I did my Milo Today!

Last year’s Milo Marathon. Just before the rain poured.

It was the race that started it all for me last year.

But this time, I joined the 21k event. I wanted to take it easy because I lack sleep and rest even if I came from a weekend in Mactan Shangrila. Kayaking, jetskiing and eating was fun but not restful.

I managed to log a few kilometers running around in the resort but it was just really to lose the calories I gained from the buffet.

Here’s my post race report on the 33rd Milo Marathon Manila Leg.

Race Route:

The route was flat throughout except for the Buendia and EDSA flyovers, traversing the stretch of Roxas Boulevard from the Quirino Grandstand to Coastal Mall. On the way back, 21k runners turned to Sen. Gil Puyat (Buendia) up to Tindalo and then back. There was a slight vehicular traffic buildup along Buendia because runners occupied part of the southbound lane. I also had to stop when I reached Osmena Highway because there was a PNR train crossing!

On a scale of 1-10 , I rate the race route an 8. Just because you don’t get to run along Buendia on a normal day.

Water Stations:

There were a lot of water stations and even Gatorade stations this year. I noticed that the Maynilad water truck was just sprinkling water and not pumping drinking water for runners. Water station attendants poured Nestle bottled water. Some sponges were also distributed but only during the early part of the race.

Rating: 9 (because of the Gatorade!)

Crowd and Traffic Control:

There were a lot of race marshalls, traffic enforcers, medics and police who assisted runners. But I noticed that their numbers dwindled after a few hours. That means if you’re not fast enough, i.e. you don’t make it within the cutoff 2.5 hrs, you’d be dodging jeeps and buses as you race to the finish. It’s a run fast or die situation. Not much choice for race participants here.

Rating: 7. Marshalls, support teams, stay till the last runner reaches the finish.

Over-all rating for the 33rd Milo Marathon: 8.5