Fun Run and Politics, Not a good match..

The running craze has been all over the place as we see races every sunday. Most of the run events are tied up with a worthy cause which was nice to see since we are able to help and contribute and at the same time enjoy running.

Today's event was unique as it was sponsored by one of the biggest TV network and a bit political as it was tied up with the Election of 2010. The theme of the event was "Hamon para sa kaayusan ng Pilipinas" (Challenge for a better Philippines). I have my apprehensions in joining this event from the start since I felt that it will all be just for publicity of the aspiring candidates for President and Vice president in the coming 2010 election. However, since our advocacy is to Run Against Corruption we decided to run in this event to advocate our cause. And also, as in any race, I intend to enjoy my run and hopefully get a better performance this time.

About the Race

There were more or less 5,000 in attendance and it appeared to be too crowded since aside from runners, there were also spectators in the area to view their favorite celebrities and politicians. I had to squeeze my way to go near the starting line and saw still a lot of runners trying to register 30 minutes before the race. At the starting line, runners were all ready to go and excited to run. Gun start was fired at 6:00am and both 5k and 10k had to start all at the same time. I was paced by Runnermhel and told him that I would be lucky if I hit sub-60 this time. Even in my practice runs, I was not able to hit sub-60 for a 10k run. I told him that he can go ahead if he gets bored with me because I have a very slow pace (6:30/min-7:30/min). He said it was ok, but his garmin was set to 5:45/min. Of course, it was expected that mhel will try to make me improve my run and so off we go. It was suprising that my 1st km pace was at 5:49/km. Mhel was definitely had a plan and I just kept on following him, on our way to our 2nd km, Mhel was ahead of me and was running side by side with i2runner (natz) as I approached them, I finally met Natz personally, we shook hands but no time to chat as I still have to chase Mhel who ran faster again the moment I was beside him already. I was able to hit 30 min for my first 5k split, I was definitely better than my usual time, but at this point I was tired already and not sure if I can keep up with Mhel. I was below my 6:30/km pace for the first 6k, and it started to go over it from 7th km down to the finish line. I ended up finishing 59:23.00 but at 9.38km only. The route was short by 0.62km based on my garmin. Most likely in a complete 10k, I might have finished it at 63 min. Still not meeting sub-60 but im satisfied with the result. Mhel was such a good pacer, he patiently and unselfishly waited for me everytime I slowed down and ran beside me until we reached the finish line. Thanks Mhel!

The race was too crowded, others stopped in the middle of the road to take their pictures. This event was not an ideal race obviously as it appeared to be just a segment of a TV show. In a real race event you dont see the crowd blocking the way of runners approaching the finish line. This was how it looked like at the finish line.

The Unity Walk

For non-runners, they find this so amusing to see these political hopefuls and even hear people chanting, ERAP! ERAP! That's why you see ERAP smiling to the crowd as they chant his name. Im not sure if they even walk a 100m on this one. They even pledged to have a clean and honest election. Whatever their cause maybe, I just hope that they were true to their word. You will obviously see questionable faces in here, as well as doubtful candidates.

Some photos after the race

Total Run Against Corruption for this event is 155 km.