Bull

Fun Runs have been really popular in 2010 and the trend would seem to go on for 2011. The first major ones for these year are the PSE Bull Run and the Cebu International Marathon held yesterday January 9, 2011. Given that I run simply for fun, I joined the much simpler and affordable Bull Run and with that, I wish to impart my thoughts about the run.

Registration

Registration was very simple and manual. I have no complaints. The singlets were given on-spot and while it was fast and cheap, they easily run out of stock. I registered for the 10K in Chris Sports Megamall and well, I got the last 10K singlet. It was also a good thing that there were many registration spots. Registration fee was a measly 450 bucks. and for a very good reason.

The registration kit contains the usual suspects: route map, singlet, bib number and safety pins, and the omission of a D-tag in favor of a timing strip (or whatever they call it). The singlet is pretty, but as witnessed by me and my friend Gus, folding them may stain them, must be the choice of textile paint they used. They may also get textile paint stained after a wash.

Route

The 10K route starts from BGC at the 28th Avenue and goes on to Makati CBD and back. You would be passing on your way, the BGC streets, the Buendia Flyover, Kalayaan Ave., Buendia, and eventually Makati. Not in that order.

The only trying part of the 10K route was the Buendia Flyover--which was given to the mercy of natural lighting at 5:45 in the morning. Meaning, if you're night-blind, it would be impossible for you to see a thing and easily run over your fellow runners. For some reason the organizers felt it was OK not to have the lampposts lit up or set up their own lights. If that wasn't mean enough, the early finishers from 16 and 10K were accompanied by a motorycle escort with lights that blind the ones on their way down the flyover. Regardless, I heard stories of people almost bumping into the early finishers. Also, only the Makati-bound lane was taken for the race, so people would need to squish themselves to fit on that one, sadly.

Getting to Buendia was troublesome for both cars and runners. Apparently, this whole section wasn't closed down. And I myself had to nag drivers so they'd let me pass. The traffic people were dumbstruck by the number people running.

Markers were also missing in action so you wouldn't have a clue when to sprint and just maintain speed. I maintained a constant speed the whole time, btw.

Water Stations
From hereon, I will not take it too kindly. Sure the registration fee is cheap. We get that. But seriously sacrifice the water station. If you're fast enough, the first water stations would be relief, but the last ones are on a fight-or-flee situation. You would need to fight to get water, either with your fellow runners or with the ones giving away water. Some stations have no water, while some conveniently misses their cups and waves you away with, "wala na pong cups, kamay na lang po." This is downright inexcusable and in a way is putting the runners' on harm's, er, way. Dehydration is a serious thing and apparently, the organizers could care less. "Meh, stop crying bishes, it's cold, no one gets dehydration when it's cold," they probably thought.

Also there was this instance that the water station attendant gave the runners the cups and allowed them to scoop Gatorade from the jug. This was utterly disgusting to say the least.

There were 5 stations at most and sadly only two were functional. The water also tastes right out the faucet.

Giveaways

For 450, I didn't expect much. Post-race events are really bothersome. You would need to be looking for your running mates or hustle to the giveaway booths and this can be quite consuming for someone tired. The Bull Run is no different story, though the giveaways make them more depressing. You will get a smallish bag, a small can of chili corned tuna, a very raw banana, and if you ran 10K up, a bottle of body temperature Gatorade to make up for the less than stellar water stations.

Given the inconvenience and the failures of the Bull Run, I still enjoyed it anyways. For some reason, I ran it very well and didn't walk for a minute. But the failures of the organizers can really get to people and this one just reeks. Maybe it's true what my friends say, this run mirrors our economy, and looking back, that does not bode well.