10 Races I Missed in the Philippines

This year marks my 10 years anniversary with running. I joined my first race last February 26, 2006 during the Philippine International Marathon.  Since then, running has been a huge part of my life.

For 10 years, I had a love and hate relationship with running. There have been great times and bad times. This year, I want it to be a great year for running.

A lot have changed since I started running in 2006.  I missed some of the good ol times.  Among the things I missed are great running events that were previously held but are no longer being organized.

Here are 10 running events I have missed. I hope some of them will be revived in the coming years.  Some runners may have never heard of these events. Some runners may have joined them, as well.

Philippine International Marathon

This is the first running event I have joined in 2006. I tried to join it annually until they stopped conducting the event. This was also known as the Pasig Marathon since the event is for the benefit of the Pasig River.  But when the event had a change in leadership, the PIM had a change in concept.

What I missed: I only joined the 10K events.  I never has a chance to join the full marathon and experience its unique route which starts at Fort Santiago and finishes at Fort Bonifacio.

The PIM 2006 was held in BGC before there were tall buildings. 😀

Men’s Health 10,000 KM Miracle Run

The Men’s Health 10,000 KM Run aims to gather 1,000 runners to run 10KM, thus the name. This event was for a beneficiary. I think this has been conducted twice and then Men’s Health dropped it for other events like the All-Terrain Race and the Urbanathlon.

What I missed: A true advocacy run. The registration fee was only 350 PHP and yet 200 PHP is donated to the beneficiary.  That’s more than 50% of the registration fee!

Nature Valley Run

The Nature Valley Run was only conducted once in 2010. It was never conducted again. During that time, the event was already considered huge. It has celebrities, billboards, TV ads and more. The Nature Valley Run did put running in the limelight with all the promotions.

What I missed: This was the only 21K run where in the 21K finisher gets a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream at the finish line!!! Who wouldn’t miss that?

Hyundai Run

Hyundai Run rocked the running scene by giving away the event itself. This event was free of charge! Slots would be closed in just a number of days! When most running events have increased it’s registration fee, Hyundai surprised us with an event that was free. No strings attached.

What I missed: The free registration. What else? 😀

adidas King of the Road

The annual adidas King of the Road is a much awaited event. We love the original adidas singlets that we get for the race and other premium adidas items. It became bigger when the KOTR was held in different cities across Southeast Asia. However, the adidas KOTR stopped since 2014.  I still have no news of a comeback.

What I missed: I missed the adidas singlet and the adidas medals.

Nike We Run

Nike running events come and go. The Nike We Run is being held annually but sometimes Manila is not included as key city.  The last Nike We Run was in 2013. This year, it’s an all-women race. Nike We Run is also highly anticipated. Their race shirts are really nice.

What I missed: Guys being part of the race since it has been an all women race for 2 years.

Regent Run

Regent Run was conducted just once as well. This is one of the runs with generous lootbags since you get a load of freebies when you register and another bag when you finish the race.

What I missed: Lots of Regent goodies during registration and after the race.

Kenny Rogers Urbanite

Another one-hit wonder, the Kenny Rogers Urbanite was one of the biggest night runs in Manila.  This was one of the first runs with celebrity endorsers and a live entertainment after the race.  The finish area was like one big barbecue fest.

What I missed: Runners get a Kenny Rogers meal after the race. Yummy!

Takbo.ph Nightfest

Takbo.ph Nightfest was an attempt to bring back night runs.  We only organized it once. After that, we understood why few organize night runs. It was more tiring to do. 😛

What I missed: The tiring task of organizing a night race. 😀

Quezon City International Marathon

I had good hopes that the QCIM will be one of the best marathons in the country. It has the widest roads, the biggest government support and some notable sights along the route. However, the QCIM had it’s share of problems that has not been resolved. I hope this gets fixed soon.

What I missed: The route that includes the wide Commonwealth Ave, QC Circle, UP Diliman and La Mesa Dam.

QCIM 2009

Have you joined some of these events? If yes, I am happy to have shared the road with you. 😀

A toast to more years of running!