Race: RC Goldline Half Marathon
Distance: 13.1 miles (21k)
Country: Philippines
Website: Here
Video: Here
Cebu is a major city on a minor island in the south of the country. I had to get out of bed at 3am for a 4:30am start. The idea was to beat the heat, the majority of the race is done before sunrise. It felt strange assembling up on a race line in the dark and stranger when a clergyman took to the microphone to say pre race prayers across the cast of runners that had fallen silent in respect. Not long after prayers, we were released into the dark to hit the streets of Cebu. I wasn't fit for a half marathon and so I set off at a ginger pace to make sure I simply got round. It seemed a bit reckless to run into last of the night along unfamiliar streets an unfamiliar city, some of it was seemed fairly deprived.
I remember running past families crouched over cooking pots, cooking breakfast by the side of the road. I had a few Philippine bob in my pocket in case I got lost or came to grief. The plan was to hire a moped and river to get me back to the race start if I could describe where it was. In the end I finished in daylight as the heat was taking hold. An amazing experience, the Philippine folk love their running and make a real spectacle of their events as the video above illustrates.
The results where never published but I think I ran about 1 hour 50 but the major achievement though was not getting lost in Cebu City!
Distance: 13.1 miles (21k)
Country: Philippines
Website: Here
Video: Here
Cebu is a major city on a minor island in the south of the country. I had to get out of bed at 3am for a 4:30am start. The idea was to beat the heat, the majority of the race is done before sunrise. It felt strange assembling up on a race line in the dark and stranger when a clergyman took to the microphone to say pre race prayers across the cast of runners that had fallen silent in respect. Not long after prayers, we were released into the dark to hit the streets of Cebu. I wasn't fit for a half marathon and so I set off at a ginger pace to make sure I simply got round. It seemed a bit reckless to run into last of the night along unfamiliar streets an unfamiliar city, some of it was seemed fairly deprived.
I remember running past families crouched over cooking pots, cooking breakfast by the side of the road. I had a few Philippine bob in my pocket in case I got lost or came to grief. The plan was to hire a moped and river to get me back to the race start if I could describe where it was. In the end I finished in daylight as the heat was taking hold. An amazing experience, the Philippine folk love their running and make a real spectacle of their events as the video above illustrates.
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| Feeling the Heat |
The results where never published but I think I ran about 1 hour 50 but the major achievement though was not getting lost in Cebu City!
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