Running Log: Unicef’s Walk on the Child’s Side

This was another very well organized race I’ve joined and one that had a very good race course. It had a lot of sponsors and one of the biggest races I’ve been in terms of participant. It was my first time running in McKinley Hill so I don’t know what to expect, I just looked at the race map (for 10K) and was thrilled because it would also go through Heritage Park, also a first.

Parking was the first problem we encountered. Because of the number of participants, traffic volume in the area swelled so it in itself was a challenge. We ran out of the staring line more than 12 minutes into the race (beating our previous lead times, hehe). Lesson learned: if it’s your first time running in a particular area, be extra early! I’d love to say that this race was very close to my PR (personal record) give or take a few seconds, unofficially at least (self-timed), but since I only count the official time, it’s way-off the mark.

When is runningpinoy not runningpinoy?
I was actually running this race under a different name. It was a long story, but to summarize, I swapped races with a running buddy, my name is on 5K and his on 10K. It’s good to have nice running buddies at times like these!

Back to the race: the race courses were very interesting, at least for 5K and 10K. At first glance 5K seemed longer than the usual because of the interesting routes it took, and the 10K was particularly exciting for me because as I mentioned earlier it goes through Heritage Park which I’ve never been to before. It was a pleasure to run inside Heritage because of all the greeneries, beautiful sights, and very nice weather. What’s unique about the 10K course was that the 5K mark wasn’t really a U-turn but is somewhere inside the park making the course seem asymmetrical so it’s not “boring.”

Water stations were plenty and spaced nicely, and there’s even food upon entering Heritage Park! I was surprised with the food, I actually thought it was for sale, so when I came to my senses and realized it was for free I was a few meters away (and it’s quite awkward for me to even think of eating while running so it didn’t bother me).

11232008006-400x300 — Another race completed

The event reminded me a little of the recent Urbanathlon because of the many booths of the sponsors. I was most surprised to see Starbucks in the picture (Starbucks+running?). I actually queued in one of the lines after the race thinking it was for water only to realize in the end it was actually for coffee!

PhotoVendo was present and even have a photo-op area (nice idea); some of my running buddies were able to have their pictures taken at a Unicef photo wall, there were lots of Unicef merchandise, lots of sponsor booths, and an inflatable playground for the kids, some were even dressed up. This was another one of those “family-day-out” events that everyone can enjoy. Even Jedis and Storm Troopers were invited to join!