Rush to Infinity Pictures

Thanks to CatA, Lester and Ben Chan (aka Photographer on the Run and Photovendo.ph) for the pictures.

Rush to Infinity – 00:56:58

There was definitely a rush today as runners from all over headed to the Fort Global City to participate in the Rush to Infinity 5, 10 and 15k events. There were over 2,400 runners who had registered, and some still pleading that they be able to do late on-site registration after it had closed at around 5:30am. Everyone was hyped and they wanted to beat their times from the previous Mizuno Infinity Run held last March 30.

It was easy to distinguish the old from the new runners as they donned their sky blue race singlet. I think it’s one of the better race singlets that they’ve given away at races. The new runners were wearing the white Mizuno finishers’ shirt which was equally eye-catching.

The race start times were staggered by 15 mins as the 15k runners started at 5:30, 10k at 5:45 and 5k at 6:00am. There was an adequate supply of Rush Fitness Water and Hidding Spring Mineral Water at the 4 water stations that were placed at every 2.5km mark.

Apology from Race Director of Rush to Infinity

June 29, 2008

TO ALL THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE RUSH TO INFINITY:

We would like to apologize for the long queue upon reaching the finish line. We understand that this mistake caused confusion among the runners as to where they should go in order clock-in their finish times. We also apologize to those who were not able to set new personal records or were hoping to beat their previous times because of this mistake. We will be making adjustments to the official race results to off-set the time that was spent waiting at the finish line queue.

Furthermore, I take full responsibility as race director for this mistake as it was purely technical in nature. This error cannot be attributed to Rush Fitness Water and Mizuno, as well as the other event sponsors.

The Official Race Results shall be posted at http://runrio.com. Should you have any comments, suggestions or other feedback, feel free to email us at feedback@runrio.com. We hope that in spite of everything, you were able to enjoy the race. We look forward to seeing you at future race events!

Sincerely,

RIO DELA CRUZ
Race Director
RUSH TO INFINITY

Fugeo! [ part 3 ]

Now this is a post that is looooong overdue! I’ve just been so busy with school work that I have not found the time to post my comments about the race. This is also the reason why I broke down the posts in to three parts so that the visitors of this site would not have to wait long. With Rush to Infinity coming up, I ought to write this already or else I’ll have a backlog.

Now, before I start, I’d like to share my sentiments on giving comments about races and events. First, it is only now that I realize, after working with Coach Rio, that handling a race event is much more difficult than it seems. Of course there are things that are very predictable, but then again, there are other factors that you will have to consider such as the weather, the number of participants that show up, the sponsors and the things that they commit to doing. Other things such as water stations, marshalls, race results, equipment, ambulance, distance markers, etc can all be prepared ahead of time.

Second, no one is forcing any of us to race. If we have a lot of complaints prior to joining a race such as singlets, unaccessibility of registration booths, registration fee, accuracy of the distance, drink sponsors (ie. Rush, Pocari Sweat, etc), we always have the option not to run. I mean, if we just have so many things about a race that we don’t like… then why are we registering for it anyway? If we have a lot of complaints post-race, we can always give feedback to the organizers so that they can improve, not just to rant. If we didn’t like how the race was conducted, then it is as simple as not going back to any of their events.

Anyway, going back to my recap of the Fuego-Mizuno run conducted last June 15 at Club Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas.

More pictures from Fuego-Mizuno Run

[Photos courtesy of Marj from Club Punta Fuego and Bards aka BananaRunning]

Fuego! [ Part 2 – road trip ]

Our trip to Punta Fuego is now added to the list of places I’ve gone on a road trip to. First it was Los Baños, then Tagaytay. Now Nasugbu, Batangas. Getting to Club Punta Fuego by public transportation was relatively easy but it was kinda expensive.

We started the road trip by getting to the bus terminal in Pasay near the Taft MRT Station. The bus ride cost us P165 all the way to Nasugbu, Batangas. We left the terminal at around 4:00pm and got to the town proper of Nasugbu at around 8:00pm. The trip would have been shorter by 2 hours if it weren’t for all the stops the bus had to take.

Upon reaching the final stop, we asked the locals how to get to Club Punta Fuego. They said that the only way to get there way by jeepney or tricycle. Since it was already late, there were no more jeepneys. I was surprised to find out how much the tricycle ride cost… P300! When I heard this, I started texting my friends who have a place at Punta Fuego and asked if it were really that far and if that ride really cost that much.

Since I wasn’t too keen on spending P300 for a tricycle ride, we decided to have dinner first. We started walking around the town looking for a carinderia since we were trying to save our money. We had to save enough money to cover for our transportation going back to Manila and our contribution for the house we were going to stay at. Everywhere we’d turn, tricycle drivers would ask us where we were going and if we wanted to get them to take us there. I think my huge backpack was a giveaway that we were transients.

After going around for about 30 minutes, an insistent tricycle driver finally got us to say yes… aside from the fact that our companions had just left Manila. It would take them 2 more hours before they got to Nasugbu so riding with them to the Club was out of the question. We got the tricycle driver to lower his offer of P300 down to P230. He even said that we could adjust the price if we thought it was too expensive but we had to see the terrain and the distance first. We agreed.

On our to the club, the P230 fare was bugging me. I think it was the most expensive tricycle ride I’ve ever been on. As we were going up, I realized how far it was and we went through rolling hills. Think Ayala Heights or White Plains. By the time we got to the main gate of the Club, I felt that the tricycle ride was well worth it… only to find out from the caretaker that the usual fare for locals was only P150!

We stayed at this beautiful house along Long Beach drive. It had a spectacular view of the beach (which we only got to see the following day). Thank you to Nana Mayen Ordovesa and her family for accommodating us for the weekend. We had a wonderful time!

Right after the run, we went to the Lower Beach Club for the awarding ceremonies and brunch. We took several pictures but… SOME ACCIDENTALLY ERASED ALL OUR PICS IN THE DIGICAM… Grrr 😛 You know who you are!

After lunch, we took an hour to nap then had some lunch then headed straight to Terrazas Beach Club. They also had an “infinity pool” which seems as if it extends to the sea.

I’ll post pics soon 🙂

Fuego! [ Part 1 ]

I wonder what Rizal was thinking right before the captain shouted “FUEGO!” In any case, makes me wonder if it’s anything close to what I felt when I saw the hills at Club Punta Fuego… they’re MURDER. Hehe

Well, luckily the organizers changed the route last minute the night before since they realized that the inclines were just too steep. According to Marj, one of the communications managers of Fuego, they didn’t want to traumatize the first time runners with steep hills. They wanted to make them enjoy the run.

The view was fantastic. The weather was ok, not perfect, but still better than running the polluted streets of Manila.

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[Pictures Courtesy of Marj from Club Punta Fuego]