walking in Quezon City (International Marathon)

i was invited to attend the QCIM bloggers launch last Monday , Sept.8 which was held at Kabisera in Bonifacio High Street.

Despite the strong rains that day, there were a lot of runner-bloggers who attended.class picture-taking with matching uniform

as it was my first time to attend such events, i asked fellow takbo.ph member and one of the recent milo marathon podium finishers, Running Diva what is expected from me (us, the attendees) in such events. she said, JUST LISTEN, and listen i did.

it was like being back in college where there's someone presenting, you're suppose to listen and ideally take notes of important facts and information mentioned by the speakers (well, in this case, WHY QC, Rules & Regulations, Routes, Prizes, and Fees). one good thing though as compared to school, this does not require a test to check what you've remembered BASED on what the lecturer wants to hear from you.

in the presentation for the QCIM, what stuck to my mind were 1. the race routes and 2. the fees.

while i was listening to Vince Mendoza of Finishline, he mentioned where the 42K route would pass through most of the landmarks in QC, and being a QCIM "native" all my life, and having spent more than 15 years in the commonwealth/diliman area, i realized that this 42K route is literally a "mall hopping marathon". WHY?

from the Quezon Memorial Circle (QMC)

the route would then pass through the University Avenue

then enter the scenic UP Acad Oval

the scenic UP Acad Oval

along the long stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, you will see two big churches, one of which is the Iglesia ni Cristo Grand Temple

and the St. Peter Parish (before you reach Batasang Pambansa).
Along the route you would also encounter numerous markets along Commonwealth Avenue (there are at least 4 markets along the route if my memory serves me right, there's one infront of Philcoa, another one near Tandang Sora, and then there is Commonwealth Market, and Fairview Wet Market).

If you are familiar with the area, (and if you've seen the route map) you would notice that there are a lot of malls along the route. You would be passing through 4 malls namely, Ever Gotesco Commonwealth, Fairview Central Mall, SM City Fairview, (and nearby Robinsons Novaliches is also within sight from SM Fairview). Before touching base with QMC for the second time (but not yet to end the race), you would also have to enter the premises of UP-Ayala Technohub before heading to Ayala's Trinoma Mall and SM City North Edsa and then heading to the Quezon Memorial Circle for the finale.

other than these establishments, the QC government allowed the race organizers to have the 42k race route enter the premises of la mesa eco park. talk about coolness! :)

here are other bloggers' point of view with the QCIM :

runningpinoy
runningdiva
forefootrunner


oh and yeah, about the fees:

Registration starts this TODAY, September 11, 2009 until October 4, 2009 at the following partner stores:
Timex SM Megamall, SM Southmall, Glorietta 3, SM North EDSA, SM Mall of Asia;
Nike Park Bonifacio High Street;
Second Wind Teacher’s Village, Diliman.

to summarize the fees:

P300 5-K
P300 10-K
P500 21-K half marathon
P650 42-K full marathon

Race kit includes singlet, race chip and champion chip instruction flyer

IF you haven't decided until October 4, you can still register naman, but it would be limited to the Quezon City Hall until October 11, 2009 with a higher registration fee.

if i'm not from QC (or even if im from QC) i wouldn't want to hassle myself much by not registering earlier.

(ano pang binabasa mo dyan? REGISTER NA!)