It's been a week since I joined the SKYathon 2016, which was held in Boracay. I'm back in Manila now and although it is a bit late, here is a quick report of what transpired during my first ever beach fun run.

The race was held on April 23, which was a Saturday. The 10k race started at 6am. I joined the 5k category which started twenty minutes later. When the race started, I found myself running at a pace faster than my normal. It was difficult because since it was on the beach, my feet kept sinking in the sand. There was a lot of resistance. My pace was fast but still comfortable that when I checked, I was in the top ten female in the category. Top 7 or 8, if I was not mistaken. 

Halfway in the race, I started to feel sick. The place was on sea-level that the air was so thick, and I had trouble breathing. I had to slow down a bit. I continued running when I could properly breathe again. Then after a few minutes, I felt out of breath again and I had to take a couple more walk breaks. I ended up being overtaken by a few ladies. But I pushed myself during the last 200 meters or so, still clocking in a good time. For a beach run, that is.
Overall, I still enjoyed the run. It was a first for me to join a running event on the beach and hopefully, it will not be the last. The event was very well organized. There was ample hydration throughout the race. There were marshals every few meters or so. There were lots of freebies from sponsors. The crowd was small but the event was quite a shindig. It was very different from fun runs in the city where it is usually jam-packed with people. There were fun games right after the race. And it did not end there. There was a party that night with free flowing drinks and upbeat party music. I really had a blast. 

It was truly a fun and worthwhile experience that I would do all over again. Perhaps I should start training to run on the beach. Haha. Thank you so much to Meriel and the rest of the organizers for the free race kit.
rank: 52nd out of 205 runners (17th female), official time: 00:35:06