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!