5-K Run? The 21-K Half-Marathon? Go For It!

If you own a pair of running shoes, can lift one leg in front of the other and move from Point A to Z; if you love to sweat and know that while your heart is pumping 155 beats per 60 seconds then you’re getting healthier; and, best of all, if you want to join in a Sinulog activity this busy weekend—then I suggest you join me and hundreds of others this Saturday. The Sto. Niño procession? No, that’s on Saturday afternoon. The Sinulog Grand Parade? That’s on Sunday.

At 6 a.m. this Saturday—just two days from now—it’s a sports event that’s touted as one of Cebu’s biggest running spectacles this 2008: The Mizuno-Shell Sinulog Half-Marathon.

Organized by the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) and ASAP (Advertising Services And Promotions), the Sinulog Half-Marathon offers two options for all: a 5-K Run and the 21-K Half-Marathon. The start and finish will be at the Asiatown I.T. Park and participants are asked to be there by 5:30 a.m.

What’s in store for the runners? For the 21-K men’s winner, P20,000 goes to the champion (half in cash, half in goods). The first-runner up receives P12,000. The third to 10th placers also receive cash and in-kind prizes. The women also receive substantial amounts—starting with P15,000 for the women’s champion. What else?

All participants receive (below photo) a free singlet (sleeveless running shirt). And, during the awarding right after the race, raffle prizes will be handed out to all the runners—including a brand-new pair of Mizuno shoes. Plus—and this is exclusive for all 21-K finishers—a bonus: a free full-color “Finisher’s T-shirt.”

To top all these, this event is PATAFA-sanctioned. PATAFA stands for the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association, RP’s official sports body of running. This means that if a runner this weekend breaks the national record in, say, the 21-K, then this record will be official. Also, since there have been complaints before of inaccuracies with race distances, this won’t be the case on Saturday because the PATAFA representative will officially measure and certify the race course.

But the best reason why you should wake up at 5 a.m. this Saturday, trek to the I.T. Park and run? The adrenaline rush. Believe me, if you haven’t joined a race before, you ought to try it. Running, as you know, induces what’s called “the runner’s high.” It’s that exhilarating feeling deep inside you that makes your face smile. And this “runner’s high” you can experience anytime you run—at the track oval or alone on the treadmill.

But trust me: running beside hundreds of others on the road when the sun is about to wake up at 6 a.m. will give you a high you’ve never felt before. In fact, for most first-time runners, the urge to sprint at the start is enticing. Your body, like an engine that’s been asleep all night, is raring to rev those pistons and blast off. (A word of caution: Unless you’re an elite runner, don’t sprint.)

This “adrenaline rush,” I guarantee, you’ll experience this Saturday.