Last Aug. 15, I ran my first 10k marathon! I originally wanted to sign up for the 5k run (as I always do) but unfortunately, I was told that there were no more slots! Hence, my fiancè took it a challenge and registered us both for the 10k run! My initial reaction: “OMG?! WTF! I’m gonna die!” And of course, he had to slap me back to sanity!…. but seriously, I was nervous.
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The PRE-RUN
Philippe (my fiancè) and I registered for the run last Aug. 1 (Sunday). During a previous run, I was told that they would have a 50 peso discount on registration up till August 8, hence I hurriedly rushed to the nearest registration area the following week. To my dismay, there was no discount. The lady at the counter of Royal Sporting House told me that discounts were only up till a certain day of July. I didn’t take much of it and still registered. We registered 5 people: myself, Philippe, his mom, his dad and his brother Paul. Unfortunately, as I’ve mentioned earlier, they ran our of slots for the 5k run. They only had 4 slots left. Hence, we decided to let his parents and brother take the 3 slots while we took the challenge and registered for the 10km run. After registering, the lady told me that singlets will not be available until the following week. Sure, no problem. I asked if I could just pick them up the day before the race (Aug. 14), and she told me it wasn’t a problem. I told her to please set aside the colors we’ve chosen in fear that we might ran out of colors, or worse, sizes. She again told me it wasn’t a problem since she had my registration form. So, we went home.
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2 weeks after…
We were back at Royal Sporting House and we asked for our singlets. Guess what? They weren’t there. Apparently, the organizers decided to pull-out the singlets during the last 3 days. Pick up was now at RunnR Store at the Fort ONLY! WHAT?!?! This really ruined my day! The lady at the counter probably noticed my reaction and said, “Pinost daw po sa facebook ‘yon” (It was posted on facebook). I was still pissed at the whole situation. I however, did not want to take it out on the cashier since this was not her fault. She was merely following POOR orders.
I went home pissed and visited their Facebook page (Which I am already a part of) and notice that ONE announcement made on the bottom of the screen! It was posted ONCE! and no further posts or announcements to were made to ensure that the registrants got the message! Talk about customer care! It was already 6pm of Aug. 14 by the time I read this message! Taking a cab to the fort from my place at this hour on a Saturday takes about 1 hour or more! However, as much as I hated it, there was no choice. We had already registered and paid for 5 people! I didn’t want my money to go to waste. So as I left home to do my part time job of tutoring, Philippe headed to the fort to pick up the singlets.
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Another problem with the singlets!
When he got there, he showed them the receipt. And guess what they told him?
“Ay Sir, wala na po ‘yung mga kulay na gusto niyo.” (The colors you wanted are no longer available.)
Philippe was annoyed, but the colors weren’t a big deal. However, a second problem was raised.
“Ay Sir sorry, wala na pong small.” (Sorry, we no longer have small sizes)
By now, Philippe was really frustrated as he asked them why there was no more small.
“Eh kasi priority namin ‘yung mga nagregister ng maaga” (Because we prioritize those who registered earlier)
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Though it was right to prioritize those who registered ahead, it was wrong of them not to inform us beforehand that there were no more sizes. They should have informed the shops selling the packets the number of singlets available per size! So, probably feeling baffled already, the man came out with a small sized Singlet.
The process was bad and difficult, but that aside… I loved that they offered a variety of colors for the singlets!
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THE RUN
Philippe and I arrived 10 minutes after the supposed gun start! We were running to the starting line wishing that the runners had just left… however when we arrived, the 15k runners were just about to start. Although it was probably a bad thing that they started late, it turned out to be a good thing for us! (hehe)
So finally, the 10k runners were off! I switched on my ipod and tapped my playlist. EPIC FAIL MOMENT….
My ipod was set on shake! So every time it shook, the song would change! Obviously it shakes every time I take a step to run! So I had to slow down and Philippe helped me change the settings.
So back to the run… It turned out well! I was able to survive the 10km run! Though there were several times I felt tired and had to walk…. I didn’t feel as tired as I expected to.
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PROS and CONS during the Race
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PROS |
CONS |
| Started late (pro for me ‘coz I came late) | Started late (still, it’s not good to start late) |
| Not too many runners (There were only 3000 runners as compared to other runs which entertain up to 11,000 runners) | |
| Some marshals were really cheering the runners to keep going | Some marshals were not well informed of the route. I heard several runners took the wrong way because the marshals directed them there or there were no marshals to point them towards the right direction |
| No distance markers (Though the organizers told runners in their FB page that there would be markers every km) | |
| Lack of water stations for the 10k and 15k runners/routes |
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I couldn’t say much about the post-race events since we had to leave in a hurry. The race was done for a good cause, but it was not organized in a good way. I hope the organizers will be able to do a better job next time. Overall, I still had fun especially because I was able to complete my first 10k run!
PICTURES
I was only able to take a few pictures of my fellow runners, so if you see your picture here, feel free to copy it. See you all in your next runs!
