Lesson learned: leave the toddlers at home unless they will be joining the run  – Run United 1

And because I do not want to leave my two Ceelin protektodo toddlers at home, both joined the 500m dash!

It was raining that morning and I was actually thinking of not going..and because of that, I was late for the 3k run..Ganoon pala ung feeling pag di ka nakatakbo.. nakakiinis 🙁  Good thing, the rain stopped and we were able to make it for Run United 2 500m dash.

My two older boys went ahead as they fall under the age category 9-12.. or more like, I told them to join that category instead of joining 4-8 category..para solo kame nila Chico at Sati (LOL) and so that they can run without me. Chico was the only registered runner (they won’t register Sati kase below 4, kaines) so we fall on the boys 4-8 category. We were advised to be the last one to run, but of course! Takot ko lang madaganan ang mga chikiting ko!

So there we were, running/walking and having the time of our life.. and we did finished the 500m dash but not without Sati asking for Karga! (di man ako nakatakbo sa 3k, bawing bawi sa bigat ni Sati! gang ngayon sakit ng braso ko ahuhu). Muntik na kame buhatin ng organizers haha..  

Remember when I said last Run United when parents have to walk a few meters just to fetch their kid to the safety booth (the place where kids go right after the race and that parents have to claim their kids before the staff let them out, it’s also the place where the finisher’s kit was given)? Well, I was glad that the organizers did something on it, parents don’t have to walk far to fetch their kid/s. I guess the fact that the 500m track for Run United 2 was different from the last leg made it possible. Last run, the starting line and the finish line was located in different areas, Run United 2 500 dash track maximizes the use of U turn, thus the starting line and the finish line was located on the same area. But because of that, the place was more crowded, then again, we parents were less worried. We can monitor our kids from the start up to the finish line up to the safety booth. Ang saya! Another good thing, the run started on time!

Aside from the good changes I noticed at the 500m dash, here are other things that’s worth to mention:

Kudos to run United 2 organizers for putting up a Kid Zone… you nailed it! Or is it just me who’s very happy about the zone? I bet all family runners are!

Active Kids Zone offers a lot activities for kid runners such as Fight Sakit from Enervon, Speedy Game from Dolan and a shooting game from Ceelin (waah I forgot to ask what it’s called..)

 Kids can also have fun posing at Museo Pambata’s poster caricature and read some books at the mobile library:

But our most favorite part of the Active Kids Zone was the Active Health Day Care.

There was story telling, balloon twisting, a clown, art & crafts activities and a corner covered with rubber mats with bean bags.. entering day care will make you think you’re not in a running event but in a children’s party! My boys had a great time making mouse puppet:

The kid had a blast at Ceelin’s inflatable.. it’s free when you purchase Ceelin. I bought two chewebles and my kids got 8 minutes of play on it (5 minutes lang talaga, makulit lang akong nanay haha):

Oh! I also have to commend the organizers for giving a belt bag as part of the kit.. o di ba keri ng mag photo ops while running, instant camera bag! or cellphone holder 🙂 And it’s a good timing for me, running with two toddlers is not easy, the least I want to worry is where to place my camera (at hindi naman pede na hindi ako magdala no! first time kaya ni Chico at Sati).

The finisher’s kit was nice but my first born commented that most of the items/ freebies on the bag were for ladies wahaha in fairness he do have a point, it would have been better if the finisher’s kit for the 500m dash would include products/ freebies specially for the kids, just like last leg’s 500m finisher’s kit.

That’s the contents of 4 finisher’s kit, except for the Dolan tumbler which we won from the Speedy game and two Ceelin chewables bottle which we bought at Ceelin booth.

I hope Run United 3 will have Active Kids Zone too! As for the Run United expo run.. although I enjoyed going there to get our race belt bag, bib with timing chip, and Riovana 10% discount stub (and the kid’s singlet).. it would still be more practical if we can get it all when we register.. so as to save on time and gas.. or maybe online registration would be better (haven’t tried it though).

All in all, we enjoyed Run United 2 more than we did Run United 1. I hope Run United 3 will be as much fun! or even more..

For Unilab 2012 Run United 2 race results, I think official result will be published on Unilab Active Health and RunRio Facebook fan pages one week after the race just like last Run United leg.