With all the running-related posts I’ve been yakking about, I know I should eventually start a running blog that people who are actually interested will read and appreciate. But wait! This run is special… Well, for me at least!

Last Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia, my husband Marc and I ran for a cause that we truly believed in: The National Geographic Earth Day Run 2010. The price tag per distance category is quite steep (more expensive than the other races we’ve ran), but it’s NatGeo! What can I say? I’m a NatGeo fan girl! 😀

The proceeds of the NatGeo Earth Day Run 2010 went to DAtE (Design Against the Elements), “a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change.” I’m not sure if it was on TV or something I’ve read, but from what I remember, contestants in this competition are to design a prototype to be used in a planned eco-village in Taguig. The design must be able to withstand the effects of climate change — an example would be the recent typhoon Ketsana, which submerged practically the entire Metro (our house included! hehe).

I guess the idea that the recipient of the run’s proceeds was a competition aimed to prevent another “Ketsana tragedy” made this run close to our hearts. It was a run that we just had to participate in. There was a “cheaper” run held the same time as this one, the Earth Day Run at the Fort which benefited Greenpeace, but there was something about DAtE’s specific cause that made us opt for it (not to mention the fact that hubby and I are both NatGeo fans!).

True to its “earth” cause, paper cups were used at the water stations. One thing though… I wished they didn’t keep the water running at the cool-down shower provided by a Manila Water truck. It just kept dispensing water! Call it a pet-peeve, but it really irritates me to see water running ceaselessly. I’ve lived 26 years of my life in Blue Ridge where water didn’t come easy (we had to use a pump to get water, as the hilly terrain of where we live caused water pressure to be so low). Seeing water wasted like that just annoyed me. There’s nothing wrong with providing the best for runners (the shower was a nice way to cool down), but hopefully next time, they can find a device that will allow the water to run only when needed, like a switch or something. Wasting water like that (in the middle of a drought, no less) just didn’t sit well with such an “earthy” cause.

But overall, it was a fun race. I ran at a slow pace on the 3km route as I couldn’t afford to go all out. We participated at the Tail Runners Metro Dog Run the day before, and we’ll be running next week at the Greenfield City Sunset Run 2010 (who else is going? Hubby and I are both doing 5km). I forgot to bring my iPod, so I got to listen to the people around me. And yes, they all seemed to be having fun 😀

I’m definitely going to watch out for the progress of DAtE. Who knows? The competitors might actually come up with something that we can all adapt to make our homes climate change-ready!