Run United Philippine Marathon on October 5, 2014

The third and final leg of the Run United series is fast approaching. Participants, especially from the marathon category, will be treated with surprises as have been from the previous RUPM's. This is also everyone's opportunity to complete the trilogy medals and flaunt their achievement for completing all three legs.

WHAT: Run United Philippine Marathon 2014
WHEN: October 5, 2014 (Sunday)
WHERE: SM Mall of Asia
RACE CATEGORIES: 500m dash for kids, 10km, 21km, 42.195km
RACE ORGANIZER: Runrio
RACE BENEFICIARY: Gawad Kalinga

RUPM 2014 Assembly and Gun Times

REGISTRATION DETAILS:

Online Registration (August 15 to September 14)

- LINK: https://regonline.activeglobal.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1595239

In-store Registration (August 22 to September 21)

- RUNNR Store BGC

- Toby’s Robinson's Galleria

- Toby’s SM North, The Block G/F

- Toby’s SM Mall of Asia

RUPM 2014 Registration Fees and Kit Inclusions

Pre-Race:

RUPM 2014 Singlet Design

RUPM 2014 Ventilation Bag and Visor

Post-Race:

RUPM 2014 21k Finisher Shirt Design

RUPM 2014 42k Finisher Shirt Design

RUPM 2014 Finisher Shirt Size Chart

RUPM 2014 Finisher Medal Design for 21k and 42k

Here's a preview of the trilogy medals stacked together - CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS. If this does not excite you, then what will?

CITIUS. ALTIUS. FORTIUS.

As always, registration may end earlier as race kits run out so register now! See you on October 5th!

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!

Sub-2 Pacer Duty (A Success!) at Run United Leg 1

Aaargh! Another late blog post. Thank God for a non-working holiday, I finally was able to open my blog site again and burn some backlogs. I've been looking forward to sharing my RU1 race experience for quite some time now.

March 13 - Race Kit Claiming:
Much controversy surrounded this year's leg 1 of Run United, with the introduction of prepaid cards as part of the registration process. Well as for me, I did an online registration the very first day registration opened, so I didn't have to go through queuing for the prepaid card purchase. Prepaid cards, especially of the 21km category, was sold out in record time, with a lot of speculations that scalpers hoarded them and selling them at much higher prices. There were some runners who took it against Coach Rio and the organizers of RU1 unfortunately. I think it's quite unfair though, to blame organizers when the intent was good for the prepaid card system - for runners to input their complete registration details at the comfort of their own homes, and for proper tracking of the singlet and finisher shirt demand and supply. Again, runners only have themselves to blame - if no one would support these scalpers, they wouldn't thrive anyway.

Race kit claiming was slated from March 13 to 15 at Mall of Asia. After attending a shoe launch at Glorietta, I was accompanied to MoA by Run Adobo King CJ and Speedy Titan Rolly. What greeted us was a very, very long line. With thousands of registrants, I kinda expected this. Fortunate for us though, fellow runner Syril was already in queue and he offered getting our confirmation slips so he could claim our kits together with his. Such luck!

Selfie with the snake-like lines at the background

Runner Newbie Wannabe Photo - presenting the 21k race map! Lol!

Finally getting our kits after the long wait

Race kit! I'm runner #8667!

March 16 - Race Day:
With my crazy Team Banana teammates' idea to wear a uniform on race day, I borrowed a Team Ninoy cycling shirt from Boss Raphie a couple of days before the race. I was not sure if the top will be a comfortable fit, but I borrowed it anyway. RU1 will be sort of a newbie-type race - me wearing a lot of new running gear - my new Garmin FR220, new Asics Kayano 20 shoes, new 2XU 3/4 compressions tights, and a newly-borrowed top! Haha!

I was at the venue early, so as not to get stressed with parking, and one by one, my teammates arrived. Such fun seeing us donning the yellow shirt (as yellow as a banana could be), and of course we wouldn't miss to grab some photos before heading to the race assembly area.

From L-R: Mark Runner, Beck Runner, Ikasam, Chef Lloyd, Mervin, Prof Syril, me

We were way at the back of the pack in the 21k assembly area, and found out runners will be released in two waves (obviously we were in Wave 2).

Photo courtesy of Tong Pascua. Team Yellow!

Initial discussion that we had, we will run together with a target sub-2, but will be grouped in pairs - Wyatt and Ikasam, Syril and Lloyd, me and Becky. Imagine 6 runners running as a group until finish line.

However all that changed as the race started. With the sheer number of runners, we were zigzagging our way to overtake runners left and right. It was energy-consuming and you could easily lose the person you are running with. I stuck with the plan of pacing Becky though, even when Syril and Wyatt sped off to do their normal race pace. I can sense Becky is on peak condition and will grab the sub-2 target.

Run United 1 2014 21k race route

I tried my best to be a strict pacer, watching Becky's running form, reminding him not to shout back to runners greeting him along the way, pushing him to lessen his walk breaks at hydration stations and asking him just to take sips instead of consuming entire cups of water and Gatorade. He also keeps on looking at his own GPS watch, something I don't approve, as I want to remove the pressure from him by being the one to monitor our run time. At the race mid-point, we were very much on track with our target, with some buffer to relax.

Thanks Sir Art Mendoza for this shot at one of the Gatorade hydration stations

As the final 3 kilometers approached, it became tougher as we were running with runners from all categories. There were a lot of walkers and selfie runners who just can't follow basic running etiquette. It was like the start of the race all over again as we zigzagged our way to the final stretch. At the last hydration station, I asked Becky if he wants to stop and he answered no. We sped off and reached the final U-turn point on the way to the finish line.

It was a photo finish - we clocked in with a chip time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 52 seconds. My sub-2 pacer duty is a success! Great job to Becky for keeping up with the pace!

Almost at the finish! Photo courtesy of I Love to do this

After the race, of course it's time to hang out and meet fellow runners and finishers at the race village.

With the Runner Mamaws - Ralph, Mervin, Ikasam, Wyatt, Syril, JP, Cholo, Pat, Archie (Photo courtesy of JP)

With Syril, Rolly, Vincent, Ryan and JP (Photo courtesy of JP)

So sad we didn't have a complete group shot. Team Banana in all our yellow glory - Becky, Ikasam, Wyatt, Syril, Lloyd, Mervin. Missing Team Banana Members in RU1: Raphie, Goldi, Mark Mark

Breakfast time with Ryan, Hazielle, Rolly, Joey, Jake and Flip at Mang Inasal

A couple of days after, race results were released. I'm a bit disappointed though that they only released ranking based on gun time. I'm not really sure how difficult it is to generate another set of results based on chip time, which is only fair for a race with waves.

Well, I just generated one on my own using my MS Excel skills. Haha! So it turned out my 506th ranking in gun time is way lower than my chip time ranking which is 379th! Out of 4717 21k finishers, that's really something.

I can't wait for leg 2 this coming June 1! It's another Afroman distance to conquer! Congratulations and thanks to Unilab Active Health and Runrio for helping us runners again to exceed ourselves!

RUPM 2013: A Red Carpet Finish

*** Press Release ***

Run United Philippine Marathon Seals 2013 Running Streak of ULAH, RunRio

Red Carpet Finish for All Marathon Participants

Run United Philippine Marathon (RUPM), the third and last leg of the RunRio Trilogy, is even more in demand than its inaugural run last year. Only slots for Ceelin 500m dash are available, the rest are full.

“Demand for this race is really high. The half and full marathon slots (21km and 42km) got full five and three weeks, respectively, before race date (Oct. 6). Most of our participants belong to the "progressive set" - runners who have been continuously challenging themselves with longer distances or better PR,” said Alex Panlilio, Head of Unilab Active Health (ULAH).

RUPM, which is on its second year, will feature four race categories namely: Ceelin 500m, Hydrite 10km, Alaxan FR 21km and Enervon Activ 42km.

“RUPM is also much-awaited as it wraps up our run races for the year. The runners are also excited to finally complete their United medal for Run United 1, 2 and RUPM,” added Panlilio.

42-year-old Ly Nary of Phnom Penh, Cambodia is among those who is hoping to finish strong at RUPM. “I hope to finish among the top three females in the 42km foreign category with a target of 3hours and 30 minutes.”

Nary was a finisher of Paris Marathon. Her participation at RUPM is supported by the United Pharma company in Phnom Penh. “I am excited to see the Filipino running community and to explore the Philippines after the race. I really look forward to this great experience with the United Filipinos!”

20th time Ironman finisher Dan Brown has also followed a regimen in preparation for RUPM. Brown, who is also one of the Unilab Active Health ambassadors, considers physical and mental preparation as key to achieving an excellent race.

“I am preparing by doing a short period of specific run overload. I have been increasing my weekly run distance by around 30% over the past month or so. I have been adding in some longer intervals at or just below goal race pace to simulate what my body will need to do at 3AM on October 6,” says Brown.

“I also start to prepare my mind to suffer a little towards the end. I know things will get tough as the body breaks down so I have to be aware and ready mentally for that,” he adds.

The completed UNITED medal from the 2013 Run United Trilogy series (21-21-21, 21-32-21, 21-32-42) fits together with the RUPM finisher’s medal. According to Unilab Active Health, securing all these medals is a testament of the runners’ commitment to continuously exceed themselves in the field of running.

The 3,000 Enervon Activ 42km runners and finishers will get a VIP treatment—before, during and after the race. First off, they will be among the first to try and taste Active Health's latest offering in its Sports Nutrition Line - the Active Health Sports Gel, which will be launched at Run United Philippine Marathon. On top of Gatorade, ION Energy Drink, water, sponges and bananas will be given out at certain points of the routes.

This year, the red-carpet finish for the 42km finishers will be right inside the Active Health Village, through a short tunnel carved underneath the main stage. The runners’ companions can cheer at the cordoned-off spectators’ waiting area, and at the main stage audience area. All 42km finishers will be given an ice cold glass of Enervon HP Recovery Drink, a grooming station complete with staff will be on standby to make sure that they will look their best in the photo-ops at the finish line.

After all the picture-taking and finish-line moments, runners can start their rest and recovery routines by attending a post-race talk and stretching at the Enervon Activ Marathoners’ Lounge where they will get limited edition RUPM commemorative slippers. The University of Santo Tomas College of Rehabilitation Sciences will provide physical therapy and stretching services inside the Active Health Village.

All categories except for 42km will have start and finish line at the SM Mall of Asia; the 42km category will start at Bonifacio Global City and finish at SM Mall of Asia. Gun starts are as follows: 500m dash at 7:00AM; 10K at 5:30AM; 21K at 4:00AM; and 42K at 3:00AM

According to RunRio’s Rio Dela Cruz, “We have been offering the 42K category for only two years and we are happy that we have established a good reputation. RUPM has its own following now. It has become the last big run race for most runners for the year. We are looking forward to celebrating yet another successful running year with our loyal participants.”

RunRio will hold a special awards’ night for participants who registered and finished the 21km category in Run United 1, 32km category in Run United 2 as well as the 42km category in RUPM. Awards will be given to the top three overall winners (women and men) in all distance categories.

Besides gifts and certificates from Unilab and other sponsors, the top three male and female RUPM winners will also receive cash prizes: for 10km winners, (P4,000/P5,000/P6,000) and for 21km winners (P6,500/P7,500/8,500). There will be two categories for the 42km categories, Filipinos and Non-Filipinos. The top three winners in each category will get P25,000/P18,000/P12,000 respectively.

RUPM participants and their companions can avail of activities, games, free product samples in various sponsors’ booths at the Unilab Active Health Village. Alaxan FR PBA Legends will also be around for photo-ops. Entertainment will be provided by True Faith and Evedancel of Sugarfree.

Two more events are up ahead in ULAH’s active calendar—Tri United 3 and the Enervon Activ 226 Bohol Triathlon. Registration for both is still ongoing.

Tri United 3 Elite and Age Group Championship in Subic will feature standard distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) for elite and age-groupers triathletes. It will also accommodate teen triathletes with age categories 15-16 and 17-19 years old.

Enervon Activ 226 Bohol Triathlon, sponsored by Enervon Activ, organized by Bikeking, is slated for December 7, 2013. The 3.8km Swim - 180km Bike - 42km Run triathlon will be held in Anda, Bohol.

For more race information and results, interested parties may visit ULAH’s official website at unilabactivehealth.com as well as it Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Run United Philippine Marathon 2013 on October 6

It's the most awaited final leg of the trilogy - the Run United Philippine Marathon - brought to us by Runrio and Unilab Active Health.

WHAT: Run United Philippine Marathon 2013
WHEN: October 6, 2013 (Sunday)
WHERE: SM Mall of Asia / Bonifacio Global City (starting line for 42k)
RACE CATEGORIES: 500m dash for kids, 10km, 21km, 42km
RACE ORGANIZER: Runrio

RUPM 2013 Assembly Time and Gun Time

REGISTRATION DETAILS:
Online (July 15 to September 15, 2013):
- http://regonline.activeglobal.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1259906

Priority In-Store (2013 RU2 21k and 32k participants - August 3 to 9, 2013)
Regular In-Store (August 10 to September 22, 2013):
- Riovana BGC
- Riovana Katipunan
- Toby's SM Mall of Asia
- Toby's SM North The Block

RUPM 2013 Registration Fees and Race Inclusions

REMINDERS:
- Registration is on a first come, first serve basis, and may end earlier than the announced deadline. Race kits may run out before September 22, 2013.
- A Valid ID must be presented upon registration. For group registration, a photocopy of any valid ID & picture must be presented by the representative.
- Singlet and Finisher shirt size availability will be on a first come first serve basis. Reference sizes of the singlet and finisher’s shirt is available for fitting at the registration centers.
- A timing device will be used by all participants during the race.

RUPM 2013 Singlet Design

RUPM 2013 Finisher Medal for 21k and 42k

RUPM 2013 Finisher Shirt for 21k and 42k

RUPM 2013 Ventilation Bag for all finishers

RACE MAPS: 

 

 

 

RACE EVENT FAQs:
Download at this link: http://runrio.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-RUPM-FAQs-as-of-Jul-16.pdf

See you on October 6! I will be running 42k!

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.