The Rexona Run 2012 was one of the most challenging races I had recently and by not expecting much, I was quite surprised that I had outran my conservative expectations.  Here’s the story of my 21K experience.

Like the race of the previous weekend, I came into this race without any sleep!  I had an engagement in the province of Cavite, south of Metro Manila, which finished quite late (or quite early) so I absolutely had no time to spare and rushed to the SM Mall of Asia compound as soon as I can to catch the race.  Unfortunately I arrived late, but on the bright side, just a few minutes after the 21K relay started so I didn’t look that bad starting late.

Rexona Run 2012 is the first time since 2008 that I’m racing without any GPS device to track my route.  I didn’t even have any hydration with me!  It was just me and my race bib—as minimal as it could possibly get.  Even my footwear reflected the minimalism—I was wearing my Vibram Five Fingers—its longest race so far.

Because of the problems I had with my race a week earlier, beating the two-hour challenge was far from my mind.  My goal for the race was to finish the race without any injury and have fun.  The 21K route was new to me so that part was exciting, and interestingly enough, I was wide awake!  It was one of those races when you feel you can run better despite the lack of sleep!

It was quite a relief that this race is shorter than last week.  21K is probably the longest road race I can do comfortably as of the moment, and the great weather and new route was quite motivating.  Unfortunately, the poor quality of the road (for the most part, Diosdado Macapagal Ave.) was really daunting and painful for us running minimalist.  I actually almost tripped due to pain when I stepped on a sharp rock a few kilometers to the finish line.

In the end I was really relieved that I didn’t encounter any problems during the race and surprised that I wasn’t even as tired as I expected.  But the biggest surprise for me with this race, despite being not in race pace and hanging out a bit long in the hydration stations, was actually realizing I was still able to finish my race below two hours!  I was even more surprised when I saw the race results as it was faster than I thought.  Too bad I started late so I had no incentive for finishing below two hours, but who’s complaining?  Outrunning expectations, however conservative, is already an achievement.

Post-race, Rexona Run’s activities were as lively as expected.  Those who were still able to jump around probably had the time of their lives playing with those game consoles, there was also a mini-concert in the area, but the always hungry me is satisfied with some free food around the activity area.

Overall, I came out of the race pretty much happy.  I love the new route (except for the bad roads), the big and heavy medal, the well-organized race, and of course the free food in the activity area.  And the loot bag—it was just insane! 🙂

Last year’s Rexona Run was quite memorable for me and it really set the bar high.  It was pretty much difficult for Rexona to “outrun” themselves, but I actually thought they didn’t let anyone down!  It was an excellent race and another memorable one for me!  Keep it up Rexona!

Congratulations to all finishers!  Were you able to outrun yourselves? 😀