5:40AM the 10K race started.  We “strategically” placed ourselves at the back of the pack as we’re not conscious of our time.  For me it was one of the few times I started at the back and it was a world of its own—the gun was sounded yet the people at the back were hardly affected—as if there was no race!

We were constantly chatting during our “pretty” pace—since we’re showing off our Runner’s World singlet we had to stay “pretty” for the camera, thus the name.  Despite the very, very slow pace (which was practically walking) we were still able to overtake many runners!  Unbelievable!  It was just about 500 meters into the 10K and yet we see people walking.  Eventually as the race progress this scene became more common, and as runners doing a “pretty” pace we had so much unused energy to maintain our speed (or lack of, hehe).

Race and Route (10K Perspective)

This was one of the most organized races I’ve seen so far.  Hydration stations finally reached international standards with long tables, adequate water and sports drinks, and close intervals.  Distance was a bit over but the route was my favorite particularly when it went through the “tunnel.”  Both sides of Kalayaan flyover were also used so it was a chance for us to run on the “other” side.  Some route markers were a bit confusing though but as far as 10K is concerned it wasn’t an issue.  Finally who wouldn’t appreciate the convenience of starting and finishing in the middle of Ayala Center.

Strong Finish

We wanted to ensure that our presence is known, particularly in the finish, as we were there to promote our sponsor Runner’s World Magazine and so on the last few hundred meters of the race we “showed off” by running in our agreed formation, encouraging loudly those ahead of us to run, and crossed the finish with big smiles and loud cheers!  And yes we were really running the last parts as we saw the clock approaching an hour and a half into the 10K—finishing at 1:29:35 (1:27:46 chip time).  It was probably my slowest race ever (even slower than my BDM102 average pace) but it was definitely one of the most enjoyable one.  Thank you Summit Media and Runner’s World Magazine Philippines for this opportunity!

Review

This year’s Globe AyalaLand Run for Home successfully reinvented itself by still introducing new “features” that enhanced the overall race experience while still pushing the level of local races to international standards.  Of course this “upgrades” didn’t come free as fees also went North but on the bright side there were a lot of ways to get discounts, and it still is a run for a cause benefiting Habitat for Humanity.  The experience would’ve been “perfect” had the perpetually delayed race results been resolved.  If you had activated the Facebook live update though you had pretty much a good idea of your time (involves some Math) right after you finished, but for the rest it was a very long two days (detailed Runpix results still unavailable as of press time).  Overall I give this race a Very Good (4/5) rating.  Real time race results? Almost, but not quite—maybe next time?

Updates

After some procrastination, detailed Runpix race results are finally available via http://www.runpix.info/mnc10/ge.php.  Your in-race photos courtesy of PhotoVendo are also now available via http://free.photovendo.ph/.