Adidas KOTR 2010

This was Adidas' 3rd King of the Road run and we were excited to join. Paying Php850 was a bit high but when we read that there would be a buffet breakfast, we thought that the registration fee would be ok. The race packet contained an adidas singlet, race bib, timing band/RFID, route map, and rules.

It's Oct 24, 2010 and we woke up at 330am, slipped into our running attire, sip a cup of milo and grabbed our food and frozen fruit juice. We were excited and would like to arrive as early as possible to get a good parking space.

When we arrived at the Fort, we parked at our favorite spot near Honda Showroom; took some souvenir photos even if it's still dark.




Some booths were already opened and distributing some freebies. While waiting for gun time, i queued to get some give aways--women's health magazine, colgate plax, headband, samples from Body Shop. My kids didnt want to get some stuff so they just waited for me.








What is this!!! was this the buffet breakfast we're waiting for? Summing it up, this just cost less than P50 .






Since this is the 3rd KOTR, i am expecting more from the organizer. Also this was my 10th run and i pretty know what factors make a running event successful. I rate this event 5 , 10 being the highest. (still on top of my list--Neutrogena and Unilab1)

Here are my observations:
1) Insufficient staff at the baggage counter--the queue was soooo long that the 21k/10k race had started and yet many runners were still in line to deposit their bags/backpacks.
2) insufficient hydration -- while it is the responsibility of a runner to prepare for his hydration especially for the 21k, organizer should have provided enough water stations. while there were sponsors for the hydration, the organizer seemed not mindful whether hydration was enough.
3) not enough marshalls to guide the runners.Some runners were out of path, making short cuts; a lot of 5k runners were running head on with 10k runners because of crowded pathways
4) buffet breakfast--where? huh --gosh the breakfast in styropore consisted of one big hotdog, 2 pandesal, a butter and jam--so this is it? we were expecting at least tapa or ham and egg.

Good thing the weather cooperated; good thing there was UST pep squad; good thing it was an adidas singlet.

will i ever join 2011 KOTR? at Php600 max , yes; but at Php850 never...

Dia Del Galeon 10.07.2010

The Philippines hosted the International Dia del Galeon Festival 2010 from Sept 20 to Oct 9 .Highlight of which was the docking of the replica of 17th century Galeon from Spain at Pier 13, Port of Manila.

The vessel departed last March 21 from Seville Spain and has crossed the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. It docked in China in time for the Shanghai International Expo before heading to Manila.

The Galleon is 51 meters long and can hold up to 5,000 people! It weighs 495 tons and has ten cast iron cannons reminiscent of days gone by.


My current photo buddy and I braved the hot weather and went to Pier 13 to see the visiting vessel.


We arrived at the port at around 1130am and the queue for registration was quite long. Luckily we were able to register before the staff totally went off to lunch. After the break, a brief orientation on the history of galeon trade was conducted. The moderator was entertaining as he injected humorous lines. He was a public school teacher and he definitely researched for this event.

After the orientation , our batch was escorted to the gates of the pier leading to the galeon. It was our first time to enter Pier 13 and any of the ports in Manila so we're like ignorants.

After about 300meter walk, we saw the galeon and we were awed . Even though it is a replica, the sheer size and built was amazing to behold as if we were transported back to the Spanish era.

Here are some of the items we saw inside the galeon:



There were also cultural presentation on the pier just before the stairs leading to the galeon.



These beautiful students were from a public school whose name i forgot. Their costumes were very colorful and they were game to pose for the photographers present.

Step Out-Avon Walk & Run Against Breast Cancer

Avon's walk and run for breast cancer awareness held last Oct 3, 2010 at SM Mall of Asia grounds. It consisted of 3k walk and 5k run. For the 3k walk, i simply purchased 2010 Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer shirt for Php149 for my husband, my niece and for me.

The event coincided with my mom's 70th birthday. While she didnt join us in this event, my husband , daughter and niece walked 3km to support this cause. My son preferred to "shoot" us.

The 5k run went ahead of the walk. As usual, the Kenyans won the male and female dash.



Before the walk started, there was a rather long entertainment number hosted by GMA7 Kapuso stars.



Arnold Clavio, Iza Calzado, Love Anover, Susan Enriquez, Lyn Ching were there to name a few. The US Ambassador , Avon president and Major Venus Raj graced the event as well.
The mini show was long enough to make us bore. Besides the sun was up and it was already hot past 7am. To kill boredom, we posed for several shots for souvenir.

So much for the show, the walk finally started at 720am amidst the white and pink confetti.



After walking for half km, i felt this urge to run. So we ended up walking and running throughout the course. My son took several shots of the TV stars while waiting for us at the finish line.

After completing the course, we headed for the parking lot. We did not attend any post race activities as it was already past our breakfast time. We ended at Goodah for a nice hot meal.

...Pasig River run is next on 10.10.10