Yakult 10 Miler 2019 Race Recap

Posted On October 8, 2019

There is always a sense of nostalgia every time I run the Yakult 10 Miler. It reminds me of the good ol’ days of running. Now it 30th year, I still like how the Yakult 10 Miler remains to be simple. Just go out and run! I’m glad I did.

The Game Plan

I have joined the Yakult 10 Miler in December 2008 and in March 2014. I was not able to check my finish times in these previous races but I thought running close to a 1:30 finish. This should be more than enough to beat the cut off time for the 16K.

Waking up at 3:00 AM was the biggest challenge for this race. Gun start times are early nowadays. It’s good because it means the temperature is still low. But bad because it means I wont be getting enough rest the night before the race.

The Yakult 10 Miler was just right for my training. I’m not preparing for a particular race yet but it matches the 10 mile requirement for this week.

The Race

The race started on time. I made sure I was in front so I can maintain a good pace early in the race. I don’t want to make the same mistake from the Bali Marathon where I got caught in the middle of the pack and ran a slow start.

I can’t find a race route published before the race, so I don’t know if the route will be flat or full of flyovers like the previous races.

The Yakult 10 Miler used a familiar route starting from SM By the Bay and running towards Makati. As we enter Makati, I kept on praying that we don’t get to run up the Kalayaan Flyover. And it didn’t! Thus, the route was very flat from start of finish.

The route was well managed. The marshals were plenty along the route. There were enough water stations and are spaced just right. I saw one banana station but I decided not to avail it.

The Finish Line

I reached the finish line at 1:35:03 based on my GPS watch. But instead of a 10 Mile distance, my GPS watch registered 10.82 miles.

I was glad to see the race results. I ranked 77th out of 826 Finishers! It’s not every race I get to be in the top 10%. But my finish time in 2008 was faster. Maybe I will try for a PR next year.

Just like the good ol’ days, I got a Yakult drink at the finish line. Instead of just one Yakult, I got two this time. One was the original Yakult and the other was the Yakult Light.

The 16KM medal was shaped like a Yakult too. It was not that big but I still wore it proudly until I got home.

And like the good ol’ days, I get to to meet and hangout with fellow runners at the finish line. It was nice to see familiar faces. Some of them are even the same faces I met in 2008.

Thanks Kat Kat for the pics.