Adidas KOTR 2009

Gunstart, in front of Serendra.

Pardon me but this is a long overdue post. The Adidas King of the Road (KOTR) 2009 was held early morning last Sunday at The Fort. The weather was great! The sky was clear and no sign of rain. The sun was up early, so I think I got sunburned a little.

We got to the venue exactly 10 minutes before the start. Armed with just my SE W995, my Ipod with Nike+, and some cash in my teeny tiny pocket (no bag!), I ran my second 10k. According to Sandra, there were more than seven thousand 10k runners that day. Wow. I felt lost in a sea of neon yellow-clad runners. I was able to capture snapshots as I run since I was carrying my phone. No need to remind me to buy that Nike belt bag once it’s available again. And no need to remind me that maybe we just need a car already. Coz we know.

Anyway back to the KOTR. The route was a little different. We ran along Buendia flyover crossing EDSA going to Makati Avenue. The road was closed to traffic. It was awesome! I couldn’t stop looking around taking all the views. Also, I saw a Kenyan who I think finished first for the 21k leg. By the time we got to Makati Avenue, motorists were frantically honking and shouting already, trying to cross the road.

By the time we got to the turnaround point at Mapuá Makati, I was already exhausted. Good thing the water station there had banana slices to energize us up. I kept on thinking that I had to finish this. Keeping my walk breaks at a minimum and my pace steady but strong.

At the turnaround point at Mapua Makati.

By the time I got back to the flyover, almost everyone was walking already. On my 7^th kilometer, I’m already very very tired. But no, I have to finish. And I have to beat my last time. So I kept on telling myself that.

Runners behind me at the Buendia flyover. See those guys? Eat my dust. Hehe.

Until I saw the finish line, ah finally! I am proud to say that I finished at 1:18! Two minutes better than my first 10k! I was feeling so elated looking at my watch, knowing that I beat myself. Ivan’s first 10k was better with a PR of 1:02. Wow. I can’t beat that…

Not much freebies at the finish line though. We got a bottle of Gatorade, a certificate, bananas, and some got their breakfast - pandesal and coffee.

We saw coach Rio there, busy promoting his Timex Run {November 15, 2009}. This reminds me; I haven’t registered to that race yet and made a mental note to drop by Timex already.

Coach Rio, flanked by Sandra and I.

Ivan’s friend, Patrick, a new runner, was there too. I think the running community continues to grow at a very fast pace, which is good. If not for the expensive registration fees, I think there could be thousands more runners on the road. I hope our next government will include building sports in their political policies…

Only the four of us ran this day. Patrick, Ivan, me and Sandra.

We ended the race with, yet again, a big breakfast at McDonald’s. It was a very tiring but equally fun race. But I think it would have been funner {wait, is there such a word?! but you get it right?} had there been more freebies.

See you runners at the Philippine International Marathon!