Yey!

We put on our running gear and headed to MOA bay side.  We are maximizing all the opportunities that the kids could train before the 36th Milo Marathon where both of them will be running (non-competitive) under the 5K category. 

As we look at the horizon, the dark clouds seems to be warning us that the sun doesn’t have the plan of showing itself.  And that we will have a frequent visitor called “drizzle”.  This didn’t stop us and off we go braving the sunless weather.


 
I don’t know with other runners/joggers, but I am more motivated to run under the grey sky with a little drizzle or rain, or even under a bit of heavy rain fall.

As I was traversing my favorite running path. I'm silently analyzing the reasons why I love to run under the rain.  Hmn okay… let me share them to you!

• Basically it’s not hot and there’s little chance that I will feel thirsty.  Minimal liquid intake also means less chance to urinate, which also means lesser interruptions and longer running time for me.
• I don’t tire easily when I don’t sweat much compared to when I’m running under the sun/heat.  Too much sweating makes me feel tired.
• The rain can make most people to feel “down” (including me sometimes).  Running under the rain empowers me to shake off that “down” feeling.  It’s like I’m challenging the rain and telling it “c’mon! you can not bring me down”. 
• It makes a regular run more challenging.  It drives me to run longer because it takes more effort and longer distance before I sweat out during the rain.  Sweating out the excess cholesterol is the most common reason why we are exercising.
• And lastly, it gives me the joyful carefree feeling that you can only find in the heart of a child.  It sends you back to childhood.  That unique happy feeling that you’re dancing under the rain!  And for me that’s priceless!

What about you? Do you like running under the rain?