Thank You Tuesday: Bonifacio Global City

BGC Logo at the Fort Strip

It was by the end of 2009 when I secured a new job back at The Fort or to be more specific, Bonifacio Global City or BGC. I've gotten a lot heavier with my previous job and have vowed to painstakingly shed those unwanted pounds. I am just lucky that my current office is just a stone throw away or in Pinoy parlance, ilang tumbling lang from Bonifacio High Street which is one of the safest and most accessible routes for The Fort tenants. 

Bonifacio High Street

Runner at BHS

I am pretty sure that most of my running hours were spent in BGC with some spent in McKinley Hill and in Clark, Pampanga. I started running in High Street and coincidentally joined my first race here--a 3k one. My first 5k, 10k, 21k, 3K and my first full marathon in the Philippines were run here. 


So this Tuesday, I am thankful to work and live close to BGC for making my running life a lot easier!

Brooks Run Happy and Why Not Everybody Was a Happy Camper err, Runner

Was it a happy run for you?

It almost turned into an upheaval.

No, the runners--particularly the men--were not revolting against being forced to wear neon yellow singlets that would make them glow in the dark. It was about starting late. Yes, you read it right. Filipinos hate being late. At least in this facet of Pinoy lives, being late is a bane. The gun was supposed to be fired for the 15k runners at 5:30 am. The giddy runners were all in front of the start/finish arc minutes before that. But more than a quarter of an hour after, no signal to start has yet been commenced. A couple of runners booed. Others joined the banter by doing their own countdowns. Some perhaps grunted an expletive. While, I, being alone in this yellow crowd, waited patiently and quietly. I didn't bother complaining to the runner beside me. I don't want to get stressed out with something I can't control. 

I almost came late or even missed the entire race. I set my alarm at 3 am hoping to be at the Fort where the race is to take place at around 4:30 am. I heard the alarm and stopped it but I went to snooze mode right after and woke up an hour later. Not bad though, because I was out of our apartment and walked as fast as I can and got to there before 5:30 am. 

Anyway, my fellow 15k runners were already restless and the hosts were catching the brunt of the organizers' inefficiencies. It was almost 6 am when the hosts signaled the start of the race with a party popper which caused a runner beside me to exclaim 'Yan lang pala ang hinihintay!'.

And off we went. Some, mostly the elite runners started off fast. The others a lot faster than me. I was pacing myself to begin at a 6:30 pace until the 2nd km. I was aiming to finish at 1:30 maintaining a 6 min/km pace all through out the race.