Personal Triumph

I ran my third 15km race yesterday at the RUNew Asian Hospital event organized by coach Rio. I thought it was well organized, with lots of water (bottled water poured onto cups, not scooped out from some pail containing water brought from a fire truck), marshals and directional signs, kilometer markers, and open toilets (inside the Heritage park) midway through the race.

The route was a very challenging one: hilly and sloping. I think it was very perceptive of the organizer in doing away with the 10Km category, as this would only create a long queue at the finish line when fast 10km and slow 5km runners would arrive at the same time, or when fast 15km runners would converge with the slow 10km runners that plagued previous running races. Having only the 5km and 15km (as well as the kiddie 3Km) categories prevented that from happening.

Halfway through, an accident occurred on the other side of the road, in the opposite direction open to traffic. Several people figured in a motorcycle accident. A woman was grimacing in pain. I used the accident as an excuse to stop and catch my breath. The guy running beside me said the driver happened to be a pregnant woman.

I don't set out on establishing personal records because as you know, I'm not exactly a fast runner. So I settle for the really Oprahtic Personal Triumph goal. The time is embarrassing, I always end up in the bottom half among the running participants, ya know, the slow pokes.

As for next month's Condura half marathon passing through the Skyway, we'll see.