I woke up this morning around 3:30am with a heavy feeling and a blank state of mind. Suddenly, all thoughts pop-up on my mind about the race. With start time of 6:00am, it would be a very hot race and I hope Botak will be true to their words (at least from the email I got from Franco of Botak) that there would be enough water stations.  After a very short shower and breakfast, I went straight to The Fort where the race would start and got in there exactly 5:00 am. My plan for this race, as this will be my first 21k will be to finish it with no injury+have a decent finish of not more than 2:30. I think I achieved the former but the latter got lost somehow

The race for 21k and 10k started exactly at 6:00am. As my intention was to have a decent time, I tried to pace with Luis who happens to be one of the fastest runner in the team. And boy I thought it was a bad idea to pace with him. He was just too strong and I have to signal to him that I would not be able to run with him anymore. There were many people running 21k this time and I got to meet one of the I Am Ninoy Runner named Jay. I tried pacing with him on the 9th kilometer but I have to stop due to stomach cramp I’m feeling that time.  The route was especially challenging with so many uphills however the heat from the Sun (as the race started so late) started to take its toll on runners. Worst thing  happened when water stations ran out of water,  I think this happened on 3 or 4 water stations and some people even have to ask water from sari-sari stores. As for myself, I asked a group of construction workers working in one of the road-island to give me water to which they readily agreed. After 15th kilometer, this is where my feet started to give up. My feet were so wet due to my habit of putting water all over my body to combat heat. This causes water to get through my shoes, causing blisters on my feet which I carried through until finish line. Anyone can suggest a “water proof” socks?

The uphill road from Ayala going to The Fort area  was one of the biggest challenge on that route. All runners from my perspective respected that stretch of road and NO ONE actually ran, they walked on it!  At the C5 road with few kilometers left before finish line, there was water sprinkler and what could be the very last water station.

What I don’t like from this race is the lack of water from water stations. I passed around 4 water stations not being able to provide enough water. This is really a sign of irresponsibility on the part of race organizer. Starting 21k race at 6:00 am and not being able to provide water to runners can cause extreme dehydration and death.I hope they learn from this race to avoid being repeated on the next Botak race at Bagiuo where some takbo.ph peeps will be joining. Another thing worth mentioning was that water station also ran out of caps.  I just hope that the race organizer save their face and their company’s reputation by doing some math on how to ensure there will be enough caps on their next Botak race. Please check Sir Jovie’s post on how to do this.

General Observations:
1. They lack enough personnel on water stations. Ideally, there should be at least 3 people taking water and additional 2 giving water to runners. They should have also prepared caps with water already filled up instead of starting to fill water as the runners passes by. This caused delay and pissed a lot of runners (me included)

2. When runners join public vehicles on a racing event, it’s a bad sign. They should have organized it in such away any sharing of same road never happens. I was almost hit by a BMW near the Market Market! area!

3. The most important part of the route was the Kalayaan fly-over going to the finish line. I hate the fact that the organizers didn’t bother to put any water stations in between and have the runners suffer from the heat of the sun. Note to Botak Race organizers, you are putting people’s lives at risk! Please do more planning, invest in water stations to save your face next time.

4. A 6:00am start race for 21km is too late. Please adjust it to an earlier time.

I was so pissed with the outcome of this race that I did not bother to spend longer to check several booths but went  straight to my car and went home back to Cavite.

Lessons learned:
1. Build more stamina. I guess I badly need this if I want to conquer longer distances race-pace.
2. If you should pour water over your body, ensure that you it doesn’t go through your shoes to avoid blisters.
3. Include more runs on inclines/uphills.
4. If you should walk, try jogging instead.

With my finish time of 2:38 (21km), a dead toe nail and blisters, this race is a nightmare to remember and a lesson to learn from.

Me and Ultramarathoner Jerry aka as HighAltitude