Okay, so I have recently
been branded as “one of the boys”. It’s a tough name, believe me. Being with boys can be very arduous especially when their competitiveness starts to heat up.
My theory was proven right
after my friends Phillip, Christian, Marlon and I joined Enviro Run at
Tiendesitas. We were all aware that the route was not only confusing but
exacting too! The route included steep and long uphill spots and it required
the runners to make three loops before heading on to the finish line. So I had
only one fear in mind – getting lost along the route. For crying out loud, I
didn’t travel all the way to Manila just to get lost in a race. Thus, I
requested my friends to run in my pace. I even added that it would be lovely to
reach the finish line together with friends and running mates. I crossed my
fingers and fervently hoped my charm would work.
Alas, it did but did not
last long. When the gunstart went off, my friends and I started with a rather
slow pace. Christian said he wasn’t after beating his PR. It would just be his
training for the upcoming Condura Skyway Marathon. We were running side by side
with an easy pace until we reached the first uphill spot. I slowed down. But the
three of them went off. I thought I’d be able to catch up but to my dismay
it was a long stretch of steep uphill course. Soon, my friends were out of
sight. I started to panic. I didn’t want to get lost along the way. I tried to
sprint off from time to time and recover in between. My fear only disappeared
after finishing my first loop. Thank God, I didn't get lost.
The second loop was rather
easy. Although I dreaded the long stretch of uphill course, I still managed to
finish it without stopping in the middle and just wished somebody would kick my
ass and roll down the road (no pun intended). Thankfully there were marshalls
everywhere to guide the runners. Soon enough I got my second cord. Along the
way, I saw a fellow runner who seemed to be lost. She asked the policeman
which way to go and the policeman told her to turn right. There were other
runners listening so everyone turned right. I knew there was one final loop for
16K runners so I called the runners attention and told them to run another loop
unless they signed up for 10K. And since all of us were 16k runners, we went
straight ahead for the final loop.
As soon As I got my third
cord, I was extremely happy. It meant one thing; I was few kilometres away from
the finish line. Thus, I gathered my remaining strength and poured it out on my
final kick. Not long after, I was few yards away from the finish line. It was
one sweet moment. The fear of getting lost was totally gone and was replaced
with exhilaration for finishing another race.
PS
So what happened to my friends? As soon as I
reached the finish line, the first thing I did was look for them. I found them
under a huge tree impatiently waiting for me. They joshed about me getting lost
for it took me so long to complete the race. I just brushed them off. I was too
happy to allow anyone spoil my day. Enviro Run taught me one thing, being “one
of the boys” means being tough. Sure they pamper when out of the race track but
it’s a different story when we are on our running outfits.
