Races come and go but there are a few that’s more fun than the rest, and Run BGC does belong with those “fun” ones—for the 5K leg at least.  But it doesn’t mean that it didn’t come with some hiccups!  Here’s my Run BGC story.

For Run BGC, I only signed up for the 5K.  Why?  Because I was just looking forward to some “fun” from the usual fun run.  I can always run 5K or beyond, but I can’t always do races with “fun activities” and Run BGC’s 5K leg offers just that.  No pressure.  No personal bests.  Just fun.  And run. 🙂

I arrived in Bonifacio Global City about an hour before the posted 5K gun start (which was 5:30AM) but only went to the starting area a bit past 5AM.  The starting area for a change was near Mercato Centrale area, and as I arrived I was surprised to see the huge turnout!  Later on I found out that none of the legs had started at the time so I was viewing the entire running participants.  I’m not sure if the gun start were adjusted to compensate for the late sunrise (which should’ve been expected long before) but at the original 5K gun start, the 15K was just starting.  Ever since my first encounter with RunRio, I’ve never had a race that’s not on time, so could it be a first?

Ironically, BGC had turned off all the street lights in the area before the 15K started.  The entire area was pitch black with only the huge monitor providing lights in the area.  How the 15K runners were able to run in such dark conditions escapes me so at that point I was glad to be racing much later.  It was only when the sun was starting to rise did the lights were turned back on, but at that time it was irrelevant.

The turnout for 5K was huge so a “wave” start was implemented—but it was ridiculous as it practically just allowed everyone in front to be a few hundred meters ahead and everyone else were let loose!  I was part of the second (and last) wave and we started 5:52AM.

As promised, the 5K leg had “fun activities” and the first one being at the Mind Museum.  It involved merely picking a piece of paper (with a word written in it) hanging overhead, but it’s hardly challenging except perhaps if you’re vertically challenged. 🙂  Even so, some race marshals actually hand over these papers.  After which, we were given our first “loop cord” (which was hardly a cord).  I was clueless with what to do with this piece of paper so I kept it in my hand for the rest of the race (but it turned out that there was no further use for it).

The second activity was a surprise: banana eating.  Run BGC is probably the shortest race in the country that serves banana, but it’s not optional—you’re required to finish an entire banana before you’re given your second “loop cord.”

The third activity was a bit strange—jumping jacks.  We were told to do jumping jacks while traversing Track 30th so it actually appeared that we’re clapping above our heads while running.

I find the last activity most fun: “Piko” (a Filipino version of Hopscotch).  Suddenly, a portion of 38th Street had transformed into a long piko course.  I didn’t know I just had to finish a set so I ended up doing almost the entirety of the course.  Quite fun nonetheless.

The race ended in 7th Avenue.  I actually didn’t know that the start and finish lines were different so the “baggage buses” only made sense for me at that time.  While it was nice to finish a race quick, I do admit that 5K was a bit too short for me.  As with all RunRio races, a loot bag is of course present, and I was surprised that finisher’s certificates are back!

Like most RunRio races, Run BGC was a highly-organized event albeit the gun start was a bit off from the published times.  The 5K route was good to familiarize yourself with Bonifacio Global City’s new installations, and the raffle draw prize was just to lust for (an Asian cruise worth ₱150,000!).  The 5K activities weren’t really challenging, but it did make the race really fun!

Nike+ (for Android) Review

Ever since my GF405 “retired” I’ve been using Endomondo to track my races.  For this race I decided to test Nike+ for Android since I’m also using it before, albeit via my iPod Nano’s pedometer.  The logs from Nike+ for Android (using Samsung Galaxy Note) should be much better than that from my iPod Nano since it’d include GPS data, but that remains as mere promises until it’s actually tested in an actual race environment.  My verdict:

Nike+ does not work for my Samsung Galaxy Note running Android 4.0.4!  It always crashes whenever you activate it from the background.  Nothing about this race was recorded when it crashed.  I’m not sure how it fares with other devices or platforms, but it’s too bad since Nike was pushing hard to push this app to runners.  I rated it 1/5 (the minimum, should be a 0/5 since it doesn’t work) in the Android Market.  Next time I’ll just stick to my reliable iPod Nano’s pedometer.

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