Registered! Run United 1 2012 ♥

Finally! Officially registered for Run United 1 2012. Dropped by Riovana at Bonifacio High Street in Taguig just to register and hopefully claim my post race kit for Run United 2 2011. To my disappointment, the last day of claiming of said post race kits was on Friday, February 10, 2012. Nevertheless, I was assured that post race kits will be available for claiming on Run United 1 2012 Race Day - March 4, 2012 so here is hoping for the best.

On to my agenda - to register for the 10K category (yes, there is no typographical error here, I am raising the bar higher now) for the said event. Time to move up. I have finished a few 5K races, one more recent was the Condura Skyway Marathon 2012 – Run for Mangroves. In order to reach my overall running goal for the year, I have to move up NOW! So the plan is to participate on all 3 races for this year's trilogy on 10K category (I have experienced running 10K last November 13, 2011 when I participated at Run United 3 2011 at the same venue, SM Mall of Asia) and finally run a half-marathon on the fourth installment, the event they have dubbed "The Philippine Marathon". The plan looks and sounds promising, it inspires me even more.

Here is what I look like last August 21, 2011 when I had my first 3K run for Run United 2 2011:

And now, here is how I look like (more work to be done though. Hey, nothing is impossible, impossible is just a word, you just need motivation, dedication, reason and a lot of inspiration):

But, let us not look ahead too much. Let's savor the moment, train hard, run safe and enjoy what is in store for us. To immortalize my official registration, a picture should suffice the need so here they are:

Running for love ♥

Go Natural Run 2012 - A Run for Early Child Diabetes Education

January 15, 2012
Accomplices: John Paul Lipardo, Liezel Hermedilla, Jayson Agustin
Venue: Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Ang unang fun run ng RunRio para sa 2012! Isang run for  Early Child Diabetes Education sa tulong ng Nattural Quality Corporation (sila ang manufacturer ng Slenda, Enduranz, Renalin at Ampalaya Plus).

Maaga kaming nakarating sa Bonifacio Global City dahil kukunin pa namin ang aming Advocacy Shirt at Baller ID.

Pagkatapos makuha ang dapat makuha, naghanda na kami para sa pagtakbo. Change costume na kami bago tumungo sa baggage counter. Pagkatapos naming maghanda habang papunta sa baggage counter, nakita namin si Coach Rio Dela Cruz na nasa harap lang ng Riovana. Maagang nagbukas ang nasabing sports outlet para sa gaganaping event at sa mga hahabol pa na magrerehistro. Dahil minsan lang ang close encounter kay Coach Rio, sinamantala namin na magpapicture kasama siya (minsan lang ito, kailangan maging oportunista!).

Pagkatapos ng photo-op kasama si Coach Rio, isa-isa na kaming tumakbo. Nauna ang 21k, sumunod ang 10k, 5k at 3k categories. Sa 5k category ako tumakbo. Walang pang isang oras ay natapos ko ang aking napiling category at agad na tumungo sa finisher's area para makuha ang finisher's kit at makapaglibot sa race village.

Ang aking official ranking at time:
Rank: 523 out of 1361
Gun Time: 00:40:14
Chip Time: 00:40:08
@4km mark: 00:30:42

Naging maganda ang panahon, dahil isa ang Resorts World sa mga sponsor, nagkaroon ng live band performance ng isa sa mga regular na banda na tumutugtog sa kanila habang hinihintay ang ibang runners na makatapos.

Habang may live band, minabuti ko na maglibot sa race village habang hinihintay ang iba pang mga kasama. Narito ang mga sponsor booths sa nasabing race village (salamat sa "UNLI"-banana):

At kami nga ay nagkita-kita na ulit. Naglibot pa ng kaunti at pagkatapos ay photo-op sa giant Gardenia Wheat Bread at sa mascot ng Resorts World.

Eto pa... :)

Mayroon din na celebrity sightings... Runners/TV Hosts Drew Arellano and Rovilson Fernandez (Photo from Angelo's Photography fan page, nice shots Angelo!). Narinig ko din na kasama sa mga celebrity na tumakbo si Kuya Kim (Atienza) kaya lang hindi ko pa ito na-confirm.

Oo nga pala, isa din ako sa mga nanalo sa raffle. Ang aking napanalunan ay isang Overnight Stay for Two (2) sa Remington Hotel. Parang signs na ito... mukhang magiging maganda ang taong 2012 para sa akin... tatlong panalo sa isang araw (sa instant prize sa 7-11 bago pumunta sa fun run, ang overnight stay sa hotel at ang unang panalo ng aming basketball team kinahapunan)... Overnight Stay for Two... magkakagirlfriend na ba ako? ^_^

Masaya, inspiring at higit sa lahat, iba talaga ang pakiramdam kapag "you are a part of something"... sabi nga ng iba. Ito lang naman ang mahalaga, ang maramdaman mo kung gaano kasaya mabuhay :)

Running for love ♥