[running past] afterglow fun [run]

[RUNNING PAST] are stories about the running events that I have joined before I started this blog. Expect retro-post such as this to pop up every now and then. 

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Chris, a friend from work invited me to join the Afterglow, a 5k glow-in-the-dark night run March 16 last year. It was for a cause close to his heart. The run was to raise awareness on depression in the Philippines. Royson, Imye and I joined Chris for our third fun run.

with Chris, Imye and Royson

It was our first time to run at McKinley Hill and our first time to try out a night run.  It sure was nice not to wake very early just to make it to the gun start. Prior to the run, there was a short talk from the Philippine Mental Health Association and the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation about depression and identifying the early signs.  It was quite informative.

warming up

This event was very different from the first two runs we've been to so far.  It was a bit "teen-oriented". A party atmosphere dominated the air.  I guess it was more of a party than run. Then again it was for a good cause and the 5k route was made more challenging with all those uphill runs. The road was not completely closed to traffic and there were cars that crossed the runners' path. Very dangerous in my opinion. We had to be alert when running through intersections.

To complete the party atmosphere, the runners were splashed by "paint" every now and then.  The "paint" were barf-like (for lack of a better term haha) in texture when wet and looks like colored libag when dry.  It smelled kinda sour too.  But its all in the spirit of fun.

splashed by "paint"

There were no official timer so there was no way of knowing our official pace and running speed.  I guess most of the participants were not concerned about that. I have to say that Afterglow was a different experience. It was fun but it is not a type of run that I would join again.  Maybe I'm just too old for that kind of party atmosphere. Haha.

And I believe that was the last time our running group joined a 5 km run.  I see that as a sign of improvement.  :)

partying with paint and running