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SURVIVOR International Marathon: Smart SIM 2009 (part 1)


i'm sure a lot of runner-bloggers already expressed their opinions towards the recently concluded Smart SIM 42K SURVIVAL Run held this weekend. this is just to summarize things from MY point of view, and MY OPINIONS.

This was supposedly the "most prestigious" marathon in the Philippines (well so they say). if being prestigious means:
1. No water stations for most of the stretch of the SCTEX
2. No support stations allowed along the long stretch of the SCTEX
3. No light along the way
4. runners' safety along the long dark stretch of the SCTEX was unsure (even though the road was closed from motorists, the sheer darkness of the place can put an injured, dehydrated runner lost in the darkness) kahit na they say bring your own lights, ibang level pa rin ito.

then i guess this is it. i think it could be likened to training for the BDM, pero sa BDM alam ko may ilaw, at may posibilidad to buy drinks/ hydration along the way.

i've had a lot of friends from takbo.ph who had their first marathon in this event, and i'm glad all of them survived the gruesome run (i couldn't even say that it was a "race" since everyone was just fighting for survival from possible dehydration).

that being said,what made this event memorable:the takbo.ph family supports their members (and even those who needed help along the way na nakita nila ah sa dilim kasi hindi makita ang ibang runners hehehehe)

team hatid participantes

hindi namin alam kung anong mangyayayari sa ma katotong hinatid sa start line,
kaya sa finish line eh sinigurado naman namin na aabot silang lahat dun.

upon dropping off the takbo runners at the starting line, we saw that their race was going to be one long and medyo tiresome race (lalo na when they're running in the dark na) so upon reaching home we prepared the banners for ALL the 42k runners scheduled to run that day.

check out the personalized "greeting cards" with the respective runner in mind
i.e. doc T's famous "are we there yet?" line :)

team bantay kalsada: THE tito caloy, mcoy, luis, cindy, carmen, carly, and marga

the other takbo peeps who paced the virgins are: pepsi, carina, earl,cindy, (did i miss anyone?)

other than providing moral support, the takbo crew provided the necessary (and crucial) hydration for the guys. in the midst of pitch-black darkness, they identified the runners passing by who needed water too. they also provided the necessary kwento breaks for the runners, lalo na to those runners who were like going crazy na kasi nga walang makita sa dilim, at sa pagkahaba habang kadiliman, parang walang ibang kasama. the break might have given them the crucial sanity back to finish the run :)

hmmm basically pala eh takbo.ph peeps gave our runners the necessary contra negative vibes eh :) from all the marathoners of takbo.ph sa SIM eh lahat nag sabing laking tulong ng support van for them (pinaka mabenta dito eh yung tubig :) hehehehe :) )

running this race for these friends have been one hell of a run, not only because of the distance, BUT most specially because of the circumstances they underwent.

i'm so proud of you guys. you all survived and passed this test with flying colors. nevermind the time, sabi nga nila, eh its not ONLY the finish time that you should be wary of, but more on the fact that you finished the race ALIVE :)

group picture with the finishers of day 1


to the SUBIC marathoners, virgins and non-virgins, CONGRATS!


ayot? APIR!


Comments

  1. you guys were totally the best!!! Seeing you at that part of the road made me totally safe... God helps us runners during the race and you guys were His instrument...

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  2. tim, sana next time, kasama na tayo sa may placard.. =)

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  3. It was a great feeling to see you guys at the starting line. Thanks!

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  4. Saturday was a looong day. Congrats on your back to back runs, Tim. You're full of energy, pacing the Human Race runners, doing support work, running the 21k at SIM and doing all the necessary kulit/laugh trip.

    Next time, may banner na din kayo. :-) Art class ulit kami. :-)

    (2 points na ko with my homework, Tim ah) :-D

    ReplyDelete
  5. I enjoyed reading this Tim :P My heart went out to our friends who were literally struggling their way through the dark on no hydration. Sabi nga nung ambulance guy kay Eo, lagare daw sila. I saw so many glassy-eyed runners with no hydration, was scary. Was glad to have helped out, even for a bit. :) Heck of a lot of fun too :P

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  6. Like I've said, the event only becomes prestigious because of the people who are in it...not because it claims to be...the oscars wouldn't be THE oscars without brangelina...the sim wouldn't be THE sim without takbo.ph...hehehe...;-) aleth (uhm, connect pa ba? lols)

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  7. You guys are the most prestigious support team!
    Congrats to the runners! Whether you finished it or not!

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  8. ellen/tim - level up na for Condura!

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  9. shame i missed this one. mukhang maraming drama ah, may comedy rin ba? hehe.

    congratulations to everyone who participated, whether as runners or support. :)

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  10. agree ako with neil! takbo.ph is the MOST PRESTIGIOUS support group in the Filipino running community today! :) abangan ko nalang ang blog para sa day 2. hehehe. :D

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  11. Takbo support group is THE BEST. A lot of runners were begging for us for water a long the way. We told them that we can only offer little amount of gatorade 'cuz we have to check for other takbo peeps if they still have enough hydration.

    Congrats to all!!!

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  12. napansin ko lang lahat ng nababasa ko part1 hehehe.... napaka "most prestigious" talaga grabe ng SIM sa kabaligtaran nga lang!!!.. congrats ulit sa runners ng 42k dahil nakatapos sila ng OK, lalo ng sa mga PACERS kayo ang nagbibigay aliw at lakas ng loob para sa mga mananakbo para makatapos!! saka mga support ng takbo.ph sa mga ganitong biglaang pangyayari andyan agad para sa pagsuporta sa bawat isa.. "Ganito kami sa TAKBO.PH, sana ganito rin sila!" teka sinong sila? eto ############!!

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  13. i love takbo.ph! you guys made everything worthwhile!

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  14. both happy and sad ako for the participants dito. happy for the finishers... that they made it alive and not so well from the event. sad because i was not able to join or even cheer everybody personally during the event.

    ziggy

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  15. Grabe talaga magmahal at magsuporta ang mga taga TAKBO! :)

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  16. Takbo.ph really made my first full mary possible. The sight of the support group was just heaven altogether.A very memorable event for me and I actually wouldn't have wanted it in any other way.. The fulfilment's more than enough for me :D

    Cess

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  17. syempre delayed ako magbasa ng blog entry diba..anyhooo love love love takbo.ph! (danda ng pix ko :P)

    -cindz

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  18. wow! touching, touching! the push that the support gives.. makes the run more memorable.

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