Bacolod City Marathon 2024: Whirlwind of Emotions

 

Full solo travel. 

This is how I captioned my Bacolod City aka City of Smiles sojourn to run a marathon in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. 

Why full? This would be my visit to a different locality without knowing any personal contact. Hence, setting foot in Bacolod City late evening of June 14 would end all my apprehensions whether I would be safe and victorious in completing my 10th marathon in a fresh arena. 

June 16, Sunday is the date for BCM 2024. Start/Finish area is at the New Government Center of Bacolod. I had a recon of this architectural marvel a day before the event. 

Flag-off at BCM 2024 is 1:00 am which means Hypnos's power would again fail. Not surprising. My body has been attuned to this habit every time I have a run. A cup of strong coffee an hour before an early marathon would always do the trick. 

At 12:15 am, I left East View Hotel which is just a ten-minute walk to the start area. When I reached the New City Government Center it was not yet abuzz with excitement. The usual loud music and repetitive ads from the PA system were missed. There were just a few runners who were doing their respective warm-up exercises. I did mine. Then, I resorted to a selfie until I saw a friendly-looking runner whom I approached and requested if he could take my photo before inviting him to join me in the frame.  

Opening a short chit-chat, I found out that he is from Camarines Sur. A kindred oragon! That explains the positive vibes pull! Ha-ha. A first timer, Arthur (forgot his surname), convincingly appeared to be well-prepared in finishing his maiden mary. He provided me company until the flag-off. 

Since I am a native alien in Bacolod, I had to heavily depend on the marshals who were deployed to man the run route. I tried looking for a map of the marathon for this article, yet I only saw this one. 

Image Source: Bacolod City Marathon 2024 FB Page

Well, even with this map, I didn't know where all these mentioned places are exactly located! I was at the mercy of the marshals, traffic enforcers, PNP personnel, and fellow runners. 

Initial part of the run did not make me anxious as regards my bodily condition and safety. Recalling my preparation, I reminded myself that I had no reason not to conquer another out-of-town road jousting. Checking on the lights coming from the establishments and street lamps, I knew I would quickly notice pot holes and small rocks that might lead to a mishap. I was now sweating profusely due to the morning's humidity. After km 5, there was a heavy downpour and I felt the steam coming off my body which lowered my core temperature. The rain lasted for 10-15 minutes while I continued running. Afterwards, worry struck as a long stretch of dark road met me. 

Marshals on motorbikes popped up like ninjas on these pitch black streets, but it was  inconsistent. I solely relied on my phone's light. You see, I didn't bring my head lamp. I just wore a reflectorized tape on the lower part of each leg. Sadly, I had the wrong assumption that I'd be running on a well-lighted streets of Bacolod City to Silay City proper which covered the first half of the marathon. My Girl Scout outdoor education was partly forgotten, but my past experiences in ultramarathons years ago guided me to face this kind of rub. 

I reached km 21, injury-free; however, my muscles could already feel the tiredness as manifested by my longer powerwalk than run. Lechon (roasted pig) welcomed me at this U-turn and I took a small bite. 

Was it an effective energy booster? I couldn't tell since I trusted water and my hourly salt stick more to keep me going. Checking on my watch, I saw that I had been running for more than four hours. This meant that if I maintained my pace, I'd cross the finish line before 9:00 am. 

With the remaining hours, I resorted to all intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to shorten the distance to the finish line. At my quick rest mode, I feasted my eyes on the picturesque scenery and admired the splendor kaleidoscopic changes of color from the break of dawn until the sun began beating on me. 

But, thank youuuuu to my heat training, my skin didn't feel hurt. 

Besides, the sun is not yet scorchingly hot at 6:45 am. 

My drenched clothes felt lighter as the heat dried them up. DIY laundry eh! It helped me have my second wind at km 28 to km 32 until my left leg felt the sudden tightening of my muscle. I didn't expect it since I was wearing my very reliable (and lucky charm!) compression socks plus I had my  kinesiology tapes on both calves. Would it mean my hydration was not enough? The cramp slowed me down. Ten kilometers to the finish line became a helluva struggle! It just became bearable because I was running along with six runners who were also fighting their respective charley horse. The sight of the kilometer marker getting closer to the finish line was rapturous as I ran-walked-ran. Galloway method is indeed my forever! 

So my chip time is 7:27:52. I just saw it on June 19. Yay! I made it before the cut-off, but looks like my pace did not improve from my 2023 marathon. *sighs* 

An unlimited breakfast was promised to the runners, but I immediately returned to the hotel to regain my appetite first. It gave me an opportunity to review the whole running event and my performance. 

At this juncture, allow me to be an amateur critic. For me these are the strengths of BCM2024:

*Challenging run route

*Supportive and attentive marshals 

*Uniquely and creatively designed event and finisher shirts and medal

*Overflowing supply of hydration and energy foods 

On the other hand, I want to include the areas this marathon has to improve on:

*Proper time management - The program, which included the briefing, was done in a haste before the gun start. 

*Checking on the lighting along the run route - There were street lamps but they were not working. The flashlights and lights from the marshals' phones were insufficient in providing the needed brightness on the road. The runners' safety here was put at risk. 

*Allowing all runners to cross the finish line arc with the time digital display board - I didn't see my time when I reached the finish line because the clock had been removed even though the cut-off time had not elapsed. Furthermore, I walked on a heap of rubberized mat or tarpaulin on the perfect spot where I could have stood and savored my epic moment with my medal. *eye rolling*

*Photographers' location and presence - Where have all the photographers gone? I did not see a soul just a few minutes after the gun start. No photographer was strategically positioned in the areas where he/she could have captured one of the best poses of a neophyte or a seasoned marathoner. And for us slow runners, nobody was there to document our hard-earned victory. And I thought BCM2024 boasted about a lot of photographers. Were they only present for a certain period of time? In my case who didn't have anyone waiting at the finish line to have my own photo souvenir, I expected much from the organizers' cameramen. 

*Unavailability of the indicated shirt size - We specified our shirt size when we registered. Thus, the organizers noted the exact number of these runners for each shirt size. When I asked for my finisher shirt, the female staff informed me that the small size was no longer available. If an older woman, did not hear me and intervene, I would not be given the right shirt size (I was given a shirt  without the size label). 

I learned that this is just the second year of BCM2024. Obviously, the organizers are still taking baby steps in planning local marathons. For a rookie, I would nonetheless extend my congratulations for pulling off a major running event. 

Readers, whatever I have expressed here are constructive feedback. Meaning, the organizers have the right not to do a post-evaluation and work on the areas for improvement. 

Generally, I will still cherish my BCM2024 quest. It is in Bacolod City where I felt sincerely welcomed, protected and pampered. Living up to its moniker, Bacolod City did make me grin from ear to ear!

fin