Everyone's ranting about how the
711 Run 800 race got postponed a number of times, with participants refunding due to race and schedule conflicts or just for the loss of interest and trust that the organizers will still be able to push through with the event. In my humble opinion, the organizers behind this race more than made up for the postponement hassles. It was a great start-of-the-year race for me. New route, overflowing hydration and more importantly, a number of volunteers, race marshals and medic along the course.
This is my first race this 2013, with my last running event way back October 2012's Run United Philippine Marathon. I rested for two months to nurse my injured right ankle. Come to think of it, what a crazy comeback run doing 21k! I made sure though that this will just be an LSD, so I told my running blogger friend CJ (
Run Adobo King) that I'll just pace with him all throughout.
And since we're on LSD-mode, I brought my phone with me and be on photographer-mode as well. So I'll share my race experience through the pictures I captured during the event. Here goes:
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| I arrived and had a bit of trouble finding a parking slot, but alas, the road near DFA became one big parking space. I met CJ and Thirdy and passed by the race kit claiming area/on-site registration booth. |
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| The stage is set! We were surprised that the starting area of the race was still far from the race village. We had a bit of warm-up and realized we were already a few minutes late for the gunstart. 21k runners were already off. Running host greeted us as we crossed the starting line area. |
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| As we started the race, I was excited to be running on new ground. Along Coastal Road, road cones were placed to give runners an entire lane for safe running. Kilometer markers were aptly placed as well. |
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| With the recent incident in PSE Bull Run, I was not surprise to see a lot of medical personnel along the route. They particularly paid attention to this critical part of the race. |
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| I had to have a photo in the Coastal Road toll gate area. This area is prohibited for runners so this day's a first! |
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| The race progressed and we got to the pivotal part of the race route which is in Cavitex. I got to see a number of familiar faces already going back. At half-way point is another photo opportunity! Haha! |
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| Sorry, blurry shot by tired CJ! Running in Cavitex is fun!!! |
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| Here's the end of Cavitex. We're about to go back to Coastal Road to retrace our way back to the finish line. The sun is rising! Oh no, heat! Haha! |
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| At the flyover, we had to take a picture with Cavitex as the background. That's where we ran! |
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| Another shot at the flyover. Vehicle volume now increasing as we were heading back. |
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| Can't get enough of the toll gate. LOL! |
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| Medics treating a runner who was suffering a bad case of cramps. |
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| Almost at Macapagal! The shadows of walkers - me and CJ! |
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| With a few meters separating the hydration stations, it was really great to see different hydration brands in one race event. I think 711 is the only one that can pull this off. FIRST STOP: POWERADE! |
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| SECOND STOP: GATORADE! |
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| THIRD STOP: POCARI SWEAT! I don't see any possibility of someone dehydrating with the overflowing hydration. |
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| We crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 48 minutes. The last wave of 3k runners were just sent off as we finished the race. There were a lot of runners going around the race village. There were a lot of sponsor booths and freebies! |
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| Among a number of sponsor booths, there's only one that caught my attention: ENERVON HP! This is my favorite recovery drink. I think I had four cups of their delicious chocolate drink here. :) |
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| Happy Runners! Everyone had a blast in 711 Run 800! |
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| Me, CJ and Thirdy having our post-race breakfast at McDonalds. |
With the event's success, I'm sure there'll be a repeat of the 711 Run, and I'll be one of the first to register for it. Congratulations to the organizers!
