Let's Run: Nike We Run Manila 10K 2012

let's run Manila

December 2, 2012, the Bayshore Ave. and Seaside Blvd. of  SM Mall of Asia, Pasay is a sea of black and green as 13,000 runners come together for the Nike We Run Manila 2012. This is the second year the Nike We Run  race is held in Manila. Manila is one of the 32 cities that will host the race this year. The race started at Prague, Czech Republic last September 1 and will end at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 15, 2012. 

There is a feeling of excitement and fear in me as I joined this race. This is my first race, and running for 10 kilometers is really hard for a beginner like me. I came in as a substitute for my brother, who unfortunately had dengue a week before the event and even being discharge from the hospital before the event, doctors advised him not to join the race.  

Together with my brother and sister, we arrived early in the event. So we stroll first the Seaside Blvd. taking a look of the race area before going to the race village. At 4:00 a.m. runners are already filling up the streets going to the corner of Bayshore Ave. and Seaside Blvd. At 5:45 the race started.

the start-off point

the sea of black and green

Since I was a beginner, I started for a slow pace, not minding if other runners came past me. After feeling comfortable with the race I started a jog then a run. There are a lot of things going in my mind for this race. I fear that I will finish  last or that I will stumble while running; fortunately none of these things happened. 

Reaching the U-turn slot marking the 5 km feels like a long way. At the 4 km mark, most of the runners are now walking, but once they saw the U-turn slot for the 5 km, the runners came back to life and began running again. The way back is much  easier and faster compared than reaching the 5 km mark. After 1 hour and 33 minutes from the start time, I reached the finish line.

Runners who  have finished the race can claim their Finisher shirt at the race village while being entertained by local bands like Chicosci, Spongecola and Never the Strangers. Water, Powerade and bananas are also given to the runners after the race to help them recharge.

I am a Finisher - front of the finisher shirt

WE RUN MLA - back of the finisher shirt

This race is Nike's way to unite over 390,000 runners all over the world and Nike sure did it.