Last Sunday, July 1, 2012, my daughters ran the Fit n’ Fun
Buddy Run as a pair for the first time. The girls have accompanied me on this race
separately in the past (Pat in 2010, Pam in 2011), but this year, I told the girls
to run with each other. There was actually a little hesitation from the younger
one when I first told them about the fun run some time May, but she nevertheless
agreed to the plan.
The 0400 H wake-up call
Anticipating a huge turnout for this activity and therefore
a parking nightmare, we set ourselves to wake up at 4 am. Our clock at home is
20 minutes earlier so the 4 o’clock wake-up time is well, really early. Someone
almost refused to wake up until I did the calling.
Early fun
Pre-gun start, booths giving-away freebies have been setup.
One can actually leave home starved and start the race having eaten a full
breakfast – cereal, banana, bread, milk, yogurt, your choice. From my
assessment, this year’s crowd is bigger than last’s. I guess the reputation of
this activity to be fun and really worth it (sulit to be exact) had gotten
around.
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| We came in early :) |
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| Having eaten prior to race, the girls look energetic |
Initial plan, I will just wait for the girls at the finish
line. However, upon seeing the crowd, I decided to follow them along the route –
yes, I became a bandit.
Good thing I made this decision as water stations got very,
very crowded and to a certain point, chaotic. Personnel did not have time to
fill up the cups before runners arrive hence ending up giving away bottles of
water and sports drink. I supplied the girls with drinks from my hydration
belt.
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| Large crowd |
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| Photo-op at the distance markers |
Running bug
Several other kids joined the race with their parents. Good
thing they are being introduced to exercise and healthy life style. The running
bug has really spread!
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| Mommy and child pair |
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| Reward at the finish line |
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| Wow, lots of goodies |
Good:
- Fit n’ Fun Buddy Run has lived up to its reputation of being fun with lots of freebies. Really, really lots of freebies.
- Nice venue, setup and very energetic hosts.
- Adequate distance markers. You know how long you’ve ran (and how many more kilometers to go).
Not-so-good:
- Probably due to huge turnout, hydration stations have become soooo inadequate. I actually feared some runners will get crushed amid the chaos.
- Personnel manning the stations freely gave some runners (with bags) sports drinks in bottles. I wonder if some runners ran out of something to drink due to this practice.
- Though I may never be able to prove, some loot bags have missing goodies. I compared contents with a friend who ran – we got coffee but no cookies.
Verdict
This activity is worth the registration fee and a good way to start running races. Hope organizers will work on the not-so-good list. Most probably, we'll be back next year.:)