At the onset of my return to running, it never occurred to me what will be the race to jumpstart my comeback. I just told myself, “Find a 10k, prepare for it, then come race day, run it like you should.”
To be honest, I never even knew that the running world has grown by leaps and bounds ever since I stopped in 2003. It was through my college friend, Ricky Gundran, that I got to Takbo.ph’s List of Events and picked 2010 Run United Leg 3. That said, I picked my comeback race almost at random as it was the nearest race I felt I was ready for.
Taking my cue from Coach Rio’s seeming fetish for trilogies, I decided to run at least a trilogy set of 10k, 16k and 21k before getting to my first marathon. It was, in a nutshell, whatever race that came my way the earliest, I’d hit it. Distance and timing was all I needed. Between November 2010 to end January 2011, I racked up 6 races. If not for the Holiday break, I probably had 2 or 3 more.
“Adik!” That is how the wife described my newfound love.
Two more 21ks thereafter, and about two thousand pesos lighter (for me alone), I have become selective, whereas I have never felt before the pinch of the pocket when I hit the registration booth.
I am not a runner that dwells too much on loot bags, medals, freebies, stylish singlet, type of hydration fluids. These are not the reasons I run, nor will these affect the quality of my run.
I run a race because I am capable of covering the distance and it is to keep my competitive juice running as I work on my dream marathon. I realize that I will never be an elite runner. But I like to validate my training by racing with the best, even though I know I will eat their dust.
I pay the fee for the safe use of the road, a near-correct distance, have an official time, just sufficient hydration along the route and cover the expense for the singlet. With the exception of the singlet, all mentioned are what I consider as need if I pay to race.
Most, if not all, races espouse a cause. That was trivial for me before. But now, as part of my growing maturity in this sport, it is becoming a driving force in my race selection. I am keenly interested on who the beneficiaries are and how much is going to them from the race take (organizers declare an approximation of these, I notice recently. Or you can do the math).
Another reason why I have become selective with my race, especially on fees, is my family's (of 6) growing love for the sport. Imagine a race fee of P600 for a 5k for 5 and P750 for a 21k, OUCH!!! Do that twice a month and you can just feel a metal mallet go through your teeny-weeny pocket. Hence, much as I want to run myself, I have to forgo the desire so the kids can run when they want to. School finals demand saved me this month.
The good news is, coach has advised me to run 5k or 10k mostly now. The 21k? I think “Run with the Masters” is all that’s in the horizon. FOR NOW. :-)