McHappy Run 2010 : Race Review

Last November 28, 2010, McDonalds Philippines hosted the 2nd McHappy Run at McKinley Hills, Taguig City. This run is for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RHMC). A very simple event for a very meaningful cause. I was lucky enough to get a free race kit courtesy of the Running Atom. It is my only second 5K race to date. Hell yeah, I had a blast. Here is my "delayed" review of the race that was.

The Route.

Who can question the challenging route of McKinley Hills. Anybody who have raced in this venue will say probably say "Those hills were a killer". For 5k'ers, the first few hundred meters of the race already showed us what to expect. Right from the start, a hard descend towards Lawton made us breathe like hell with just a few meters away from the starting line. Nonetheless, the hill combinations of McKinley Hills, Lawton and Bayani Road won my heart. Thus, I'm giving it a 5.

The Run.

It was an event for families to enjoy a run. It was one of the best example of the term fun run. families had fun, runners had fun. Ample hydration stations, happy marshalls, proper route signage and near perfect traffic management. Lawton anf Bayani Road were shared by McHappy and Run BGC runners yet I did not notice any issues on this. Good job everyone. A perfect 5 for this category.

The Pre/Post Events.

One of the secret of coming with a well applauded pre and post event is the choice of event host/s. McHappy day run was right on the spot choosing Donita Rose and the other TV anchor guy. The pre event was really fun and funny. The warm up exercises was also great. The post event is equally comendable as well. All in all it was really a McHappy Day event for everyone. Another perfect 5 for this category.

The Freebies/Kits.

For someone who got a free race kit, I should not be complaining and indeed, I am not. Even those who paid for it may not be complaining at all. The PHP350 registration was, I believe, worth the penny. The post event meal was good (at least I was not expecting for a buffet this time ). The post event free drinks was there. The race kit did not provide a singlet but I think it was totally unecessary. If there is one thing that I could have asked for is a cheaper McHappy Day run shirt. I bought mine at PHP250 and the material is great.  Nonetheless, still another 5 for this category.

The Organizers.

The organizers knew how to put up a memorable fun event. The marshalls were friendly, the event itself is well organized. Registration process was ok. I think the only part where they need to improve is on the race results. I have to wait for 2 weeks to see the actual result. More or less, a 4.5 for this category, to make room for improvement.

My Conclusion.

Once again, this race proved that an event need not to be so grand to be memorable. More importantly, a great cause and a great deal of fun in the most organized way can land an event to a runners heart. Definitely, this is one of the races I can consider as memorable this year. Will I run this event again next year? Yes and I will make sure that I will recommend it to my friends.

Overall Rating.

Photo Section.

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