Safeguard-2XU Sole Racing: Completing the Trilogy

Safeguard-2XU Sole Racing goodies! Love them all! Thanks to Coach Rio, Ally, Dada and Mommy Vimz!

The long weekend went by so fast, I still want more time to rest. Coming from a Friday mid-shift work, I had to wake up very early Saturday (with only a couple of hours of shut eye) to meet the 7:30am call-time of an outreach activity (related to HP Run 2013 which I will blog separately). After hours of hard labor, I had to rush back to Glorietta, Makati to meet fellow blogger friends Rolly (Speedy Titan), CJ (Run Adobo King) and Thirdy. From there, it's going to be long ride to Nuvali, venue for the third and final leg of Safeguard and 2XU's Sole Racing. We opted for an overnight stay to get rid of the stress of travelling very early on race day. Besides, we only planned for a low-budget accommodation, and it's in Sogo Sta. Rosa! Haha!

After driving for 2 hours (long part of which we endured after exiting at Sta. Rosa SLEX exit), we went straight to Nuvali for dinner. We celebrated Rolly's birthday at Uncle Cheffy's, with pork ribs & rice, a pan of pizza, and a sampler of desserts! What a carboload party!

Happy birthday, Rolly!

We checked-in at the hotel around 8:30pm, freshened up, and readied our race gear for the next day's race.

Group shot at our room

I set my alarm for 12:00mn, as gun start is 4:00am and I normally eat my light breakfast 4 hours before any race. Problem is, I was tossing and turning, unable to get any decent sleep. Time was ticking. When the alarm sounded, I reset it to alarm 12:30am, still hoping I'd be able to take a nap but to no avail. Defeated, I just got up, had my breakfast and then showered, all while my companions were sound asleep.

At 2:45am, everyone was all set, so we were off.

Ready (but sleepy)

After a few minutes ride, we parked near the race venue. It was time for some warm-up and I was wishing this time that my Soleus GPS watch would lock a signal, but it still failed. So again, I will not have any chance of tracking my per-kilometer performance. Sigh.

Calf compressions FAIL! Hahaha!

There was no need to rush to the assembly area because as always, this race is as intimate as it could get. Runners who joined are the more "seasoned" ones.

By the way, days before the event, there was an announcement of the "Fastest Five Challenge", a winner-take-all competition. The grand prize? An all-expense paid trip to Cebu with accommodations and a free pass to the Cebu Marathon 2014! Rolly wanted to join so we formed a group of five bloggers. It wouldn't hurt to try anyway. And so TEAM BLOGGERS was formed, with the following members:

Allan - Running Free Manila

Bee - Kamote Runner

Noel - Deemen Runner

Rolly - Speedy Titan

Vener - Run Unlimited

The 21k Race Route

I was not expecting the race route to be that tough! Hats off to TBRDM participants doing this 21k route in two loops! It was crazy uphills and downhills which seemed to never end! Not to mention the dizzying final kilometers which twisted and turned and were just mentally draining. But don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the route, what with the favorable weather and ice-cold hydration all throughout.

I did sub-2 finishes during leg 1 and leg 2, so I was expecting one on the final leg as well. However, I failed to meet this target, perhaps due to the lack of sleep, perhaps due to the killer uphells which definitely slowed me down, perhaps due to an all-cement course. The list goes on and on; I will never run out of excuses. Hahaha! Yet 2:04 is still a decent time. I'd take it.

That tired face. (Photo courtesy of Running Photographers)

Captured finish line moment (photo courtesy of Mang Ernie's Photography)

Of course, after the race it was time again for lots of photos with running friends.

With Rolly, Allan and Hendy

Group shot courtesy of Wesley Oraña - Team Titans, Team Alpha1, Six:30, TPPB, Team Ponkan represent!

With the bloggers at the Safeguard Photo Wall

Team Bloggers!

We stayed at the event activity area to watch the awarding of winners and the raffle. Team Cebu Runners bagged the Fastest Five win with an average time of 1:41. Boy, they were fast! Congratulations to them!

The Activity Area

Bonding with the fellow bloggers continued until breakfast.

At Conti's Nuvali

Sending off Ibet - he is joining the ING NYM! I'm green with envy! Good luck, Ibet!

After a tiring run, we were back at the hotel and I was able to get a decent 2-hour, uninterrupted sleep, ready to drive again back to Manila.

A quick break at KFC SLEX

Hope Safeguard and 2XU stage another trilogy race next year!

(Rainy) Sole Racing

Slowly getting my blog backlogs done.

I had the opportunity again to run in the second leg of the Safeguard-2XU Sole Racing series, this time moving to a new race location - SM Mall of Asia, last 18th of August. It had the same setup as the first leg - a race kit claiming expo which doubles as the race village come race day.

August 16-17: Race Kit Claiming

I was one of the first (excited) people who came to SM Mall of Asia's Music Hall to claim my kit and my fellow blogger friends'. I was so early, some of the booths were still being prepared the time I arrived. As usual, claiming was hassle-free, the staff were very friendly and approachable, and they even took time to counter-check each of the contents of the race kits in front of whoever's claiming them. I had the chance to have a quick chat with Runrio's Ally Lim before heading out, carrying 4 heavy race kit bags back to my car - mine, CJ's, Thirdy's and Rolly's.  

Race Kit Claiming at SM Mall of Asia's Music Hall

Race Kit Contents

August 18: Race Day
Race day is red and black day! Having joined Leg 1, I had the 2XU calf compressions. This leg, they gave away the 2XU sunvisor. I also purchased my third pair of Thorlos running socks (Thorlos 84N), the model which guarantees maximum cushioning, and I'm so excited to test run it on this event.

Red and Black! Alpha-mode ON!

Assembly time was 3am, with gun start slated at 4am. It was drizzling that early Sunday morning but nothing could stop runners from enjoying a good 21km race.

With fellow early bird Patrick "Runningshield" Concepcion

Met my favorite running couple Wes and Mish - they're part of the Six:30 Loveliest Team, competing in the Fastest Team Challenge

The 21km race route was mostly flat - a perfect PR course!

I had my usual target of a sub-2 half marathon, but with the flat course, I was hoping a sub-1:55. But alas, by the time runners reached the 6 to 7KM mark at Roxas Boulevard, it rained! Not just your ordinary rain, but a rain so hard visibility was low. I had races before where it rained but not like this. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. It was a perfect reason to skip hydration stations and keep on running. I was a bit concerned though that with wet shoes and wet socks, the dreaded blisters would come next. Fortunately, I was wearing Thorlos, and it delivered as expected - no blisters whatsoever!

Half-way point. Wet as hell!

The race, with its limited participants (a thousand runners), is as intimate as it could get. That for me is the best feature of Sole Racing. It's also a venue wherein you could see mostly seasoned runners participating, so you'll get the adrenaline rush to go faster.

Before the final right turn at Seaside Drive

Almost at the finish! Tired. Wrong running form. Haha!

Yay, I managed to still do a sub-2! 1:59:48 to be exact, haha! Amid the heavy and wet shoes, I'm contented with my results and still consider it an achievement. Of course, post-race is the time to meet runner friends and take snaps.

With Thirdy, Rolly and Coach Mherlz

With Team Alpha1 teammate Bry FFS

With Wesley, JP, Rolly and Gilbert - the fast bunch

We stayed for the awarding ceremonies and the raffle. Thirdy was one lucky guy, winning a Timex watch in the raffle. I had no doubt Six:30 Loveliest Team would bag the Fastest Team Challenge award. When they went on stage to receive their trophy, I was a bit envious. I wish my running team's still active. But everyone has their valid reasons to be on a hiatus so it's no big deal. I'm just emo. Hehe!

With Rikki, Rolly, Mommy Vimz and Thirdy

Six:30 Loveliest - Fastest Team Challenge Winners! Congratulations!

Post-race breakfast at Chowking with the usual suspects

I placed 128th out of 825 21km finishers. Since the results released were based on gun time, I plugged in the data at MS Excel and created my version based on chip time. Haha, excel geek. I then posted below image on FB, including results from celebrities and runner friends.

Consistently doing a sub-2 weee!

Leg 3 is on October 27 at Nuvali! Surprise, surprise!

Safeguard-2XU Sole Racing Leg 2 Fastest Group Challenge

Mechanics on the poster above.

Invite your teammates and join the Safeguard-2XU Sole Racing Leg 2 happening on August 18 at the SM Mall of Asia!

Safeguard-2XU Sole Racing: The Bomb!

With the running boom nowadays, its very difficult to be part of a race where you wouldn't push, shove and squeeze your way through a sheer number of runners. Runrio's Sole Racing last April 21 is one of the few intimate races every runner dreams of.

April 19 - Race Kit Claiming

The 3-day race kit claiming event happened at 9th avenue, Bonifacio Global City. The claiming was quick and well-organized; took me not more than 5 minutes to get my hands on the tote bag containing my race bib, hydration bottle, 2XU calf compressions and some goodies from Safeguard.

Race kit claiming tent at 9th avenue

Well-organized booths and friendly staff

The race kit contents

April 21 - Race Day

With an early 4am gun start, I was at the venue before 3am to get a good parking slot. I had time to warm-up and meet with fellow bloggers and runner friends. Noticed a lot of security and bouncers at the assembly area. With the recent Boston Marathon bombing, I expected security measures will be increased. There were even a number of security personnel with accompanying bomb-sniffing dogs! Marshals were strictly checking runners' race bibs and if they're carrying a hydration bottle with them.

As expected, a lot of photographers were walking around and documenting the event through their cameras. We were camera-ready, of course.

Photo courtesy of Phillip BF: Run Adobo King, Thirdy Lopez, Deemen Runner, Speedy Titan

After the national anthem and a short prayer, runners were then briefed on the race route, which made good use of BGC's streets before heading out to Buendia flyover then back. The route was quite a challenge due to its many turns.

The 21k race route

As we were sent off, I couldn't help but complain on how humid it was. HUMID. I was sweating like there's no tomorrow but I was feeling great. I had my hydration bottle on my left hand, trying from time to time to switch it to the right but for some weird reason, I prefer to hold it with my left hand. Rolly and I were pacing each other at the first few kilometers of the race, but I was eventually on my own the latter part.

Photo taken by Phillip BF while we were all running: Sweaty me!

The best part of the race is how clean the race route is all throughout. There were no wasted hydration cups on the street. Hydration stations were manned by marshals carrying pitchers (of water and Gatorade) and runners just had to refill their bottles. Marshals were even kind enough to pour water on runners' heads to cool them down as they pass the hydration stations.

I kept a constant pace and my strategy was I would not look at my GPS watch and just surprise myself at KM20.

At the Buendia flyover. On my way back. 

With 3 kilometers left, Runningshield Patrick Concepcion passed by with his usual negative split pace. He made me eat dust again. Haha!

Upon seeing the KM20 marker, I looked at my watch and it registered 1:53. I can do a sub-2! Yay! I took it easy since I knew whatever happens, I can bag that sub-2.

Almost at the finish line!

I crossed the finish line with an official chip time of 1:58:54.

Another great thing about this race is how intimate it was. With only a thousand runners in attendance and only one race category of 21km, it was easy to bump into a familiar face every once in a while. And I only have the photos below as proof of how many friends I met during that day.

With Vener Roldan and Sir Patrick Concepcion

With Zoot Runner of the Day JP and Rolly 

With Loyce and Thirdy

With my running idol Patrick "Runningshield" Concepcion

With the man who conceptualized this race - Coach Rio!

With Sir Rene "Jazz Runner" and Bee "Kamote Runner"

With Barefoot Daves

Doing the superposition with running couple Tey and Earl

With beauty queen Miriam Quiambao

The Quartet is complete again!

With Mommy Vimz "Kulitrunner" and Allan "Running Free Manila"

We had our post-race breakfast at Banapple Market Market.

At Banapple

2 days later, official race results were released. I ranked 97th among 977 runners, which translates to top 9.9% overall. Happy with my results!

Leg 2 of Sole Racing happens on the 18th of August.