Million Hectare Challenge - November 25, 2012

This morning was Haribon Foundation's Million Hectare Challenge. This year marks the 40th (Ruby) anniversary of the environmental group, and to celebrate they held its annual run.

The theme for this year is "Run and Go Native." Their goal is to restore a million hectare's worth of Philippine forests by planting native trees by the year 2020. The registration is only PHP500, which gives you a singlet, timing chip, plus a seedling named after you. Pretty neat, huh?

So, with only three hours of sleep and 3.5km to my belt prior to the event, I was expecting a time of at least 70 min. When I reached the finish line, I clocked in at 1:07, which is not too shabby. It was even less than my time at the RUPM; and to think I was fully rested then. Guess I am picking up on speed, huh? Amazing. :-) 

What I realized, though, is that it would be nice to have running friends. You can pace each other, push each other to pick up speed, that sort of thing. I will do my research and check if I can join a club of some sort here in the south. Hopefully there's a coach there as well that can give guidance. Let's see. Oh, and also, I would want to join a running clinic, so that I can ensure I am running the right way to avoid injuries, and in order to improve my time.

Anyway, here is my assessment of what transpired during the event:

Strengths

The cause - everyone should join this race if only for this reason alone. I particularly like the fact that Haribon wants to re-populate our forests with trees endemic to the Philippines. Apparently there have been instances wherein tree-planting initiatives would plant seedlings that are not native here. I cannot explain it in full, but that really messes up our ecosystem, affecting a lot of species. Being one of the most biodiverse spots in the world, we Filipinos should really start taking care of our beautiful country.

Cup-less hydration stations - true to its form of being an environmental group, this run requires that you bring your own bottles, which you can refill at the water stations strategically placed throughout the course. My only comment is that this information should have been included in their website, and staff at the registration (e.g. Runnr Bonifacio High Street) should have been trained to inform all participants. But no worries, there were water bottles for sale at the site anyway.

The freebies - I got a Tupperware Eco Bottle (a pink one, LOL) which was handed to me right after crossing the finish line. I also got a stub from Emerson for being one of the first 50 runners in the 10k category. When I went to claim my prize, it was a Gatorade 500ml bottle, a face towel, a pamphlet on Emerson, and a neon green bandanna. The latter would be perfect for the Nike run. Thanks, Emerson! Oh, I also received a Haribon poster, a sachet of Downy, plus a cute paper bag. Considering I only paid PHP500, these are great add-ons!

AFIs

The gun start - on the information page which came with the race bib, it says the 10k runners will start at 6am. However, by that time we were just doing warm-ups, stretching. The race officially started at 6:22 am on my watch. That's definitely a major room for improvement.

The 10km route - the race route inside the race kit only showed the 5k race map. So I was wondering what our route would be. Turns out, the 10k route is essentially the 5k done twice. So, from the parking area near Sun Bay Cruises, we went to Folk Arts, then Sofitel, Manila Film Center, Macapagal until after Manila Doctors College (but before Blue Wave), then on to the street between Wensha and PICC Tent, then left at PICC, back to Sofitel, Film Center, etc. Plus, I am not certain, but I think the whole route is over 10km. My Adidas MiCoach was having GPS issues so I wasn't able to map my run (such a shame), but basing on the markers, it may have exceeded by just a smidge. Will check other sites and read people's comments to get their take.

Runners before gun start, waiting for the warm-up

Runners after the race, waiting for raffle prizes (myself included)

Overall, it was a good run. My wish for next year is that more people would join this race. It's for a really good cause. Then again, I have to face the fact that people join races for various reasons, not just for the cause. Perhaps they can include longer distances too, such as 16km or a half-marathon. This would attract serious runners, so more people would be joining.

Keep running,

Earl Patrick

Update: upon checking runningmate.ph, the official time keeper of the MHC event (click here, bib # 1478), I clocked in at 1:07:57. :-) Also, I ranked 80th amongst all 10k runners. No idea how many runners were in this category though. Next goal is to finish the Nike We Run Manila 2012 run in less than an hour. Let's do this!