It's been just over a month since Adidas held its highly touted annual King Of The Road race. To pre-boom running denizens, KOTR was one of the most awaited races each year. The fact that it always seemed to have the best singlet of every season didn't hurt either.With the running community growing year in and year out, I'll rattle off ten quick things about this year's experience.
1. Singlet Fun?
Last year's singlet took the cake, with a revolutionary yellow and black motif that has been ripped off endlessly in smaller races after. A lot of people I know last year registered if only to get that fancy singlet. Yes, it's happens more often than you think, and I'm guilty as charged. With that in mind, expectations were sky high for this season's event. How could they possibly top the best singlet to come out in ages? What fancy color scheme would the mad geniuses at their design unit come up with? Forum chit chat had numerous guesses , and rumors abound that the original color would be changed.
Nevertheless,excitement was at fever pitch.
In the end, they went with... ..
Black.
While it would possibly appeal to the minimalist, most people still preferred last year's edition. Decent singlet with sizing on the large side, add it to your collection stashed in your aparador. Last year the yellow and black ones were ubiquitous. In the weeks after, I barely see it on the road. Shucks.
2. ANR Singlets
Cheap, P995 bucks. Imported material coming from SG for the exclusive singlet of the Adidas Adination of Runners members. If you aren't in the know, it's a community-based group run/pseudo running clinic/random weekday social gathering held at different locations throughout the metropolis. Quick bit of useless trivia: I'm the lead facilitator of the Ortigas area sessions, and we meet every Wednesdays 7:30 pm at Pearl Drive Mcdonalds. Join us, it's a lot of painful fun. Going back to the singlet,I guess it's a decent deal if you have money to burn. For the price I paid for it, I feel faster already. Amazing.
p.s. Dear Adidas, I'm broke. Thank you.
Hmm, this makes it all worth it :P
Last season, 10k kits ran out in a matter of days. This year, it seems that the running boom learning curve snapped up the kits before you could say pikermi. While projecting these things is like playing a game of sa pula sa puti at Resorts World, hopefully they could get it right next year.
Big fuss over hydration, or lack of it for the matter.After the race, I got into a semi-sensible discussion with some disgruntled runners at the Takbo.ph boards . Same old same old. Hydration runs out for whatever reason, blame the organizer. Vent it out online. Or on whoever has a contrarian opinion.
Listen, running is no joke, specially when you tread the middle to long distances. I know Rio spoils you to death with overflowing drinks for his races. That's awesome. But he won't be there all the time for you and you CANNOT expect the same level of organization for all races. Hope for the best but expect the worst. Races aren't Club Med, it's a legitimate athletic pursuit with your life possibly on the line. Would you really put your life in the hands of other people when you had complete freedom to bring your own hydration beforehand? And to whoever sardonically dissed me on that thread for suggesting it's your responsibility to bring your own hydration, I sure hope as heck you won't be needing that ambulance you suggested I bring with me on race day once you run out of drinks on your race. Splash.
It's worth it.
5. Pandesal and Hot Dogs.
I could have sworn that there was supposed to be a buffet for the runners. If they changed it, I totally missed it. The pandesal and hot dogs underwhelmed me, not that I was hungry anyway. Feel bad for the guy who thought he was at the buffet line, ANR registration pala.
Yum.
While I lucky enough not to be personally affected, people were complaining about how the massive crush made the route practically impossible to traverse. Some were relegated to doing a sort of Alay Lakad move. Quick question, is this phenomenon a totally unavoidable consequence of a really big race right smack in the boom ,or it could have been rectified by proper execution?
It's the next best thing.
7. 250k Baggage
I sucked out at the 10k category I ran in, checking in at a modest 51 minutes or nearly 5 minutes off my usual time. Takbo.ph prez Jinoe lustily jeered me at the line for failing to break the sub-50 barrier (I am still serving a lifetime ban on being a Takbo.ph hoff for hitting it before him. Hihi.), but unbeknownst to my good friend, my rubbery gingerbread legs were bringing with them roughly 250 kilometers worth of crushing bike mileage. I had competed in the mutliple stage Tour of Matabungkay with Endure Multisport's cycling team just the day before, and with little sleep, I felt like I was dragging around a ton of bricks with me. Even if I felt my fitness level was at an all-time high, there was really nothing I could do. People were passing me left and right, and being the competitive nut that I am, the itch to just chase them down but having no physical capability to do so was driving me crazy. Still quite an experience though, revenge is due next year smirk.
Kalayaan 12, GBM 11
8. Fulfillment
It was pretty nice to see a lot of my Adidas Adination Ortigas runners "level up" with this race, taking down 21k's with relative ease. When I first met some of them, they were tubby ordinary joes who could barely complete a 5k. Now they are fit, veritable weekend warriors already looking ahead to the upcoming marathon and ultramarathons in the 2011 calendar. Hmm... we must be doing something right eh? Proud "coach" here. Sniff.
This group has come a long way...
9. Kleptomania in the house.
Sucks. As I was busy facilitating the insane rush of people registering for the ANR sessions (the booth was mistaken for the baggage counter like a gazillion times) , I made terrible mistake of placing my brand new, fancy Adidas Techfit shorts (which set you back a cool P3,000 believe) on the counter. Amidst the mob scene, I thought nothing of it, it was like inches away from me. Much to my abject horror, I suddenly noticed it was gone. Aww shucks.That crap happens? Even here? And to think I tried my best to smile and humor the people despite the hassle and the crush of the crowd. Cruel. Chalk this one up to the "loss of faith in humanity" list.
Asar.
10. I will never run this race again!!
That was what people said last year after the debacle in claiming the race kits. And yet this year even more people joined. I heard practically the same thing in the aftermath of the race, but why do I have this sneaky feeling the race will set another attendance record next year? Go figure.
That's all folks, see you at KOTR 2011!