Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya, 18 Jan. 2009

I missed running PSE Bull Run last year. I didn’t wake up on time. And most of my fellow runners raved about it. So, I said to myself, “I will not miss it the second time around.”

I registered days before the Christmas holidays. I was told that race bibs and singlets were not yet available. The staff who handled my registration informed me that it can be claimed two weeks before the race. That would mean waiting until first week of January 2009. When January came, I made a follow up but the organizer had problems with the production of singlets. I finally got mine on race day itself. In short, I made three trips first to just follow up but to no avail. I pity the “early birds.”

Surprisingly, the mood was festive when I arrived at the venue. I heard the emcee calling all 10k runners to check in but this didn’t deter me to claim my singlet first. After all, I paid for it.

Claiming runners surrounded the singlet booth. Some were shouting. Some tried to have their singlet size changed. I noticed that the staff distributing the singlets got impatient and was a bit irritated already. I didn’t want to get stressed. Too early to be pissed off. I just took a deep breath and asked the staff to give me a singlet of any size. Alas! I got mine with not much any problem. Guess what? That singlet will surely be given away. I didn’t like it, anyway.

The race started on time. Good. These were noticeable: water station in every two-kilometer, U-turn markers, and some marshals. Based on the entry of other bloggers, their Garmin registered a 9.91km or 10.1km. Distance was OK. As I was on my way to the finish line, I saw that 10k finishers ahead of me were queuing. Whooa! What a sight! It was so frustrating!

If I were to rate this race with one as the lowest and ten as the highest, overall, I would rate it as seven out of ten. Bald Runner and Kinderdorf Leben did a good recap about this run. Need I say more? I just hope that the organizers will strive more to improve this race next time.

Ms. Nora All Smiles After Finishing Her First 10k
(Photo Courtesy of Life Begins at 50)

The Bull Run 10k Route

What is a bull run?

A bull run is a prolonged period in which investment prices rise faster than their historical average. It can happen as a result of an economic recovery, an economic boom or investor psychology (SME).

PSE Bull Run is a yearly fun run sponsored by the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) and sanctioned by the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association. This year’s 5th annual fun run dubbed as Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya is PSE’s contribution in the economy. Proceeds of the fun run will help fund its educational projects as well as promote the growth of the stock market. It also ushered Philippine running season of 2009.