RACE REPORT: RU2 Exceeds Expectations

Each year, experienced runners and newbies alike are anticipating the Run United Trilogy. Last June 1, Unilab Active Health held the second leg and surprised everyone with lots of exciting changes to the race. As we runners exceeded ourselves, the organizers exceeded our expectations as well.

Listening to the clamor brought about by the registration issues from leg 1, the organizers simplified leg 2's registration, removing the race kit claiming event, and returning the option for online registration and race kit delivery, much to runners' delight. I was one of the early bird registrants, doing it online, and recommending that option to all my fellow runner friends as well. I got my race kit delivered to my doorstep, hassle-free.

Another surprise announcement (and a welcome one at that) was the release of the race maps for leg 2. First time the race start will be at Kilometer Zero at Luneta! Gone is the point A to point B race from the past years (starting at BGC and ending at SM Mall of Asia). Now, the race starts at KM0 and ends at KM0, with a route traversing Roxas Boulevard to Coastal Road all the way to Cavitex! Now that's one straight route with just one turn at the Cavitex entrance and one U-turn at Cavitex. It was such a fresh and exciting route!

The Run United 2 2014 32k Race Map

In order to relax and prevent the stress of looking for a parking space at Luneta on race day, I booked a hotel room at the nearby H2O Hotel at Ocean Park, walking distance away from KM0. I loved the view from my hotel room!

Great view from my H2O Hotel room

Race day came, and our meet-up area is near the Tamaraw statue at KM0. Gun start is at 3am so we were there an hour before.

From L-R: Cholo, Wyatt, me, JP, Ryan, Rolly

Some of my Team Banana teammates were late, so we failed to have a group photo donning our Nike tops. When the announcement was made that we could go to the assembly area, we went ahead as we didn't want to be placed too far back from the starting line.

The usual pre-race program commenced, which started with the national anthem, an opening prayer, a warm-up led by Chris Everingham, and the visuals for the race route and countdown. We had the entire four lanes of Roxas Boulevard the first few kilometers, which is a great strategy for runners to spread out and lessen runner congestion.

At the start of Coastal Road, I met Becky Runner, Ikasam and Kyle who were pacing each other. I mentioned my strategy of doing a constant 6 minute per kilometer pace, with a sub-3:20 target. They joined me for a few kilometers but then I lost them at one of the hydration stations as I was practicing doing quick stops only - pick a water cup, sip, walk a few seconds, then run again. As I ran and looked back, I couldn't see them following me, so I was back alone on my steady pace.

I was able to sustain my target pace, and on my way back, I had to walk it out on the two flyovers to reserve my energy. My strategy on being patient all throughout the course worked, as I had enough energy left to run even on the final kilometers (but I had a cramps attack at KM31 haha!). I finished with a chip time of 3 hours, 18 minutes and 49 seconds. Target achieved! (By the way, my time from 2013 RU2 32k is a miserable 4:16 so almost an hour improvement was a welcome one.)

Thanks to Lem of Pinoyfitness for this shot! Almost at the finish line!

Some race notes:
- Run United races never fail at hydration. As usual overflowing ice-cold water and Gatorade at evenly-spaced hydration stations.
- Lots of marshals and medics and visible ambulances along the route.
- I love the 32k race route and hope something similar will be in store for us this coming RUPM
- Medal quality consistency is way better than 2013's trilogy medals
- The finisher shirt rocks!
- I couldn't help but laugh when some runners blame the organizers for smoke belching vehicles or the foul stench at Coastal Road. I hope people understand that there are things beyond the organizer's control.

Of course, no RU2 race will be complete without the photo ops at the finish line area, as we waited for friends who are about to finish the race.

From L-R: Cholo, JP, Wyatt, me, JC

From L-R: Goldi, Becky, Bernie, Lurvin, me, Wyatt, Reyman, Archie, sleeping Sy and JP. Ikasam sitting down. 

From L-R: Paul, Jireh, Hazielle, me, Sy and Rolly

With officemate and triathlete Jhino and his girlfriend Giselle

From L-R: Syril, me, Ryan, Loyce, Rolly

Another plus? As soon as the race results were officially released two days after the race, it was in two batches - one according to gun time, and another according to chip time! Yay! It's one of the items I was looking for in RU1 and they have it now in RU2. Great job!

Top 7.7% - 217th out of 2794 32k finishers. Nice.

One more leg to cap-off this year's trilogy. I'm excited for RUPM! Thanks Unilab, Runrio and Unilab Active Health!

Afroman Distance Pacer Duties at RU2

Pacing one runner is a difficult task. Imagine pacing four. This is my Run United 2 race experience - tiring yet fulfilling and fun.

Initially, I had wild plans of beating my 32k PR at RU2. Those plans went down the drain with a number of factors:
- Crazy work schedule making me miss my maintenance runs
- Zero mileage for two weeks before the race (previous run was at Slimmerun)
- Hot, hot weather during race day

I could add more but they are just lame excuses (haha!). So when I and my running buddies (Ryan, Rom, Marte, Joshua) met at the assembly area, I decided to take it slow and be an instant pacer. All but Ryan are 32k first-timers so whatever happens, it will be a PR for them. So no pressure whatsoever - no target time, just a decent finish.

The Afroman Distance race route

We started at a 6:30 per kilometer average pace. Everyone was happy with the "easy" pace I was setting but I knew at the back of my head that sooner or later someone from our pace group will not be able to sustain the pace with the difficult weather conditions (and road conditions too!). We were having fun chats and there was even a time when were jokingly running side by side, forming a line and almost occupying one lane of Macapagal road.

By KM14 along Roxas Boulevard on route to Luneta, we merged with the 21k runners. The road became more crowded as the volume of average-paced runners ran together. As KM17 passed, Marte and Joshua slowed down and so there were just Ryan and Rom left to pace.

Our performance from KM20 onwards was just abysmal. As time progressed and as it became hotter and hotter, we had longer walk breaks and longer stops at hydration stations to cool down. We were gulping water and Gatorade beyond our normal race consumption, making us feel heavier (and lazier). We even stopped at KM20 to eat taho when we passed by a taho vendor at the CCP area.

During the last five kilometers of the race, Rom kept telling me and Ryan to go ahead and leave him on his own. I insisted we finish together as a group. When he needed to walk, I would stop and walk. When he's ready to run, I would run. We ran and walked UNITED. Haha!

We crossed the finish line together after 4 hours and 16 minutes. It may have been my slowest 32k time (even slower than my first Afroman run), but I had a blast nonetheless.

Happily crossing the finish line!

Group shot at the finish line c/o Lem of Pinoyfitness

Some race notes:
- I still prefer the BGC to Mall of Asia race route of 2012's Run United. This year's race route is more mentally challenging than physically challenging as it just goes along the roads of Macapagal and Roxas Boulevard. Macapagal seriously needs some road works. I pity barefoot runners running along those dilapidated pavements.
- Great hydration. Runrio has really mastered the hydration of a big race. Cold water and Gatorade never ran out amidst the volume of runners. I just saw a few runners taking a sip and returning their used cups on the tables instead of throwing them at the trash bins. Yuck, right?
- The medal is definitely better this leg than the previous leg. Very obvious they had different suppliers. I would have preferred to see consistency on the medal quality across the three legs.
- The finisher shirt rocks! And I love the loot! I'm such a fan of Enervon HP (and Enervon Activ!).

With runners from Team Titans (from L-R: Fritz, Flip, Jake, Rom, me, Ryan, Noel H., Wins)

My pace group - Congratulations to all of you!

Officemates - afroman distance virgins no more!

Congratulations again to Runrio and Unilab Active Health for staging another successful Run United race event! You've brought more people again to living a healthy lifestyle through running and expanded the community.

One more piece to go!

Rank 1163, 1164 and 1165

Super Positive Split! Haha!

RUPM is on October 6! No more excuses! Training commences.

Afroman Distance at Unilab Run United 2 2013

Leg 1 of the much anticipated Unilab Run United trilogy just happened less than a month ago and I now have the details of the second leg! How exciting can it get? It's definitely a level-up from the usual Runrio races as the lower distance categories (i.e. 3km and 5km) are no longer here. Featured distance on the 2nd leg is the 32km category, otherwise known as the Afroman distance.

WHAT: Unilab Run United 2 2013
WHEN: June 2, 2013 (Sunday)
WHERE: SM Mall of Asia
RACE CATEGORIES: 500m Dash for Kids / 10KM / 21KM / 32KM
RACE ORGANIZER: Runrio

Unilab Run United 2 2013 Assembly and Gun Times

REGISTRATION DETAILS:
Online Registration - from April 1, 2013 to May 12, 2013
https://register.bazumedia.com/reg/form?eventID=3641

In-Store Registration - from April 15, 2013 to May 19, 2013
- Riovana BGC Branch
- Riovana Katipunan Branch
- Toby's SM Mall of Asia Branch
- Toby's SM North The Block Branch

Priority Registration for RU1 21k Runners - from April 10, 2013 to April 14, 2013 at Riovana BGC

Unilab Run United 2 2013 Registration Fees and Race Inclusions

Unilab Run United 2 2013 Singlet Design

Unilab Run United 2 2013 Race Bibs

Unilab Run United 2 2013 500m Dash for Kids Wrist Tag

Post-Race Giveaways:

Unilab Run United 2 2013 - Active Health Ventilation Knapsack

Unilab Run United 2 2013 - Finisher Medals for 21km and 32km

Unilab Run United 2 2013 - Finisher Shirt for 32km

Unilab Run United 2 2013 - Finisher Shirt for 21km

Race Maps:

See you along the 32km route!

Of Cats and Dogs and an Afroman Distance

Not even the heavy outpour could stop the Run United 3 participants from running in the third leg of the Runrio trilogy. Amid the crazy weather, the event was still a big success, and I could now say I'm a convert of running in the rain.

Gun start of 32k runners was early at 3am. Unlike what I did last RU2 wherein I parked my car at Mall of Asia then took the shuttle to the BGC starting line, this time I did the opposite - I parked at BGC and made use of the baggage bus to bring my stuff to Mall of Asia. There were about 2800 registered runners in the Afroman distance, and everyone's excitement to complete the medal pie is just contagious.

I will be pacing my friend Ryan again, with a steady pace target of 6 mins per kilometer, or about 3 hours and 12 minutes of continuous running (my PR is 3:06 for 32k by the way). The race will maximize the roads of BGC before finally crossing Buendia flyover and head to Roxas Boulevard.

It was the wettest of all races I've ever participated in, and there were even times the strong winds were pushing us and slowing us down. We were basically on target until KM24, but the dreaded wall hit us KM25, and so we dropped to an average 7-pace on succeeding kilometers.

The Afroman Map

We clocked in at 3 hours and 25 minutes, shaving off around 40 minutes from Ryan's previous 32k PR. We were far from our original target, but that's still quite a feat!

Different categories merging at the final stretch

Almost at the finish!

Some race observations:

+ The addition of large labelled trash bins was a very welcome change to the race. It was now easier for runners to dispose of their cups after passing through hydration stations

+ Of course, hydration is overflowing (and with the help of the rain, some cups are being filled to the brim, hehe!) 

+ Claiming of finisher kits was organized (however, there were some runners who weren't able to get the finisher shirts of their choice, but will be provided to them at a later date)

+ Baggage counters were organized as well. I got my bag without the hassle of a long queue.

- One area of improvement is the placement of timing mats along the race route - it seems that there are a lot of areas where runners could cheat and do a shortcut. This could have been planned better.

After changing to dry clothes, I stayed for a while to hang out with some Team Titan friends, and of course some photo ops.

With Seph, Rolly and Ryan

With Seph and Arvin

And no race review will be complete without me plotting my race performance. Well, the red region says it all. LOL!

RU3 Performance Graph

To my friends' surprise, after the 32k race, I headed back to Manila Peninsula for the wedding preparations of my sister. Haha! Here's a happy family picture:

Congratulations, ate! You are now Mrs. Eileen Camarillo-Go!

Unilab Run United 3 Featuring the Afroman Distance on September 16, 2012

The most anticipated leg to the Run United Runrio Trilogy - Run United 3 featuring the Afroman 32k race distance category, is coming our way on September 16! Mark your calendars, everyone! This is gonna be big!

WHAT: Unilab Run United 3 2012
WHEN: September 16, 2012 (Sunday)
WHERE: Bonifacio Global City to Mall of Asia (21k and 32k), Mall of Asia (other distances)
RACE CATEGORIES: 500m dash for kids, 3k, 5k, 10k, 21k, 32k (Afroman distance)

REGISTRATION PERIOD: August 6 to September 2 (Online) / August 13 to September 8 (In-store)

ONLINE REGISTRATION LINK: https://register.bazumedia.com/reg/form?eventID=852

IN-STORE REGISTRATION CENTERS:
- Riovana BGC Branch
- Riovana Katipunan Branch
- Toby's SM Mall of Asia Branch
- Toby's Trinoma Branch

Registration Fees and Race Inclusions (Pre and Post-race)

Assembly and Gun Start Times

 PRE-RACE INCLUSIONS:

Run United 3 Singlet

Run United 3 Active Health Sun Visor

Wrist Tags for Parents and Runner Kids (for 500m Dash only)

Flyer for more information on the race

 POST-RACE GIVEAWAYS

32k Finisher Shirt

32k Finisher Medal

21k Finisher Shirt

21k Finisher Medal

Duffel Bag for all race finishers

RACE MAPS 

 

 

 

 

 

******************************

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

******************************

Another Running Spree at Run United 3
All set for the third leg of the Runrio Trilogy 2012 on September 16

Run United is back, after a nearly three-month break. And as the cliché goes, ‘the third time is a charm’. Last year, in fact, a record number of runners estimated at over 14,000 participated in Run United 3. 

Run United 3, the third leg of the Run Rio Trilogy, has always been much anticipated because it offers what is dubbed as the ‘Afroman distance’ or 32k category—not usually included in other run races. Of course, on top of the other race categories: the Ceelin 500m dash, 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k.

“The 32k Afroman Distance in RU3 can be a preparatory race for the full 42.195km category in the upcoming 1st ever Run United Philippine Marathon slated on October 28. RUPM will still have the shorter categories: 500m dash, 3K, 5K, 10K, and 21K.” said Alex Panlilio, Head of Unilab Active Health (ULAH).

Meanwhile, according to premiere race organizer Coach Rio dela Cruz, the runners’ anticipation over Run United 3 will be all worth it as new features and surprises await them on September 16. For one, there will be new routes as well as different starting and finish lines again for Run United 3 in the 21K and 32K categories, like in the previous two races for 21K.

The 32K runners will have a gun start at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) starting at 3am, an hour ahead of the 21k runners. They will be led from BGC to take their first 10k in University Parkway area, then move up to Kalayaan Flyover. Then, they will go all the way down to Buendia, take left at Roxas Boulevard, turnaround taking the roads of Vicente Sotto, Diosdado Macapagal and on to EDSA before finally turning left at Seaside Boulevard for the finish at the Mall of Asia (MOA). 

The 21k will have an earlier gun start at 4am compared to Run United 2’s 430am. They will have the same route as the 32k runners, but instead of going to EDSA they will turn right after Macapagal Avenue, turning right at Seaside Boulevard and then all the way to the finish line in MOA. 

“Run United 3 runners will get to run across three cities— Taguig, Makati and Pasay. Based from the feedback we got from them, they really enjoyed the experience and the new routes. The earlier gun start of both race categories will give runners a safer route as well,” said Dela Cruz of RunRio Inc., the race organizer.

Online registration for Run United 3 started on August 6 and will continue until September 2, 2012. In-store registration will start on August 13 and will be up to September 9, 2012. Registration venues include Riovana in BGC and Katipunan, Quezon City; and Toby’s at SM Mall of Asia and Trinoma.

The runners will receive their complete race kits upon registration (Active Health Sun Visor, Singlet, Bib with B-Tag and wrist tag for 500m dash runners). The wrist tag for 500m dash kid’s runner which is usually given on race day will now be included in their race kits upon registration. 

Run United 3, which is for the benefit of Gawad Kalusugan and Children’s Hour, is part of the ULAH running series. Run United started with only 8,000 runners when it was launched in March 2010 and the numbers have steadily grown in succeeding events. An estimated 14,000 runners participated during its last offering— at 2012 Run United 2. 

Run United 1 on March 4 started off this year’s RunRio Trilogy, followed by Run United 2 last June 17. Runners who completed all the longest distances (21k-21k-32k) in all of the three Run United races will be recognized at the RunRio Trilogy Awards Night.  

Fun and exciting activities await runners and their family at the Active Health Village, new and bigger Active Kids Zone, Runners’ Lounge, I-Connect Zone, The Food Pavilion and Health, Sports, & Leisure Zones.

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