69-Kilometer Challenge

The uniforms are ready for 69 kilometers over the next three weeks!

     FOR THE next three Sundays, I am scheduled to run a total of 69.8 kilometers and the good news is it will all be for free!  The odyssey begins on September 16 with the 32-kilometer Unilab Active Health Run United III followed by the 21-kilometer Rexona Run 2012 on September 23 and concluding with the 16.8-kilometer 2012 Adidas King of the Road Philippines on September 30.

     After many attempts, I have finally won an online photo contest conducted by Unilab Active Health that would give the winner a free pass to Leg Three.  All one had to do was to make a collage of photos of one’s participation in four Run United races wearing the official event singlet.

     My entry obeyed the rules to the letter, inserting pictures of my finisher medals for added impact.  It was also a welcome boost that a panel of judges would choose the winners and not boiling down to a “liking” contest.

     Run United III is the final stage of the annual RunRio trilogy which has quickly become one of the most awaited running events of the year.  Runners look forward to acquiring the third and final wedge to complete the big “pizza” medal, an innovation that has definitely inspired a lot of runners to complete all three races.

     The 32-kilometer race has been dubbed “The Afroman” in reference to organizer Coach Rio dela Cruz’ trademark hairstyle.  The Afroman is seen as a good preparation and gauge for the inaugural Run United Philippine Marathon on October 28, 2012.

     Originally scheduled for August 12, the Rexona Run had to be moved due to the inclement weather and flooding besetting Metro Manila.  How this will affect attendance on race day is yet to be seen.

     This year’s Rexona Run is challenging runners to crack the two-hour barrier for the 21-kilometer solo and relay categories and 30-minute mark for the five-kilometer category, with a special commemorative keychain on top of the traditional freebies.  Instead of a 10-kilometer category, the Rexona Run will introduce a 21-kilometer relay where two persons run 10.5 kilometers each.

     Completing the schedule is the 16.8-kilometer King of the Road.  This year’s edition comes much earlier because unlike then, the Philippines is only staging a qualifying leg and not the grand finals which will be hosted this time by Singapore on October 28.

     The distance of 16.8 was derived from dividing the distance of two full marathons (84 kilometers) into five, representing each of the Southeast Asian stops of the series – Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore.

     My free entry was made possible because of good attendance in the weekly Adination of Runners group training sessions held at six running hubs all over the metropolis – Mall of Asia, Ayala Triangle, Alabang, Bonifacio High Street, Ortigas Center and UP-Diliman.  It is a given that the time and amount spent to go the venue every week is greater than the entry fee but the physical and social benefits derived from working out with fellow passionate runners cannot be given a monetary value.

     In November of last year, I had a similar string of consecutive extreme distance events to mark my first year of return of serious running: the 25-kilometer Chevrolet New Balance Power Run, the 32-kilometer Run United III and Powerade Philippine Duathlon Open final leg consisting of a 40-kilometer bike race sandwiched between a 10 and five-kilometer run.  If that was not enough, I entered the 10-kilometer fun run of Hong Kong Bank the following week to cap the year.

     Of course, the result was disaster and it was not pretty.  A year later, I have made steps to make sure that the same results will not happen again, beginning with good training and preparation.

     Most coaches have advised to just choose one of the three events to give a 100 percent effort and run the other two for the sake of participation.  It is a tough choice since I strongly believe in giving a 100 percent effort all the time.

     One thing’s for sure, it will be a very fun and exciting next three weeks.  Now let us check if there are any good events on October 6 and 7.