Master Run

The Run with the masters is a fund raising event for our Philippine team for the World Athletics Masters Championships this June Held in the USA. Supporting the Philippine team is something I hold dear. And one of the few causes I really care about.

Being my first 10k run, I implemented a 10 week program that I saw in Front Runner's magazine for transitioning from the 5k to the 10k. Granted that time constraints prevented me from following it to the letter. I was aiming for the top 300 finisher's medals and looking at the race results of 10k runs, you would need at a sub 1 just to be sure to get to the top 300. A sub 30 for a 5k race would now be easily attainable for me, but my base is still not enough for 10k.

So come race day, I left for the race 30 minutes later than I would normally leave due to the venue being nearer than the usual BHS routes. I realized that carrying 4 bottles on my hydration pack feels a bit heavy (I am usually using just 2, until now) so I gulped down half of the contents 2 of the rear bottles .There is a small starting area at the front of Rizal monument (While the finish line is stationed at the grandstand). The sound system was far from being loud and by  5:40 am the gun was fired for 10k.

The run was tiring, especially the Flyover before the turning point at Buendia.A lot of experienced runners usually say don't expect much on your first try in a new, longer distance. Now I learned it firsthand.


By the Finish line I clocked in at 1:07:17 Not enough for the Sub 1 I was planning on getting but luckily enough to get a top 300 finisher's Medal. Hoping to improve on for the next Races.

Some of the Cons were lack of Photographers, On the past 3 races I participated in, there was only 1 hobbyist/ photographer taking the shots and he is also a runner (and not an official Photographer) . So you really can't demand having your photo taken because what he was doing was a labor of love. I hope this is something the organizers can improve on next time. Another one they said was the lack of hydration and the 20k route (which did not concern me due to the fact that I had my hydration belt and was running 10k).


Overall, those cons were forgivable, since this was for a legit, noble cause. And the organizers were honest on admitting their mistakes and improving the next time around.Good luck on our athletic masters this coming June.

By the end of the race, I was able to cop a "Run with the master's" Shorts. A nice way to compliment one of the best singlets so far.