DNS 101: Registered, Plate Unavailable

How does a running community celebrate its anniversary?  By running of course! Takbo.ph held its first Runfest to celebrate the occasion last Sunday.  It was the last race I signed up for before I got injured, one of the rare few that charged below P500 as registration fee, and definitely one of my most anticipated…

Two Flights, Zero Races

As of this afternoon I have officially two flights to two opposite points in the country (north and south) but no registered races!  Well, only official registration is not in attendance but the intent is 100% there as these flights were sparked by two races, an ultramarathon in the north and a trail run in…

In-Action at Action & Fitness (A&F) Magazine

If you happen to have the July 2010 issue of Action & Fitness (A&F) Magazine our Mt. Maculot adventure is featured on the Travel & Adventure section, page 92, courtesy of our climb muse Vicky Ras.  This is my first time to appear with A&F and first time to be featured not running!  Thank you…

Summoned by the gods of running…

Last Wednesday, amidst the ruckus and chaos known as office work, a mysterious package arrived from the gods of running… I was nestled deep within the realms of programming when all of a sudden I was informed of such package: Guard: Sir, you have a delivery RP: Who, me?  Really?  (Dumbfounded, still processing scripts in…

Darkness Falls

The rainy season’s full onset officially begins in the Philippines as typhoon Basyang (Conson) entered the country’s area of responsibility and had a landfall, and last night Metro Manila was just hammered by very, very strong gusts of winds (maximum of 120kph according to weather reports) as it traverses the island of Luzon.  The result—darkness! …

34th National MILO® Marathon: R&R (Runners and Review)

This year’s installment of the National MILO® Marathon (Manila Eliminations) takes the race on an entirely new level.  Personally I’ve never had any local race come close to what MILO® had achieved with this year’s Manila Eliminations, and despite so many new developments it still had plenty of room for improvements. The Runners I consider…

34th National MILO® Marathon: “I did it for the Shirt!”

This statement basically sums up the reason I signed up for the marathon.  The new routes, timing chips, donate a shoe program, potential new PR, and even the medal were not enough to entice me to join—only the 42K finisher’s shirt.  On the other hand I had many reasons why I wasn’t jumping for excitement…

34th National MILO® Marathon: Signs and Strange Encounters (Prequel)

I gave up all hopes of joining this year’s MILO® Marathon because of one HUGE reason—no training!  Coming off TNF100 my body was built primarily for endurance, not speed.  I was seriously aiming to qualify for the Finals but there wasn’t enough time to train for it, so reluctantly I let that dream go (for…

34th National MILO® Marathon: Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank our Almighty Father for allowing me to join and finish this race despite my physical handicaps with a “decent” time to boast and negligible injuries. Second, I would like to personally thank my takbo.ph family for extending their support not just to me and the members of the family…

Signs of things to come…

Uh oh, I think I’m gonna do a crazy stint this weekend… Good luck everyone! (If I were you I’d still place that timing chip on your shoe laces as usual :))

Change Begins

As the Republic of the Philippines welcomes its 15th President, the doors of changes are wide open.  We may have been divided with our choices during the last elections but we all seek the same aspirations.  The time for the country to unite has come and let us rally behind our new President to support…

Technology Review: GPS on A-GPS—Alternatives to Garmin?

Garmin Forerunners are arguably the most practical GPS (Global Positioning System) solutions for runners albeit comes at a premium price.  That premium fortunately gives room for alternative solutions but aside from competing brands, an option that is getting more prevalent are devices with embedded A-GPS (Assisted GPS). A-GPS is a system which can improve startup…