Wednesday, April 6, 2011

See Spot Run

Good Housekeeping Philippines had its first-ever Family (and Pet!) Fun Run last Sunday! Though I promoted it to my family and friends, and even did a radio tour for it, the real props should go to our associate publisher Melody, who slaved away for months to produce this great event. We were so overwhelmed by the number of participants--there were about a thousand!


Humans warm up; dogs relax

The events: a 5K open run, a 3K tandem run for parent and child, a 1K run with obstacle course for human and dog, and a 100m dash for kids six and below!






And they're off!

My husband and I joined the open 5K event. Hamil told me at the starting line that he wanted to finish it sub-30--in other words, he was going to leave me behind. Haha. I had no intention of finishing quickly. I projected that I would finish in about 34 minutes, considering I hadn't really run since that half marathon! I was so not in shape, and I even walked a few meters towards the end, taking my sweet time. Imagine my surprise when I rounded the bend leading to the finish line and saw that only 30 minutes had elapsed! Ended up finishing in about 30:31 I think. I could've done it in sub-30 if only I hadn't walked! Oh well. For all my non-effort, I still finished fourth (surprisingly!) among the girls. Husband, meanwhile, did it in 26 minutes! He believes that running a half marathon changed our bodies. (Although I can't, for the life of me, imagine running 21 kilometers now.)

Post-run, participants got loads of freebies (including breakfast!) and were pampered with short massages, and even nail treatments. Dogs got basic grooming.



In between bites of my free tapsilog, I had to do interviews for all these different shows--in all my post-run, sweaty glory! When the crews asked me if I would like to freshen up, I said that that was as good as it was gonna get. Haha.


This was for GMA News

I think, for the most part, people really enjoyed themselves. For P200, it was so worth it--a singlet, bib, hydration stations, breakfast, drink, loot bag, and all these other freebies from various sponsors. My favorite thing about the event (aside from the massive Chow Chow that ran the 1K) was seeing the smiles on families' faces as they ran hand-in-hand. I also loved seeing older ladies running the 5K--there was even a pair wearing matching hot pink leggings!

So many other people wanted to join the event, and this year's participants are already talking about inviting their cousins and friends next year. Here's hoping we'll pull off a bigger, better run in 2012!


All photos from
Good Housekeeping Philippines

6 comments:

  1. What a fun idea--some of those kids look to be great future athletes. =)

    You must be in better shape than you gave yourself credit for, to finish fourth and so close to your hubby (who was so much more determined).

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  2. looks like it was a lot of fun! i wish i could be as sporty as you but i'm just too lazy. xD

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  3. SObrng sulit. YUng average na fun run up t0 500 pesos eh :) Cute pets.

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  4. Let's have iced tea and toast to that...my dance partner who's allergic to alcohol! :)

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  5. Ric, yeah, and the best part is the kids seemed to have fun. I was in better shape than I thought, but it'll take A LOT of training to shave four minutes off my time. I can't for the life of me imagine myself running a 5K in 26 minutes!:o

    Sugar, I think getting over the laziness is the hardest part. I'm lazy too. If I wasn't, I'd be getting my arse out of bed in the AM to work out.:s

    Rah, did you join the run?:)

    Roms, thank goodness for allergies. It's my get-out-of-basagness-free card!

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  6. Congrats, Tish, on the success of the event and for placing 4th! Yay! Saw a bit of your interview with Unang Hirit when they featured the event last Wednesday. :)

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Oh, so sweet of you to drop a line!:)