Run for a Hero: Condura Skyway Marathon 2015

Started in the year 2008, Condura Skyway Marathon has been a much awaited event for runners. For the past years the run was for the protection of marine life however this year the run is for the Hero Foundation. Since 1988, Hero Foundation has been sending children of fallen soldiers to school. The event has become even timelier because of the death of the 44 SAF soldiers who have fallen on Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

The registration for the run was done online. There are two ways to register – first is through credit card via Pay Pal and second is through prepaid card which can be bought from participating Asics branches. The runner’s shirt was also released through Asics.

The starting line of the race is at the Skyway Alabang Tunnel along Alabang-Zapote Road. Since there are a lot of runners and to avoid congestion on the Skyway, each run event was divided into waves. The gun start for the 42K event was at 12AM, for 21K it was at 3:30AM for 10K it was 5AM and for 6K it was at 6:30AM. At around 11PM of January 31, the traffic was so terrible. I guess most people didn’t know that they Skyway will be closed for the event.

A moment of silence was given in honor of the 44 fallen SAF soldiers. There are soldiers lined up at the end of the tunnel holding the pictures of the 44 SAF soldiers. Runners are asked to give a salute while passing by the soldiers.

While running on the Skyway, I cannot help but notice dead animals on the road. I saw two dead cats and two dead birds!

The first hydration was at 3km unlike what they had said in their announcement that it will be at 2km. The run was accompanied by cold wind which somehow can affect the breathing.

At the end of the race, runners are cheered by the people.

Takbo.PH 20 Mile Run 2015

It was a cold morning and the weather was not good because of the storm. Everyone was busy for the Papal visit but for me aside from keeping in tune with the whereabouts of the Pope I was also busy for my first 10 mile run. I usually only do 10k run so this is a big challenge for me. I also have limited time to do some preparation plus I gained weight during the long holiday break. Good thing the few days before the run was declared as a special holiday. I also got a chance to try running in a cold morning before the event.

Fun runs or marathon usually have 5k, 10k and 21k and you seldom find a run event that has 16k or 10 miles and 32k or miles event. This is very beneficial for runners who want to level up their run from 10k to 21k.

For Takbo.PH 20 Miler run, aside from the 32k and 16k they also have the 5k and 10k. I decided to register for the 16k event with my sister. We arrived at the venue of the run in BGC just after the gun start of the 32k event. The cold wind greeted us as we approached the venue. 

Kuya Kim and Kikay runner also joined the 16k event. Kuya Kim even gave a speech before the run and told the weather forecast for the day. Unfortunately, he said that it will be a really cold and windy run and rain is expected in the morning until the afternoon.

The 16k run started at 5AM. The route of the run includes going up the Kalayaan flyover and to Makati business district. There were lots of intersections to pass by so runners are always in a hurry whenever there is a stop light. Good thing there were always police and traffic enforcers on the intersection to help runners. Marshalls are also very helpful in informing runners where to turn and they keep reminding us to stay in just one lane.

 Unfortunately because of the bad weather the sun out of sight and the cold wind makes it difficult to breathe. It even rain at the start of the race but it did not stopped that runners. The rain wasn’t that hard it was just a couple of minutes.

Going Up the Fly Over

Pocari Sweat for the Runners

Going Up Again

1k To Go

After the race, medals, finisher shirt and loot bags were given to runners. Only 16k and 32k runners have the finisher shirt while everyone has a medal.