Miles for Smiles : Race Review

Last Sunday, another run for a cause was held at Bonifacio Global City, the Miles for Smiles run.  Here is my overall insight on the event. This will be  my first time to rate any running event that I join in, thus, before I write on I have to lay down the basic things I look for in a run. These are not fixed, it may changed depending on the purpose.

My Criteria

The Route. This criterion is based on the  my overall appreciation of the route. This may include the terrain, the surface, the scenery or the complexity of the route which may annoy the runners or introduce a good challenge to them.

The Run. This is the actual run and all the essentials that comes with it. This does not refer to the persons  but focuses on the factors that have affected the run like the traffic, kilometer markers, hydration stations and safety of the runners.

The Post/Pre Event. This refers to how the opening , closing and all non running events.

The Kit and Freebies. Do I still have to elaborate this?

The Organizers. The people behind the scene and how they handled the race. This may include the marshals along the route.

My Review

The route is a straightforward route. I hate routes with so many U turn slots which becomes very crowded especially if 2 or more categories are merging  on that particular point. For this run, there was just one U turn and I have to like it. The terrain inside BGC is rather flat but the road to Lawton and Heritage Park was challenging because of the series of uphills along the way. A plus would be the loop inside the Heritage Park. The scenery was at its best and pollution was nowhere to be found. The route deserves a 5 rating.

The run is ok. Traffic were managed at the start. This reduced the risk of runners being ran into by cars in the area. Marshals were smiling. The location of hydration station is also good. The way they managed it was also commendable. An improvement would be to make sure that hydration is available until the last stretch of the run. The last 2Km water station does not have water when I passed around them. There were only 3Km markers along the way (Last 3,2 and 1 Km). Having them would be a nice improvement. Ambulance was also visible during the run. Thus, I give them 4 for this.

I found the Pre Event somewhat slow and boring. The gun start for 16K was late because of it. I never attended the post event by I saw a lot enjoying the post events. For this, they got 3.5.

Since this is a run with beneficiaries, I did not expect too much freebies. The singlet is good, the texture is awesome. The finisher shirt was one of the best thing I got from the race (plus the blisters and dead toe nail). Freebies were limited but since this is for a cause, it’s understandable. For this I gave it a 4.

The organizers did their job. The race was more or less organized. The distribution of kits were ok ( I got my registration at ROX). Distribution of finish shirts was also ok . The result came 2 days after the race. A 4 for this criteria.

My Conclusion.

The Miles for Smiles is a great event. The main plus would be the uphills within the route and of course the finisher shirt. There were some aspects that needs improvement but none the less the show was great.

Overall Rating: