Color Manila Run 2018

6 Years of Color Manila Running

There’s no better way to start your race calendar than enjoy the multitude of colors at Color Manila Run.  That’s how I started my year for the past 6 year and it still remains as fun an as visually exciting as ever.

Color Manila Run

I still remember how the festival of colors amazed me 6 years ago in the first ever Color Manila Run.  Since then, it has always been my first race of the year.  It’s a feel good run and you still get your distance for the week.  6 years of Color Manila and I’m still enjoying every moment of it.  2018 had more than 10,000 runners having a paradise run flavor who enjoyed the festive run and the classic Color Powder Ceremony.

Color Powder Ceremony

The Color Powder Ceremony and the after party is what makes Color Manila stand out from other runs.  It keeps runners in party mode as they welcome the new year the colorful way.  6 years on this habit and I’m still amazed at how Color Manila brings in droves of runners and even non-runners to try out the running lifestyle.  It’s just a fun concept to introduce the running lifestyle to people outside the running community.

For my 6th year of Color Manila Running, I opted for the 10 kilometer distance since I’m a bit rusty especially when it comes to road races.  The first run of the year is always a struggle for me and that’s one of the reason I want the lax environment at Color Manila Run.  At gun start, I just went with the flow and went on run the first kilometer. Hello Shin Splints!!!  My legs felt stiff and I had to manage my pace once again until the muscle gets warmed up enough for a good run.

Photo by Lem So.

I went back to the run walk set.  I would run several minutes and take walking breaks in between just to let the muscle relax a bit.  I’d enjoy each color station and go again.  There’s really no reason to rush my way to the finish line. The route had an out and back along Seaside Boulevard and Diokno Boulevard with four color stations at Diokno. The run walk set went on smoothly before entering the other side of Diokno and heading towards Sunrise Drive.

There was a swarm of 5 kilometer runners headed towards the route.  I had to swerve my way through the crowd.  There was several color stations at Sunrise Drive.  I went at my regular run-walk pace until the u-turn at Macapagal Boulevard.  On the way back, I met Jeff Lo of Pinoyfitness and TBR Batchmate Chiqui so I joined them for a while.  This was the part that I was at running pace already.

With Jeff and Chiqui – Photo by Lem So.

I joined them towards the Diokno Boulevard stretch before letting them go ahead a bit in Seaside Boulevard at the last two kilometers.  I then resumed my run-walk set heading back to the finish line for my first 10K run for the year.  It’s always such a great feeling crossing the finish line.

First 10K of the Year!

I had color powders all over me but I had a lot of fun.  After the race, I stayed at the media tent. Aside from the color powder ceremony, another tradition for Color Manila Runs is the dance showdown and it was fun watching the participants dance their way to earn the applause of the crowd. Then there was the Color Powder Ceremony.

The color powder display was really awesome and what made it even better was the jovial and party mood of everybody as they enjoyed the celebrations.  It’s always a fun day at Color Manila and what a great way to start the year.  Happy Colorful New Year!

Congrats Justine for another well organized Color Manila Run.