It was a lousy weekend. There was no race, I wasn’t able to join my friends’ long run outside the Metro, and even my long run got cancelled due to the rain.  Yeah I love the rain—I love it when it pours during your run.  When it’s 4:30AM it’s a different story.

While I’m savoring the misery of a run-less weekend I just got the urge to review “old” running documents on my desktop—from pictures,  to race routes and results, and eventually I found the takbo.ph yearbook.  It’s funny because it’s only a few months old to date, but reading it again feels like a blast in the past—I feel like I’m reading a yearbook from my high school days!  Definitely the running scene last year was way different than today.

I started running August last year so for the most part the running scene of 2008 was a mystery to me.  Reading the yearbook I was introduced to what was happening before I started, a.k.a. what I missed list.  Then I realized that some races new to me had already planted its seed early that year like PSE Bull Run, GIG Run, Condura Run, etc.  One that intrigued me was the Full Moon run of January, 2008—did they really ran under the full moon?  Then I noticed the 94K Weekend (April), one of the ultramarathons that captured my imagination—one of those that fueled me to dream of an ultramarathon and eventually realize it.  It still lingers on my head the stories I’ve read about this ultra and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) which made me want to join Subic International Marathon (SIM) just to get a glimpse of that experience (SIM’s full marathon route is said to pass through SCTEX).  There was also the Condura Run—one of the, if not the, largest race of 2009.  As per Patrick Concepcion’s (Running Shield) account they had 2,000 runners in 2008—a pretty good turnout that seemed diminutive if you compare it with this year’s massive attendance.

What was really interesting was reading other runners’ goals and resolutions.  Reading about their accomplishments before it happened was nice and it’s also a good time for review of how you’re doing with yours.  Many of these runners I know personally and I know most of these were already accomplished or in the works.  As for me one is just a matter of time (international race via SIM and SCSM) and another a matter of more serious training (breaking the 20 minute barrier for a 5K run which currently stands at about 23 minutes).

Lastly about Jinoe Gavan’s (takbo.ph founder) questions:

What if more runners know even more runners?
What if more runners share their experiences?
What if more runners encourage one another?
What if more runners run together?

…I think now we already know the answers and living it.