Passions and Dreams: My first international run

Last February, I read a post in Facebook about the upcoming Adidas Sundown Marathon in Singapore. I, then checked the website and got fascinated by the idea of running at night and in a different country. The cost of the registration was expensive already around $50.00 since the early bird promo ended last December 31. I gave myself a week to decide whether or not it would be a good idea. A chance to also tell my friends about it. I also informed my friend who is currently living in Singapore. She was excited by the idea too.

A week past and I visited the site again and registered. I tried my best to hide it from my parents because I knew how they would react. A month after, I called PAL and checked how many miles I got and luckily I had enough to get a free economy class trip to Singapore! Just had to pay the taxes and a local trip to Manila.

Last April, I told my parents about my plans and just as I thought they reacted in a not so pleasant way. I remember my mom telling me that they had no choice but to let me travel and run there because everything was all set and I already got a plane ticket. My dad also telling me that “Daghan diay kay kag kwarta para mu larga lang sa gawas para lang mu dagan”. I explained to him that I’m not the only runner that has ever decided to run abroad. I gave Dr. Yong’s name as an example.

My trip was scheduled on the 27^th of May because the run was on May 29, Saturday night. When I arrived in Singapore, I met with my friend in Raffles Place and we had dinner and dessert then went home to her apartment. I was also excited to see my race pack.

Back Man Tony

The next day was a holiday and we spent the day sightseeing and shopping!Race day finally came and I was getting excited! We had lunch together before I proceeded to the starting point. I was so early but so was the rest. I arrived around 4:30pm and the race was scheduled at 7pm. I wanted to see the Ultra marathon runners start. The most interesting runner I saw may “BackMan Tony”. He ran the UltraMarathon (84km) backwards. There was another runner with one leg. His other leg was metal.

One Arm Runner

Sundown Marathon 2010

While waiting, I got to take pictures and just roam around the place. They gave us glow in the dark bracelets to help us when it gets too dark. The host announced that there would be 4999 female runners running with me from 7 different countries! I started imagining that the road will be too small for us. The host then told us to go the starting point and watch the sunset before he shoots the gun. Women from UK and USA surrounded me. I noticed from their accents.

Before the start of the run

I heard the gun shot and started running! The weather was beautiful because there was no heat of the sun to bother me. It was so nice to see that there were no cars to disturb us and many volunteers cheered on the side. There were enough water stations too on both sides of the road. Thank God for the glow in the dark bracelets because there was probably 1km of darkness. The Caucasian runners were so fast with their long legs and long strides. One after the other on the opposite side of the road.

After the race

When I crossed the finish line I was so happy. Although I did not get a sub 60 finish it was still okay. Around the corner a girl gave me a bottle of Gatorade and a banana and at the end another girl gave me my first finisher medal! It was so pretty that I asked her to take a picture of me.

My Finisher medal

The results of the run were then published the next day at their website. I looked up my name and race bib no. and surprised to find out that I ranked #180 out of the 4, 264 runners that ran that day. I was overjoyed! I emailed my dad right away just to brag to him the results of the run and that I was fast enough to compete in another country!