To be honest, I practically dragged myself out of the house to join this event.  At the end of the day, I’m glad I did!  Here’s my story on how I went from bleh to yeah at The Music Run Manila 2016.

The week prior to TMR was really hectic for me that I was spent by the time Saturday came.  However, the race kits of my co-workers are with me so I have to force myself to go to the venue for them to claim it.  Good thing though that this is a Saturday late afternoon event.

This is my first ever TMR participation and this would also be my first time to run in McKinley West.  It should be exciting, but I can’t get myself excited as I feel like I needed sleep more than a run.  The heavy traffic going to McKinley West didn’t help uplift my spirit.  Just as I thought I had allotted more than enough time to get to the venue, I arrived just 10 minutes prior to the gun start of the first wave.

The activity area, better known as The Music Village, was teeming with people and fun activities from sponsors.  This is perhaps the most fun-looking and stress-free activity area I’ve ever seen!  This is the first time I’ve seen participants enjoying themselves with the attractions before joining the race itself!  Most of the participants were hardly concerned that the race had formally started as they go about the sponsors’ booths.  Crazy, start as you please!

Panoramic view of The Music Village.

I waited until the last wave before I started as I waited for my co-workers who got stuck in traffic.  I decided to start my race and finish off quickly to meet them afterwards.  But then fate had other plans—I was running my first kilometer in a pretty good pace (despite all the uphills on this part) when I heard a voice from behind me shouting my name…

I looked around and saw some familiar faces… it’s my dear friend Marga whom I’ve not seen in a while and also fellow running bloggers Roselle and Jared.  It’s such a pleasant coincidence!  I knew that some of my running blogger friends were running the race, but I did not expect to catch any of them since I started late.  And with that, I stopped my GPS tracking app and gave in to the walking street party that is The Music Run.

You would be crazy to attempt to run at TMR.  Just about everyone is walking, talking, taking selfies, and dancing along the way!  The course may be wide, but with so many participants there’s hardly any straight path you can take safely that would allow you to do so.  On the other hand, the loud music along the route is highly conducive to walking and dancing to the beat, most especially with friends.  I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this 5K event had I run it in its entirety, but I didn’t and I had good company along the route so I really enjoyed it!  This may be my slowest 5K ever, but it sure is one of the most enjoyable!

Unlike most running events, the fun did not end upon crossing the finish line.  A concert party that is The Music Festival ensued afterwards with participants dancing and singing along to the beat by DJ Shann and DJ Sam Withers.

This was my first TMR experience, and I don’t think this would be the last!  It’s such a fun event for everyone that you’d hardly notice you finished a 5K distance.  I highly recommend it especially for those who think running a 5K is too much or running in general is boring.  And I really love that it’s on a Saturday afternoon!  No excuses that you can’t wake up early. 😀

One of the highlights of The Music Festival is this epic mannequin challenge (courtesy @TheMusicRunPH):

And finally, here’s the official The Music Run by Philam Vitality Manila 2016 video (courtesy @TheMusicRunPH):