Gingerbreadtalk: Philippine Blog Awards, QCIM II Controversies, Nike Run Manila and Holiday Lethargy
The good news is, for the second straight year we've been nominated to the Philippine Blog Awards under the Best Sports Blog category. And the kicker is this year we finally made it as a finalist wohoo :) Not sure who were the other running sites nominated, but best of luck to you my friends. Thank you so much for your support and for continuing to enjoy my material. The bad news is that my site is acting up, of all times geez. Something went awry with the coding and it's not displaying the articles on the home page properly. Ugh. The worst possible thing would be for the fancy PBA judges to go through my site and see one miserly, zero comment article there along with a shaky layout. Smirk. I'm just hoping for the best. Awards night is on December 12 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC. I'll keep you guys updated as things progress.
Is this our year?
- Congratulations to all those who finished QCIM, level uppers and PR pounders alike. I ran the course last year, had a horrific time with parking and traffic but was memorable nonetheless for being my first sub-2 hour 21k. It also had the best medal of last season IMHO. Although I had completely no issues against it, the common gripe last year was that there was a lack of hydration. Apparently, there's always an angry mob. This year, the word out on the grapevine is all about inaccurate results and distances aside from the deletion of a Facebook page. This has spurred a hotly contested debate on this Takbo.ph forum thread. Register if you can't read it haha. Pockets of vitriol (albeit unrequited) are being spewed towards the path of Runnex and long-time Takbo.ph denizen Rene Villarta, better known in the general blogosphere as the Jazzrunner. With emotions running high, some of these interjections are better off left unpublished. As someone who has similarly been on the receiving end of these snide online remarks, I can only empathize. It's fair to state one's opinion, it's a free country anyway. It's another to degenerate into name calling and group bashing, specially in a public forum. We're all mature individuals aren't we?
Being interviewed at QCIM 09'. Whew it's been a year already. - Stay.Away.From.The. Ham.
- And Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme = Bad.
- I am the only one having trouble getting up in the morning to run, with this pseudo-Baguio cold and all? Got to love that holiday lethargy. Run = Bad. Krispy Kreme and Holiday Ham = Good.
- Another note on QCIM, I would like to personally congratulate my good friend Marga Baula for finishing her very first marathon. I've known her since her very first race, and she's come a long way. She is a shining example of that other, non-competitive but just as blood and guts side of our sport. While she may have come in at last place about 9 hours after the starting gun, her steely resolve and determination to finish in light of unspeakable odds is truly an inspiration to us all. Read all about her heartfelt account here.
Marga rocks. - Brooks' Green Silence is probably the coolest name I've ever seen for a running shoe. It name suggests that diabolical nuclear weapon that dictators keep in their back yard. Cool.
I just realized it's not er, green. - I received a late, red-blooded invite to the Nike Run Manila gig at Fort last Sunday. Kinda ironic because I handle Adidas ANR Ortigas, but what the heck seems like a fun gig. Oh the loyalty. Figured that since the plan was to do a brick workout anyway, might as well do it in a competitive race environment away from the crush at QCIM. The funny thing is, I've been away from the races for so long that poor lil' ol me doesn't even know how to use a D-tag. Boo hoo. Good thing I ran into race director extraordinaire Ian Alacar while trolling the grounds, thanks for helping this ignorant fool out buddy. Not too many people, was estimated at around 2,500 give or take. Field was stockpiled with fast varsity runners after strong tie-ups with schools. Rio (patiently doing his Obama-plastered smile while being snapped up for autographs and pictures ) did a patently good job with this . I struggled with a 22:34 time (good for only 81st out of 2,344 runners, testament to a strong field) about a minute and a half off my best time but the result was otherwise satisfactory. I had to rely on a furious challenge from some ultrafit varsity gals towards the end for that final push. Thanks gals, give one to the old guy. Was nice hanging with blogosphere heavyweights Jaymie/TBR and Vimz/Kulit Runner after, as well as with TPB bud Mark Mulder who finished 59th. Go to Vimz' site for the full results, I'm a lazy slob to post it on here. People were hyped over the Nike + doll that they gave away in lieu of a medal, I thought it was awesome. In related news, my Nike + doll is now the property of Ultramarathoner Abby :P
Till next week folks, congratulations to everybody on an awesome race weekend. :)
Hi Luis. Thanks for the mention and link. The backlash are quite expected, each race has its imperfections although i know that the organizers really tried hard to make it a more "acceptable" race. I don't own the aforementioned facebook account and i only remember posting on that fan page once.
As i mentioned once in my blog, i'm in no way connected with the technical and logistical aspects of the race (that's Neville Manaois' call) although i did over-see the setting up of the PACERS group and i think many benefitted with their pace and times even though the 21k course was longer than expected. Hayyy...
i'm not making any excuses, nangyari na ang nagyari and on behalf of the organizers, i deeply apologize to those who were shortchanged and of expectations that weren't delivered. sana maintindihan din ng iba nating kapwa mananakbo ang hirap sa pag organize ng race. I'm moving on with my running and hope to see you, Luis next time.:-)
Im on the Gingerbread Report. I can go to heaven now. lol. Thanks, GBM. That's right, my first runs, you were already there, giving me the confidence boost to pursue running---see what you got me into? Running a marathon 2 years later? Thanks. Thanks. See you soon. Im praying you win the PBA :) You're the wittiest runner/writer I know. It doesn't hurt that you're cute too (PBA judges, are you reading this? hehe).
Rene, I feel for you :(. Thank you for taking time out to personally text me yesterday all apologetic. There was no need. You read my blog, it will always be up to the runner to make the best of the situation and I made it my best day ever. (I can say this because I had the best friends around me-hehe) Some may blame now. But it will be okay tomorrow.
Keep on running everybody! :)
Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!
"And Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme = Bad."
No GBM, Krispy Kreme = Good = Heaven. Promise. ;p
Sir GBM! I hope you win in PBA, sana may online voting para i can vote haha. I've been backreading your blog since i discovered it (thanks to the VM contest! :D) and i always LOL hard while reading it. My favorite entries so far are the BDM, the Epic Relay & the letter from an old friend, super nice reads! Keep em coming & Goodluck!!! :D
I thought it was horribly unfair to drag you out there Sir Rene, given that not all people are aware of the your level of participation in the endeavor. Let's just release it to highest good and, good vibes for the holiday season :)
Marga, you rock :) To be very honest, I never knew when I first met you about two years ago that you would ever run a marathon. And yet you continually defy each and every stereotype out there:) Me and Abby are truly proud of you :) Rest, recover, and we have a bunch of Christmas parties to attend to haha.
Hahah Mari, good, heaven = Fattie = Slow = cry at finish line :P
I'm glad you like my work CJ, I'm sad because it seems that the new generation of runners don't read blogs that often anymore, either because of market saturation or they're too busy setting up their own. If you like my material, let's keep the movement going by sharing it with your friends buddy, I'd greatly appreciate it. :)
Hi GBM,
Congrats on your nomination! You deserve to win!
Thumbs up!
On QCIM- I wonder why there's a lot of complaint?
I think the race was well managed.
All I can say is congratulations to all the finishers.
Regards,
Joy
Thanks Joy! :) I can only wait and see how it unravels hehe :) Thanks for dropping by! Wasn't there personally but I see more contented people than those who aren't :)
GO GO GO MARGA!!! <3
Thanks for Jay the Nike Doll :p
and P.S.
I find it quite amusing seeing my name in your articles babe :p
hahahha!
Haha of course babe, you're famous hahaha :P Hope you liked JAy :P