Race Review: Step Up For A Cause

Step Up For A Cause FunRun was going to be my last 5KM race before I move up to the 10K level. I woke up 5am as usual and drove off to The Fort, minus my officemate DB who failed to get up on time. MP, the reason why I joined this run (he asked me to register him and his friends so nahawa na din akong mag-register), was on the starting gates as usual ready for his 10k.

Si Paolo Obrera(?) lang nakita kong artista dun since he was the host of Chances Are, the Q-TV show that sponsored this event. Sayang, I was hoping to see Heart since she looked good the last time I saw her at Italianni's Glorietta 4 (in the arms of ex-bf Jericho).

The race started a little over past 6am both for the 5k and 10k participants. At the first turn before 5th avenue, I was amazed to see a large throng of runners on their way into this race. Parang mas marami pa sya sa Slimmerun.

The 5km race course is similar to the Condura Run 5K but with a U-turn. The way up to the 2.5K mark for this race is still competitive due to the incline. I felt that I've really improved from my past 2 races since here, from the starting line pa lang, I was able to control my pace and not get swayed by the adrenalin rush of the other racers that cause them to speed up unnecessarily and run out of gas in the end. Although my pace seemed slower, I felt better going into the halfway mark.

The racebib in itself should somehow give an expectation to how a race is organized. For this race, the barcode attached in the racebib proved what I thought. First, the water stations gave out sealed, off the shelf Summit mineral water which was quite a wonderful surprise to us runners who are used to regular water on plastic cups. Too bad the Summit water wasn't chilled though but still, a pleasant surprise.

The race officials did a better job here in controlling the vehicles from interfering the runners versus that of the Slimmerun.

As I was nearing the finish line, at about the last 100meters, I recalled what LA said about "finishing strong." So, I sprinted all the way up to the finish, overtaking about 5 runners. I stopped my watch and recorded a 30mins 21secs personal best. My official time would be 30minutes 29secs which is STILL a new personal best. YEAH!

The finisher's shirt has got to be THE BEST so far among the 3 races I've joined. It's sort of a dry-fit meshed (no hole) clothing that looks expensive. For a P150.00 joining fee, this shirt is more than worth it. The other giveaways were a tote-bag, some Champion detergent, candy, and a piece of Rebisco cracker, obviously given by the sponsors.

Well, as I said here in the beginning, this will probably be my last 5k race for now since I'm practicing for the 10k. Next up: BOTAK Paa-bilisan 10k on May10 at The Fort.

Here we goooo!