Globe Run for Home is my second race in Cebu this year and my first non-marathon distance. It was just a bit over two months ago since I last ran here and I was surprised at how big Cebu races could be! This race is the most attended one I’ve seen so far in the province, and here are my accounts.
Any excuse to return to Cebu is a valid excuse for me, and having friends who also wanted to return to Cebu made deciding so much easier. I know it sounds crazy that I’d spend for hotels and airfare (and registration fee) just to run 10K in Cebu, but that’s how much I love Cebu and running! Put them together and it’s an instant quickie vacation!
Most of us opted for the 10K distance because it is neither too long nor too short. Personally I preferred the distance because of my lack of mileage lately due to my recovering knee. And also that it’s almost entirely new route for me; the longer distance overlaps on some of the Cebu City Marathon’s route so there’s nothing much new for me to see there.
The route is pretty much straightforward, literally, and back, but it was a first for me to start from a different spot, Cebu International Convention Center. This route basically linked in my mind how Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu City Hall, and SM City Cebu are related, road-wise. Running on these roads felt like I was just in Metro Manila, except that I did notice the humidity being so close to the coastline.
As far as the race is concerned, it was pretty much at par with those in Metro Manila. I had no issues with hydration although getting water from the hands of the marshals instead of picking it from the table made me a bit guilty to pour it on my head. Attendance-wise, it was huge! Around 4,000 runners came out that day, as young as 4 and as old as 77 years old. It was just a bit uncommon that technical shirts were given instead of the usual singlets (which I only noticed on race day).
From my perspective, I think there were a lot of newbies during the race. There were a lot runners running side by side, usually in groups of 3 to 5, so you can just imagine how difficult it was to run in a straight line then. It was fortunate that the road was wide enough to accommodate the runners for the most part, but when the 5K and 3K runners eventually merged with the returning longer distance runners, it was jam packed!
The best thing about finishing this race is that I’m in Cebu! And what’s one of the things Cebu is famous for? Lechon! Aside from the lechon we were also treated to that sinful cup of chocolate from Tablea (thank you Princess!) and the local way of preparing rice called “puso.” That post race meal alone probably had more calories than what we burned during the entire 10K! But who’s complaining? 😀
I had such a blast with this race and my Cebu tour had just practically started—and that’s coming up next!
* Sorry for the poor quality photos, taken with my BlackBerry Curve 3G.
* * *
Cebu Lechon Chronicles:
runningpinoy 