It’s been like forever since I’ve last done a race in Bonifacio Global City that’s why I’m very thankful for Maxicare Run 2017 which used the classic BGC race routes.  Without further ado, here’s my recap.

I was having second thoughts about joining the Maxicare Run because I feel like I could use more sleep.  While I was preparing for the things I’d wear and bring, there was a deliberation going on in my head.  But at the end of it all, I decided to go for it because this may be one of the last times BGC would host a fun run.  This is also my last chance to do a long run before my next pacing duty this coming weekend at the Takbo.ph Run Fest.

Just as I no longer remember when the last time I ran in BGC, my last 16K race was also lost in my memory.  I could probably dig my blog for this information, but it doesn’t really matter.  What matters is now, this race.  It would serve as my assessment run to evaluate my current state.  I’ve not run long in a very long time, but I am running much faster in much shorter distances.  It should be interesting to see how much my endurance has changed.

I arrived at the starting area less than 10 minutes to the 16K gun start.  And as always, I had trouble finding the baggage counter.  I’m not sure if it’s just me or the baggage counter really is always placed in some not so easy spot.  Anyway, I was able to check my bag in literally a few seconds before gun start so my timing is just impeccable.  I started with the rest of the 16K runners, albeit from all the way back.

As always, starting from behind is a challenge because you have an entire crowd ahead of you, most likely running at a much slower pace than you desire.  I’ve been used to starting from the back now that this no longer frustrates me.  And as such, I usually expect my first kilometer to be quite slow.  Interestingly enough, I actually crossed my first kilometer in 5:16!

My second kilometer usually serves as my catch up for the slow first kilometer.  And since I had a good momentum from the first kilometer, I surprised myself when I completed my second kilometer in 4:38!  This must be all that speedwork at the treadmill working as I don’t think I run this fast for distances beyond 5K.  I wasn’t feeling like I’m doing any extra effort so I just continued running without consciously thinking of my pace.

From the third to the eleventh kilometer, I was surprisingly sustaining a pace from 5:02 to 5:34 per kilometer!  I was a bit concerned that my toe (which is sore after I banged it hard on stairs a week ago) would affect my run, but apparently that’s not the case.  I guess our toes don’t get involved as much as I think they do when we run—at least for my strides.  This segment took us out of BGC to Makati, and back.  It was also here where I had my breakfast-on-the-go: a banana from the station just before our U-turn.

The twelfth kilometer was my slowest kilometer of the entire race, the only one clocking in beyond six minutes (at 6:03).  This is where we find ourselves back at the foot of Kalayaan flyover.  I’m not a fan of uphills so this is quite a challenge for me.  We had a taste of some more uphills afterwards with the ones at 5th Avenue completing the ensemble.  Good thing though that it was mostly downhill back towards 32nd Street so I got some of my lost time back.  And I really liked that the finish line isn’t that far from the last turn so I was able to finish with a sprint.  I saw the clock ticking at 1:28:XX, might as well take it!

My 16K run clocked in officially at 1:27:38 (link to official race results and photos here) so I’m expecting my official race results to be a few seconds faster.  Since I don’t recall my personal best with this distance, I can’t tell if I did break it but this is definitely one of my fastest race lately.  I’ve been serving as a pacer for most of my recent races so I can’t really gauge how slow I’ve become so this race for me is highly satisfying.  Glad that my treadmill sessions are keeping my feet strong!

Despite what I think is a decent finish time for my distance, the activity area was already jam-packed when I arrived.  The runners of shorter distances have completed their legs and so the queues to the product samples by sponsors were already long.  As I lack the patience to stand in lines for long, I ended up only with my finisher entitlements, a shirt and a medal, which are more than good enough for me.

Maxicare Run 2017 is one of the best races I’ve attended recently.  I love the route, the sports drink they used is my favorite, there’s banana on the route, there have a lot of points where their crew offer free calf spray (the most I’ve ever seen in a race!), lots of hydration stations, accurate distance, and overall is simply one of the most organized running events I’ve ever joined!  This just proves that a great race doesn’t necessarily command a great price!

Congratulations to all finishers! 😀