From a humble 5K start it’s inevitable that you’d seek “higher grounds.”  After disappointment of not being able to join a race because of a gadget requirement I was inspired when I saw the next race headed our way: the adidas King of the Road (KOTR).  Just imagining myself running atop Kalayaan flyover makes me ecstatic so without second thoughts I signed up for my first 10K, my second race ever.  Some think it’s a huge leap since I don’t really run other than in races but if you really put your heart into it, you can.  What’s more motivating was the singlet—it’s one of the best race singlets to date and it’s not any regular singlet—it’s by adidas!  What a way to really encourage you to be a “king of the road.”

The Online Community: Takbo.ph

Discovering takbo.ph was a real convenience—suddenly I have a directory of races I can join and even forums that could help me get tips.

Admittedly I didn’t want to join any online forums then because I was contented with getting the schedules—until takbo.ph announced they’d give away a shirt to a lucky newbie that would register and introduce himself.  A sucker for prizes like I am (and to prove how I’m so unlucky I don’t win in any raffles like these) I joined (and proven once again I’m right—I didn’t win the contest) thus starting my bond with takbo.ph.  Little did I know that it would grow to the scale it has now, and how it would be a part of my life, not just online or in running.

The Birth of runningpinoy

I was really getting hooked on the running fever and as enthusiastic as I am with the new sport I love I wanted to share to fellow newbie runners my experiences hoping that in my little way I could be of help to the community—that was how the idea of blogging occurred.  Being a web developer myself I’m no stranger to the internet, although I had the dilemma on where to host my blog.  Being a digital artist as well I know how to work around digital media, but the one thing that I fall short of creativity was in giving names.  Sure I can set up a website, but what would I name it?

I was running out of time (literally) as I really wanted to setup everything before my birthday (November 7) and for some weird twist of fate I just landed on runningpinoy—it has the word running, I am a Pinoy, and its acronym is RP like Republic of the Philippines—perfect!  Best of all it’s not yet taken on blogger and wordpress so I can definitely use it.  To cut the chase I ended up working with wordpress using the template used by the old thebullrunner site (I told you I love that site!) but of course with a banner that I designed myself.  A few days after my birthday, on November 11, 2008 runningpinoy.wordpress.com was officially launched.  Thank you to all my early supporters!

Nike Running Clinic

November, 2008.  Nike Philippines launched its running clinic at the PSC Arena (formerly Ultra).  It was the first free running clinic (as far as I know) initiated by a sports brand in the Philippines.  Finally mere mortals were able to have elite coaches to guide them!  This was my first opportunity to run outside of races and also socialize with fellow runners.  And in case you’re wondering Nike Running Clinic is still on-going, Tuesdays at PSC Arena (Ultra) and Fridays at Bonifacio High Street (BHS), 7PM onwards.

One Hundred Kilometers

One of my first proud accomplishments for 2008 was completing 100K of races.  From 5K I was able to reach 10mi (16K)—an achievement for a newbie runner myself but it just goes to show that if you can imagine it, you can.  Stop dreaming and start running!  And this was all in 2008, what I’d like to call the pre-Garmin era!