Wednesday, November 2, 2011

National Milo Marathon -- From Start to Finish


"This is the day!", I told my self. I woke up at 3am, a breakthrough for a non-early-riser like me, had another set for my checklist, completed some stretching techniques before I hit the shower, backed myself up with a power meal then I left the house. I did it all for the 35th National Milo Marathon Gensan Leg. Sounds serious huh! Really I was.

After I and my friends zoomed our way to Gensan Oval Plaza, we've witnesses runners from all ages getting ready through their own various ways before the voice over announced to get set for the big race that day. We lined up for the 5K Category and boy!, t'was a whole herd of two-legged racers equally excited with a first timer like me. Picture taking here and there, I have even bumped into a blogger mentor, Avel Manansala, and of course, we also had a photo shoot for some sort of souvenirs.

Few minutes before the marathon started
Large group of runners getting ready for the race


The gun shot was heard as the official start of the race for our category and everyone else roared like victorious soldiers heading for an important battle of our lives. Well, I was not surprised. One can really yell to exclaim the excitement out. And off we went.


The marathon experience


It was a fine day for all of us. The weather was good. The sun rose peacefully without a threat of cumulus clouds. Everybody enjoyed the moment, the moment of a marathon, running, jogging and walking all the way to reach the end point. We even met some familiar faces. We were also amazed with people in their running outfits. We were glad to see little kids passing by with their moms and dads. And of course, we enjoyed the experience of exploring the main streets of Gensan with our running shoes. 

Glad to see families get together and kids-on-the-go
Reaching the limits while exploring Gensan 
Familiar faces from top to bottom (clockwise):
Dolefil Managing Director Mr. Simon Denye with some staffs,
officemates, Sox Bloggers' Lead Sir Avel Manansala


An hour have past and we reached the finish line at last. Bathed in our own sweat, we never felt that we were tired during the course. The energy was there. All smiles were present especially when a certificate was handled to each one of us. Very fulfilling!

Approaching the Finish Line
The proud runners with their certificates
All smiles and never tired


Imagine, with over two thousand participants, I ran the race and finished it! I got a copy of the result for our category and I ranked as the 1,478th to reach the finish line with a chip time of 1:01:07. Not bad enough, right? Not quite! 



The thing is, I never joined to race, never in my dreams that I wanted to become a runner. I joined for the experience - the thrill, the interaction, the people with their friends and families, the moment. Above all, I also would like to take part of the event's advocacy to the less fortunate. With my own little ways such as this, I know that this act would come a long long way not just 5K or even 21K. I'll join again if there will be next!

I have passed the 3K, did the 5K and my next target is 21K!
Why not?

Here's the official result of 5K category. 
thAEnk-worthy: RUNRIO and my officemate for sharing this.









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