Running in Davao

This is a very late post due to numerous other priorities. Sorry guys.

Last March 18 to 21, 2009, I was fortunate to be chosen as one of the representatives of Quezon City in the Training for Key Enforcers of the Tobacco Regulation Act (RA 9211) conducted by the UP College of Law in Davao City. I was able to squeeze in 3 road runs in scenic routes. We were billetted at Marco Polo Hotel in downtown Davao and running around the city feels very safe. (Thanks to Mayor Duterte, haha!). Here is the snap shot of my runs:



On my first morning, I chose the "Heart of the City" route just to get the feel of the city. The route is about 5 Km long and I ran it in an easy 5:50 pace for most o the time. The overall Training Effect recorded by suunto T6 is 3.5. The route is of course marked by a lot of smoke from the jeepneys belching their black exhausts in CM Recto even in that early morning. But the overall air quality is far better than what I get in my V Luna-East Ave-EDSA-Kamias short run route. Afterwards, I dipped into the pool and did 500 meters of easy swim.

The next day, I dubbed my run as the "Two Flyovers Run" as the route took me through the two flyovers of Davao. It is about 8 Km long and passed through both commercial and residential areas of Davao. The most memorable part of the run is when I was chased by a dog in Dacudao. Wow, I surely beat the pace of Haile Gebrselassie during that segment! I also remembered meeting other runners in Dacudao and Magsaysay Avenue. After the run, it is again back to the pool for me.

For my final run, I squeezed a short run dubbed as the "Two Bridges Run" as the route took me over two bridges spanning Davao River. I first passed through Bankerohan Bridge on the way out and then throough Bolten Bridge on my way back. The route is about 6 Km long and it was pure bliss running through the newly rennovated Bankerohan Bridge that fell apart two years ago. I was not able to swim after the run because I will be late for the shuttle to the airport. Darn! haha

In general, what I remember most about the Davao runs was the better air quality compared to Manila. Running in the heart of the city feels like you are inside UP (actually Marco Polo Hotel is right in front of Ateneo de Davao Campus)!

I will surely be back for more!

Here are some photos:











Other photos are available in Photo Bucket.