It had been a very long time. The last run I had was last year in Manila. This time, I was joining the Adidas Araw Ng Dabaw Fun Run 2010.
One problem with running enthusiasts here in Davao is the lack of organized events in the city. The city only had a handful of fun runs for the year, runs which were organized alongside local holidays. To add to this predicament, these runs weren't effectively marketed to the public so if one wasn't in the know, most of these runs would slip under one's radar.
In contrast, when I was in Manila, everyone was assured there was one marathon event every weekend. It helped that I was working in Bonifacio Global City, the site of many fun runs for a host of social causes (I guess the developer really intended the place to be so, with good, wide asphalt roads and a variety of routes to choose from). It also helped that I was working for a company whose boss was also a running enthusiast and whose enthusiasm was shared by most of the employees as well.
Before the race started, I was letting out deep sighs. Here we go again, I thought, running solo once more. But I was comforted when I did meet some familiar faces in the starting line. There were the Parkour Davao group. Plus, I got to meet Richard Lumbang, the martial arts fanatic of our batch. I had company, after all (and I would like to thank whoever owned that camera. At least, I had documentation that I was indeed in the run).
The race had started and we were off. Clearly, I was pretty much out of my league. Although I did pace myself all through out, I was still hopelessly out of the breath at the finish line. Still, I was happy that I ran the whole 5 kilometers, despite being a successful coach potato for almost a year.
I also had the opportunity to be a political analyst for a change. In the event, there were two politicians who were present: Peter Lavina and Pia Cayetano. At the start, Pia was introduced to the running public by the organizer ( who was apparently glad that a known name was present in the marathon alongside the anonymous faces of the masses). It turned out that she was running the 10K event. Peter Lavina, on the other hand, was introduced after the event (he probably arrived later that morning) and he was wearing the standard garb for politicos: the polo shirt and pants.
After the event, Pia's supporters began distributing brochures to the runners who had finished while Peter was sitting on the stage, waiting for the awarding ceremony. It turned out that Pia's running was only a prelude to a campaign event and Peter Lavina, one of the guests surely, was upstaged in his own turf by a visitor from Manila. Now go figure out whose name stuck the most.
Till the next run!
One problem with running enthusiasts here in Davao is the lack of organized events in the city. The city only had a handful of fun runs for the year, runs which were organized alongside local holidays. To add to this predicament, these runs weren't effectively marketed to the public so if one wasn't in the know, most of these runs would slip under one's radar.
In contrast, when I was in Manila, everyone was assured there was one marathon event every weekend. It helped that I was working in Bonifacio Global City, the site of many fun runs for a host of social causes (I guess the developer really intended the place to be so, with good, wide asphalt roads and a variety of routes to choose from). It also helped that I was working for a company whose boss was also a running enthusiast and whose enthusiasm was shared by most of the employees as well.
Before the race started, I was letting out deep sighs. Here we go again, I thought, running solo once more. But I was comforted when I did meet some familiar faces in the starting line. There were the Parkour Davao group. Plus, I got to meet Richard Lumbang, the martial arts fanatic of our batch. I had company, after all (and I would like to thank whoever owned that camera. At least, I had documentation that I was indeed in the run).
The race had started and we were off. Clearly, I was pretty much out of my league. Although I did pace myself all through out, I was still hopelessly out of the breath at the finish line. Still, I was happy that I ran the whole 5 kilometers, despite being a successful coach potato for almost a year.
I also had the opportunity to be a political analyst for a change. In the event, there were two politicians who were present: Peter Lavina and Pia Cayetano. At the start, Pia was introduced to the running public by the organizer ( who was apparently glad that a known name was present in the marathon alongside the anonymous faces of the masses). It turned out that she was running the 10K event. Peter Lavina, on the other hand, was introduced after the event (he probably arrived later that morning) and he was wearing the standard garb for politicos: the polo shirt and pants.
After the event, Pia's supporters began distributing brochures to the runners who had finished while Peter was sitting on the stage, waiting for the awarding ceremony. It turned out that Pia's running was only a prelude to a campaign event and Peter Lavina, one of the guests surely, was upstaged in his own turf by a visitor from Manila. Now go figure out whose name stuck the most.
Till the next run!
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