Happy weekend, everyone! It's been quite a while since I last wrote about my weekend activities. Just doesn't do much stuff recently that deviates from my usual weekend routine, which I don't think is interesting to share, and when I do, I may not have the time to write it. This time was different. Not only was it a big deviation from my weekend routine, but I also think that it was a story that is worthwhile to write, since originally, I was supposed to participate in a different running event, but because of circumstances, I ended up in this event instead.
Moving the time back a little bit, I, along with a few friends, registered in the 1st leg of Run Bulacan for the 10KM run. It will be the first running event that we're going to participate in, but we're pretty confident that we're in good enough shape to complete the course, and with 3 weeks left before the event from when we signed in, we still have some time to train. However, due to the previous typhoons that hit the country, the event was moved from July 20 to August 3. Unfortunately, I was no longer available on that day since I was going to attend a relative's funeral, so I surrendered to the fact that I could no longer go to the event. That said, I still continue to do light runs prior to the event, since they later announced that runners who could not make it to the race day could do a virtual run. I even wear the race singlet during on one of my training, which then caught the attention of two people who also run in the same area.
They then approached me to talk about the event, and I learned that they were a father and son who also aspired to participate in the event, but only the son was able to register on time. I also learned that the son will be moving out for work reasons, and was planning for the event to be a bonding time between them, so they were looking for someone who wouldn't be able to participate in the event and was willing to sell their race bib. Well, they found me, and after hearing their circumstances, I decided to sell them my bib, which means forfeiting my participation in the event. While I can still participate in the virtual run, it will not be much different from the usual run that I make, especially not with my friends. So, might as well give it to others and share that memory with people close to them.
In exchange, they told me about the Family Fun Run, hosted by Net25, that will be held in the Philippine Arena, which has the world's largest indoor arena with 55k seating capacity, and in which the father will also participate. Knowing that, I decided to participate in this event instead, though I have to pay the full price, since I registered close to the event.
Now, back to yesterday's event, I, along with the father, went to the venue together, since we live in the same area. We arrived at the Philippine Arena just around the assembly time, which is 4:00 AM, but with how big the place is, it took us about 30 minutes to reach the actual venue, which is the Sports Stadium. While the indoor arena was large, the sports stadium where we are at was also pretty big with a 25k seating capacity. Right after leaving our things at the baggage counter, we immediately proceeded with warm-ups. After doing some warm-ups, we finally hear the announcement that the race will start soon, so we need to gather at the starting area.
In the starting area, I finally got to reunite with my friends, who, just like us, also took the 10KM run. When I told them about this event, they said that they were not interested in participating since it was only a fun run and there was no finisher's shirt, so I was shocked when all of a sudden, I saw them in the starting line. Since they just arrived, they haven't done any warm-ups yet. Good for them, the run did not start until 5:30, so they were able to do some stretching at the starting line. By the way, I forgot to tell that it was raining throughout the night, so the course was wet and it drizzled from time to time.
Eventually, the gun has finally been triggered, indicating that the run has started. At first, I ran slowly not only to match the pace of my colleagues, but also to preserve my strength, then eventually, we started to run at our own pace and got separated from each other. Despite that, my focus is only on the road, and after 1 hour and 9 minutes, I was able to reach the finish line. Since it was a fun run, there is no actual ranking, so I do not know how I fare compared to other runners, but regardless, I feel very accomplished by reaching the finish line, especially when they give me the medal.
Right after the race, we visit some of the sponsored booths at the event and get some items from them, like some groceries and merch. There were even games, such as the human claw machine, as well as some male and female groups that performed on the stage, but since it was not the type of music either my colleagues or I listen to so, as soon as we went through the booths with not many people in line, we left the venue to eat breakfast before we go home.
All in all, I'm glad that I decided to join the event and will likely to continue joining running events in the future, with the next event we're eyeing to join will be in November. As for the distance, they have 21KM course available, but I wasn't sure yet if I have enough strength to finish such a distance, so for now, I'm just planning to continue with my usual training to slowly build stamina and decide whether I go with a 21KM or a 10KM but attempt to finish within less than an hour.
That was it for me. Thank you for reading my post, and see you on the next one.
