Run United Philippine Marathon 2014 All Set

 

I can’t say enough good things about the Run United Philippine Marathon, having ran the 42k distance the last 2 years. Amazing race support, more than enough hydration stations, adequate medical aid, bling medals, nice finishers’ shirts and a lot more! And it’s happening again on October 5, the last of the trilogy series for this year.

To those running the 42k, it you ran the 32k RU2 a few months ago, the route will more or less be the same, starting and ending at the Mall of Asia this time instead of KM O. It will pass along the major thoroughfare of Roxas  Blvd and proceed again to Cavitex and back.

Looking back, the past marathons i ran here were all memorable and this final race of Unilab should not be missed!

Here’s the heads-up of the marathon in full:

The 2014 Run United Philippine Marathon will be held on October 5, 2014 with Growee 500m, Enervon HP 10km, Alaxan FR 21km and Enervon Activ 42km race categories. All categories will have a start and finish at the Seaside Boulevard, Mall of Asia.

Registration Schedule:

PREPAID CARD SELLING VENUES:
In-venue registration to be held at Greenfield District Central Park, Mayflower St. Greenfield District, Mandaluyong City from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM August 15 to 17 only.

In-store purchase of the prepaid cards will be available at the following stores, from 12:00NN to 8:00PM Monday to Sunday starting August 22, 2014.

• RUNNR Store BGC, B1 Bonifacio High St. The Fort, Taguig City
  Toby’s Galleria
• 3F Robinson’s Galleria, EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City
• Toby’s SM North, SM North – The Block G/F, North Ave. cor. EDSA Quezon City
• Toby’s MOA, SM Mall of Asia, G/F Entertainment Hall, Roxas Blvd, Manila

Registration Fees:

Note: Additional P200 will be charged for race kit delivery for Online & Prepaid card registrants: P150 delivery & processing fee & P50 web admin fee.

FOR RACE EXPO and IN-STORE REGISTRANTS: complete race kit will be given upon registration for runners participants. Singlet sizes will be on a first-come, first-served basis. No additional fees will be applied.

ASSEMBLY AND GUN START TIMES:

REMINDERS:

• Registration is on a first-come, first served basis, and may end earlier than the announced deadline. Race slots may run out before September 14, 2014.
• Runner participants who register at the stores will receive their complete race kit upon purchase. A Valid ID must be presented upon registration.
• Those who will be registering for their friends must buy a prepaid card. The singlet will be given upon purchase of the prepaid card. The rest of the race kit shall be delivered.
• Singlet and finisher’s shirt size availability will be on first-come, first-served basis.
• Singlet and finishers shirt sample sizes will be available for fitting at the registration centers.
• D-Tag will be provided to every participant to get the runner’s accurate time result and must be surrendered to claim the finisher’s item after the race.
• No BIB, No D-TAG, NO RACE.

RACE RESULTS:
 Race results will be available within three (3) days after the race at the following websites:www.unilabactivehealth.com and http://www.runrio.com.
 Timing and Race Results: feedback@runrio.com

CONTACT DETAILS:
For online and in-store registration inquiries:
 Landline (+632) 703 1736 or (+632) 463 4814
 Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 5pm only, except holidays.

EXCEED YOURSELF. GEAR UP FOR THE 2014 RUN UNITED PHILIPPINE MARATHON

Get a chance to own your very own Active Health branded limited edition Run United Philippine Marathon FORTIVS-S singlets and kits when you participate in the 2014 Run United Philippine Marathon. These special items will forever serve as your badges of participation in this prestigious run where you are encouraged to continuously train and become a better version of yourself.

RACE KIT:
The Run United Philippine Marathon race kit will contain the following: singlet, 3 pieces of Enervon Activ, bib number, D-tag, Active Health Sun Visor and wrist tags (only for Growee 500m dash participants). Complete race kit will be delivered for online registration and singlet will be given for pre-paid card purchase. For in-venue and in-store registration of “actual runners” complete race kit will be received upon registration. Singlet and finisher’s shirt sizes (for 21km and 42km registrants) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Singlet and finishers shirt sizes will be available for fitting at the registration centers.

SINGLET:

ACTIVE HEALTH VENTILATION BAG & SUN VISOR

 

POST-RACE KITS:

FINISHERS SHIRT (for 21km & 42km Finishers only)

 

Singlet and 42k Finishers shirt

 

FINISHERS MEDAL (for 21km & 42km Finishers only):

 

 

 

RUPM Trilogy: Done!

Before the start with Team 90%

I was looking forward to getting this done, the last of Run United’s trilogy race. This marathon got me thinking whether i would be able to finish it without the internal discomforts that bothered me during training, knowing the ordeal i went through after failing to finish the Milo Marathon a few months ago. Back then, i had suffered from diarrhea and a bad case of acid reflux.

My goal was just to redeem myself, finish the race before the prescribed cut-off time and put all those bad experiences behind me.

WARM UP: Fifteen minutes before the start, we had the usual cursory warm-up exercises but what made this warm-up special was that this was lead by no less than our team mate Gemma, a Doctor by profession who also dabbles as a physical fitness instructor at Gold’s Gym!  She had the crowd of about 3,000 runners moving on their feet, dancing on some Zumba beat with our movements suppressed, given the limited space runners had to stretch and swing their legs on!

Me, along Seaside Blvd. (Photo by Running Photographers)

START: The 3:00am start was right on the dot… 3:00am! We were positioned at the middle, right side and since there were only about 3,000 runners for the 42k, no wave corrals were necessary. The gun goes off  and i’m seeing many in blue and white all around me. Always funny to see male runners dashing into the first available walled fence to relieve those over-loaded bladders while getting heckled from the other runners. I even so a female runner pulling down her shorts oblivious of the other male runners around her! Wtf!

I was still worried about my acid reflux and could feel some discomfort while pacing with Betty and Carol so after about 3 kms, i decided to just slow down and keep my pace a little tolerable.

WATER STATIONS: They were pretty abundant and every aspect of it was very satisfactory. Lots of cold water, plenty of extra ice where volunteers would even pour some into your water bottles, abundant sponges which i didn’t feel any need to use since i could pour cups of cold water into my head unlimitedly. Gatorade drinks were also limitless but the taste would vary from station to station as some were blandly mixed while others had the taste just right.

PORTALETS: I saw some that were strategically scattered along the route but there were lines that you have to queue into and that would take precious time. I had already felt some ramblings and queasiness in my tummy and wanted to relieve myself but seeing the long queue prompted me to delay the visit. However, the chance came when i reached the Petron station at the corner of Buendia and Makati Avenues so decided to sprint up the second floor and make a #2. Oh la la!

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: I think the marshals, Police and traffic aides did a great job in controlling the intersections although there were points that we really had to be stopped to give way to the motorists for a few seconds and that was fine with me. Bottlenecks were at the Buendia-Dian junction, corner of Roxas Blvd and Buendia, junction of Buendia and Macapagal Highway and the bus crossroad near the coastal highway along Macapagal Avenue.

Along Roxas Blvd.

MEDICAL SUPPORT: They were all over the place! One thing i like about them is their medics carry with them liniment oil which they readily sprayed to whoever needs it. One tip to keep cramps at bay is to have your calves and thighs sprayed with this oil even if you do not feel any cramps coming as yet. I had my legs sprayed twice and for someone who cramps during the end part of the race, i didn’t feel any tightness for the whole duration of the race.

FINISH LINE: Nice touch at this year’s finish when after crossing the finish line, the marathoners are led to a chute that passes beneath the stage as we exit to a supposedly throng of crowds waiting in the open area while they’re watching on the going-ons up stage. Except that there were few people out in the open field (most were under the shade of tents watching from afar).

I think the intended purpose of getting people to cheer you when you come out of this chute was lost as people watching the awarding ceremonies and the pop bands that were playing at the stage didn’t mind who finished the marathon or what. It became a perfect photo-ops session instead, 42k finishers proudly displaying their medals and Philippine flags while photographers from the fantastic Photo-Ops Photographers Team were clicking their cameras non-stop.

OVERALL: A great experience and every aspect of this race was so well organized. Water stations, medics, all-you-can-eat bananas, great race photographers and fantastic runners whom you bump and chat into, sharing thoughts, commiserating each other’s pain, breathing together step by step until the end.

The small Philippine flag given you 400 meters before the finish line is a great booster, at a time when you just want to throw in the towel or just jog to the finish. There was a runner who i assume is from Singapore asking the marshal if he had any Singapore flag to carry instead of the RP flag. Told there was none, she just graciously accepted the Philippine flag and wave it over her shoulders with a broad smile on her face.

(Picture by Photo-ops)

Runrio and Run United put together a great event and i’ll look forward in running it again next year! A special mention of thanks to my photographer friends along the route, my team mates at Team 90%, Mommy Vimz Mendoza, Claire Papa, Janice Miguel, Dada Teves, Runrio, Run United, Judith Staples, my product sponsors and my 2 inspirations, Chica and Marlies! 🙂

Results of last Sunday’s race here: http://runrio.com/2013/10/2013-run-united-3-philippine-marathon-results/

With Soleus big boss Judith Staples

Tapering And Other Musings Before RUPM

Months ago, i had commited to complete the Runrio Trilogy for this year, just like i did last year (2012)  so i registered for the final race, the Run United Philippine Marathon which is happening in less than 3 weeks time. At this moment, I have now entered the homestretch and the tapering has just started after doing copious distances of 32k+ LSDs on weekends.

The 80-90kms of weekly mileage (a modest sum to more serious marathoners) will now ease to 50-60kms for the next 3 weeks and i really look forward to taking a little breather although a quality 21k run with my running buddies, (Leo, Sylvia, Betty, Tonet, Chito, Majonie and Gemma) will still be in order in the next few days just to keep the legs and lungs sharp.

The last long run last Saturday was a blast! We did a lot of goofy things during our 32k run and we were like kids trying to out-run, out-wit and out-hustle those who were naturally running faster than we were. Leo and i were sneaking out to really make fast bursts of speed from the group to give us an advantage to finish the run ahead of the rest. We did this while they were busy buying from some vendors or were taking a break.

I was laughing out loud when looking at my back, Sylvia and Betty who were the faster runners in the group realized what we were up to and tried to play catch-up. They were trying to bridge the gap with so much effort when i suddenly froze on a pedestrian stop light and waited for about 2 minutes. Sheesh, that 2 minutes translated like about 600 meters of fast running so by the time i was able to cross the road at the junction of Santolan and Katipunan Roads, they were now a few steps away at my back!

So, imagine the ribbing i got from these ladies when they nagged about us trying to pull a stunt on them! Hahah…

After the run, we decided to proceed to Betty’s place and have breakfast, with the customary wine and brandy to go with the food and banter. We were in stitches trying to recall the random madness of trying to outran each other and each one of us had a story to tell. We were so hungry, but thirsty as well and we had these:

Breakfast!?!

Liempo! Thanks to Andok’s outlets

Good ol crispy chicken

–

In other running news, i had an easy 10k run in pouring rain the following Monday at the Greenhills Shopping Center grounds with trail running buddy Iris who lives nearby. I ran from my house to her place which is about 4 kms away and the rains were really blasting when we both started together.

The run around the Greenhills shopping center was a bit jarring as we had to run on the pedestrian walkway which was tiled and kind of slippery when wet. It’s a 1.1 km loop and we were like running around in circles, trying to dodge joggers and walkers whom we were sharing the pavement with.

Iris is coming back from a hip and itbs injury which was aggravated when she slipped on some wet rocks during a trail run at Miyamit in Porac , Pampanga a month ago. This was going to be her first come-back run after that incident and although her injury hasn’t completely healed, she burned the lanes as if a bird was set free from her cage, setting on for a tempo-like session.

We did a total of just 6 kms and i persuaded her not to push it too far or hard as it might only aggravate her still tender injury which she complained was still bugging her after the run. She plans to run the Miyamit CM42 Half-Marathon Trail race this coming Sunday but have my doubts if she’ll be 100% fit to run this hilly course.

I have still maintained my 80kms/weekly training and this, as i mentioned should come down considerably in the next 3 weeks as i taper. The Run United Marathon looms on October 6 which will be my come-back marathon after that disastrous Milo Marathon 2 months ago where i bonked due to Hyperacidity and diarrhea.

I’m still concerned with my acid-reflux and have been taking meds this last few weeks while training. I am aware of this condition and just hope for the best that it improves come race day. I just need to suck it this last few weeks and see. I’ll be doing a 21-25k run tomorrow with my team hoping to add some finishing touches to the taper. This will be a crucial “simulator” run even if this is only a training run.

See you later…

My Run United Philippine Marathon Experience

Finally, it was great to complete the UNILAB Run United series with an emphatic exclamation point added to its final running event of the year, the 1st Run United Philippine Marathon (RUPM) which i finished last Sunday and what a race!.  This was only my second longest race of the year, the first being the Tagaytay To Nasugbu (T2N) 50k ultra-marathon done last May and lots of shorter races in between.

Run United’s inaugural marathon was supposed to come out with a bang; red carpet finish line, marching bands, Philippine miniature flags which were handed out a few meters from the finish, cowbells ringing to greet you at the home stretch and they sure delivered!

Just before the race

Before last Sunday’s marathon, never was i so pessimistic about this race knowing that i was going to do it “under-trained” which you might think is better than over-trained but the sloppy training schedule was really pathetic: 2-3 days a week, comprising two short runs of 8-12kms and my farthest week-end run of only 25kms with no cross-training in between. So, how would you survive a marathon with such inconsistent training? I was just lucky to have survived it, i guess.

With friend Jackie

Still, i was satisfied of my results despite the much slower finish time compared to my last marathon this past December at the Quezon City International Marathon.

Here are some highlights of the race:

ARRIVING AT THE MALL OF ASIA

The early morning began when good friend Jun Santiago and i arrived at the MOA at about 1:45am and immediately boarded one of the many shuttle buses that would take us for the 20 minute ride to Bonifacio Global City start line. This was our usual itinerary during the Run United run series when races start at the BGC and ends up at MOA.

JUN’S FIRST MARATHON

What’s significant about this race is this is Jun’s debut marathon and he’ll be finally doing it after years of prodding him to run one. I know he was shit scared but wouldn’t admit it and his aim was just to finish, regardless of time. I was confident that he could do it, though.

C-5 ROAD

Part of the RUPM route was C-5 Road, the main thoroughfare in Taguig and this was going to be the first time that runners will be running on this highway in a race. We exited at the back of Market-Market and traffic was building up that early as we merged with vehicles occupying just a lane to 3 lanes for the runners. True to what race director Coach Rio has told us prior to the race, police and marshals were seen deployed along the route and the highway was mostly well-lit.

I was somewhat distracted by the blaring of sound systems, videoke bars and the shouts of youths that were either cheering or jeering us until we reached the somewhat solemn area of the Heritage Park, another route which we hadn’t use in a race for a while.

BUENDIA AVE.

It was very unusual of a Run Rio organized race to run out of water on their hydration stations and more unusual to see nothing being replenished when i ran passed the whole stretch of Buendia Avenue. The tables were empty on the 5 hydration stations starting from the station fronting Jolibee, just before climbing up Kalayaan Overpass and it was like a desert afterwards. Good thing that i brought my hydration belt with a bottle of Gatorade that sustained me all along Buendia Ave.

Mini-Stop and 7-Eleven convenience stores must have had a field day as dozens of runners rushed to their doors and buy bottled water and brought them along for the rest of the run. I think the stations ran out of supplies because of the deluge of the 21k runners who were first to reach Buendia Avenue.

ROXAS BOULEVARD

The last 15k running this stretch was a bit of chaos as thousands of runners, bikers, rowers, walkers and Sunday strollers converged and made this stretch really crowded. And it was on this stretch that i did my run-walk routine just to have something in reserve at the end of the race. I saw my team mates Chito, Tonet and Sylvia, all encouraging each other while also noticing the strain on their faces. We were all hurting but we were moving forward.

The heat was beginning to set on us specially during the last 5 kilometers. I had to pour a lot of water on my head at all water stops thereafter and it did greatly to dissipate the heat.

Pouring myself some water along Roxas Blvd

Walking towards the last kilometer, i saw Tin Ferrera who took the time to pace me and pour some of her water on my head. This gave me some sort of a second-wind to sustain a run-jog pace where we were able to over-take a lot of runners. As soon as we reached the last 150 meters, Tin left as i continued to make that one final push.

With Ultra-runner Tin Ferrera

Thanks to Tin for the company!

The mood towards the finish was not only festive, it was also very heart-warming as i had goosebumps when running host-emcee Boy Ramos, his baritone voice booming, acknowledged my arrival and that really psyched me up to sprint the last 150 meters past the large cheering crowd as i crossed the finish line!

42k done in 5:51, a not too proud achievement but satisfied enough to be able to make it despite the sloppy training.

I was waiting for Jun and was a bit worried when i never saw him during the race. Elated when he called me up that he was done and finished in 7:09, his first marathon! Congrats, pre! Fotah…

Jun and i with the extra large 42k medal and finisher’s shirt!

RUPM was a great experience and i would definitely run this one again next year!

Thanks to the Running Photographers for some of the pictures used.

You can check out the race results here: http://unilabactivehealth.com/rununited/results.html

RUPM: A Look At The Medal and Finisher’s Shirt

This should be one of the biggest, if not the pinaka biggest finishers medal runners of the 21k and 42k distances would received when they cross the finish line of the Run United Philippine Marathon this coming Sunday, October 28, 2012!

The medal is humongous, like a large saucer where a cup of rice, your favorite chicken-pork adobo and a dessert can easily fit in! The medal was shown to us earlier this evening during the RUPM Bloggers Conference held at Annabel’s Restaurant along Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

The bloggers meet was organized by Run United themselves in order for them to share the highlights and the unique features of this Sunday’s event and to hear questions and suggestions on how to better improve on the race.

Among the highlights:

• 42k runners will be given the red carpet treatment, which means that they will be walking on a long, red carpet once they enter the starting chute and another upon crossing the finish line.
• about 200 meters before the finish, they will be handed out miniature Philippine flags to wave and foster a sense of nationalism in this Filipino- themed race
• tents will be set-up at the finish line area for the families of the 42k runners so they could cheer them up while nearing the finish line
• a plethora of cowbells will be ringing to signify the crossing of a 42k runner at the finish line (ala PAU-Bald Runner Ultra race finish)
• the medal saucer will be awarded to both the half and full-marathon finishers, as mentioned
• a Finisher’s shirt plus another “Loyalty” shirt for those who have completed Legs 1-3 plus the RUPM (hope i got this right).

The RUPM finisher’s shirt

Another look at the medal

Also, there will be an awarding ceremony for those who have finished the 21k-21k-32k-42k Run United Series of races which will be announced on a later date.

Here’s a quick preview supplied to us by Run United for the October 28 event:

Run United Goes the 42Km Distance

There are marathons, then there’s the Run United Philippine Marathon (RUPM). Everyone is excited to participate in newest addition to the country’s running calendar that will go on a debut run on October 28.

Finally, one of the most-popular running series, Run United is going for a full marathon, as it added 42km to its race categories. And the running community is giving the new ‘mary’ in town its full support.

Unilab Active Health (ULAH) and partner race organizer, Runrio, are certainly pulling out all stops to make the first ever RUPM running success.

“The runners clamored for a marathon from us and we also believe that Run United enthusiasts are up to the challenge of finishing a marathon already, so it’s all systems go for Run United Philippine Marathon,” said Alex Panlilio, head of ULAH.

RUPM, besides being the first marathon jointly organized by ULAH & RunRio, is set to create milestones for participants.

Runners will surely get a memorable start and finish at Run United Philippine Marathon–complete with red carpet, marching bands, exclusive finish arc, colorful balloons, video/photo shots, and the other surprises.

“We want to make sure that participants will not only remember how well organized our events are, we want their participation in our events memorable too by providing them the best race experience possible,” said Panlilio

According to Panlilio, “We cater to all types of runners, including progressive and elite runners. RUPM is our way of helping them level up to more challenging distances.”

RUPM will also be high on nationalistic touches to celebrate Filipino sportsmanship. Philippine miniature flags will be given to all participants crossing the finish line. The design of the limited edition race singlet also depicts Filipino pride.

There will be separate categories for Filipino and foreign winners, to give credit or recognition to more runners.

The Unilab Active Health Village will also be part of the Run United Philippine Marathon experience. It will be classified in four categories: Active Kids Zone, Health, Sports, & Leisure, Runners’ Lounge and iConnect.

RUPM will also feature short and medium distance categories— the Ceelin 500m dash, Hydrite 3k, Dolfenal 5k, Enervon HP Recovery 10k, Alaxan FR 21k with the highlight, Enervon Activ 42k.

All categories except for 42k and 21k will have start and finishline at the SM Mall of Asia while 42k and 21k will start at Bonifacio Global City and finish at SM Mall of Asia.

42K runners will get to run in three cities: Taguig, Makati and Pasay

Online registration is already closed.

In-store registration is until October 26, 2012 at the following outlets:

– RIOVANA BGC – 28th St. cor. 9th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

– RIOVANA Katipunan – 3rd floor Regis Bldg. Katipunan, Quezon City.

– TOBY’S SM Mall of Asia – Ground Floor Entertainment Hall

– TOBY’S Trinoma

Registration fees are as follows:

500m – P350

3K – P600

5K – P700

10K – P800

21K – P900

42K – P1,300

The race kit will contain the following: limited edition RUPM singlet, bib number, and wrist tags for 500m dash participants and will be available upon registration.

RUPM is part of the ULAH running series. Run United started with only 6,000 runners when it was launched in March 2010 and the numbers have steadily grown in succeeding events. An estimated 12,000 runners participated during its previous race—at Run United 3.

Run United 1 on March 4 started off this year’s RunRio Trilogy, followed by Run United 2 on June 17. Besides the run races, Unilab Active Health also has a triathlon series, the third leg, Tri United 3, will be held on November 11 at Ayala, Alabang.

The mechanics as discussed by Unilab’s Mr. Lester Castillo

Race organizer Coach Rio answers some of the media’s questions

For further information or inquiries on race details, results, photos and discussions, please visit the following websites: www.unilabactivehealth.com or www.runrio.com. ### (Press Release)