Fit and Run.Info

1st issue of Runner's World Philippines

For runners, running is not just a hobby—it’s a lifestyle. More attitude than action, running is about being alive and well. As more and more Filipinos get into the habit of running, Summit Media brings to Philippine shores this April the leading voice of running worldwide—Runner’s World.

Looking at the listed articles, I can’t help but wait in anticipation my own copy! Check out Journeying James who already had his. Also, Leland Pasion posted a “first look” article in his blog.

The New Balance shoes that I got for myself. I'm ready to run!

New Balance MR662SSY running athletic shoes. Wow, that’s a mouthful. Wish these shoe manufacturers can have a more friendly name for their products. Anyway, it was quite a challenge finding running shoes yesterday. After getting my running gait analysis at Runnr and found that I’m an over-pronator, and thus needs one for stability, I was not ready to plunk in four thousand pesos plus (P4,000+) for those fancy, high technology, running shoes they only have at their shop. It was kind of a disappointment, really.

I want to consider myself as a beginner. Not that I haven’t ran before, but this time, I want to make it as scientific as possible. Starting from scratch. And that also extends to my running shoe budget. I was thinking at the vicinity of around P3,000 that’s why from the Bonifacio Global City, I went directly to Shangri-la Mall and SM Megamall in EDSA to check out the athletic shoe stores.

No luck. While many stores were having a sale, the price point I was looking for wasn’t there. It never helped also that an attendant from Nike didn’t seem to know what stabilized running shoes are! Unfazed, I rode the MRT and went hunting in Glorietta and SM Makati where I finally found one at 30% off.

The New Balance MR662 men’s running shoe is the perfect choice for entry level or beginner runners. This lightweight training shoe offers cushioning and stability in a breathable synthetic and mesh package. The injection-molded EVA midsole absorbs shock and ABZORB® cushioning enhances your comfort. The rubber outsole of the New Balance MR662 running shoe delivers reliable traction and grip on a variety of surfaces.

Just right on my feet. I also bought some Nike running socks but found out later that there was another pair cheaper than the one I got at another store. Darn. Anyway…

After checking out coolrunning.com’s couch-to-5k running plan, I’m now ready to hit the road.

The Cebu City Marathon 2010 uses the ChampionChip for the 21K and 42K races, the first time in the province and third in the country. Image by GIFFORD JOHN PERRAL, racer number 280, 42K

Just one more day to go and it will be the Cebu City Marathon 2010, the first full marathon in the province. What makes this big sporting event memorable is that it goes high tech with the use of ChampionChips. These are just small devices used to time runners that they can wear (organizers advise marathon participants to wear it on their shoes):

…consist of a miniature transponder in a specially designed housing, marked with a unique identification number.

Two main advantages:

• fast and accurate times of the runners
• immediate posting of race results at organizer’s website

This will indeed be an exciting local marathon with results known within minutes!