For me, that phrase equates to what others may deem an ode.  Although I missed the cut-off by one minute, it was still one hell of an experience. For this race, I left my car at home and instead took a cab from my house to Km 0 due to the anticipated traffic and lack of parking space. I was  early enough to  see the  lead pack of the 42k runners along Roxas Boulevard on my way to  KM 0.  I arrived at  the starting area at around 4:45  am. The atmosphere in the starting area was festive, the kids who I think are joining the 3km race are all over the place, excited as if they are going to be handed out goodies just by joining the event. The way I see it, the Milo marathon touches every participant’s life, be it the grade school children or the oldest runner. I myself, have always looked forward to joining this event ever since I was a kid. Thanks to the internet and informative sites such as Takbo.ph, I can now easily get information on road races in the Metro with just a click of the mouse. When I entered the corral, I saw Ian, my officemates and other familiar faces. After the warm-up the 21k race started on time (what else do you expect from a Rudy Biscocho race ?).  There were a lot of water stations , no .. not just water stations but cold Gatorade aid stations! So my excuse of not finishing this race due to dehydration is just simply .. gone The race went well, the organizers were able to cordon a part of Roxas Boulevard for the safety of the runners. There were water trucks (I think...

Running is addictive … once you start, you just want to keep on increasing your dose. I remembered running my first race which was a 10k during last year’s VSO held at the fort.  After a few 10ks I ran my 1st 15k during Asian Hospital’s Run New and then my 1st half-marathon which was the Condura Race. I was actually planning back then on making Botak my first full marathon. Lucky for me, I had so many deadlines at work that I had to forego of that plan and instead registered for the half-marathon.  Had I been stubborn and pushed through with it, last Sunday’s run would have been a very painful memory. Me and my friend Ian weren’t expecting PRs for this race as I didn’t have enough time to train (my weekly mileage went  down from 38 to 0 after pacing for our friend Isko in BDM 102) and Ian is under the weather. So, we decided to aim for a finish somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. We were able to finish it with 2:29:29 on my watch. Observations : There was a water truck in the Kalayaan flyover.  Sweet! Excellent singlets. I don’t  wear singlets anymore but I have to make an exception in this case. Lots of Gatorade at the finish line. There was also an awesome band at the finish line. The race started late.  It started at 6:00 am. Starting a 21k race during the summer months in the Philippines is not cool (literally). There were not enough water cups in the aid stations ; luckily I brought a disposable hand-held water bottle with me which I conveniently refilled whenever I reach an aid station. Since this race involves a lot of “turn-arounds”; they should have added...