1.  Be aware of “cheaters”—Runners should be aware and observant of “cheaters” and should have the courage to warn or tell them that they have done something which is not right. These “cheaters” should be reminded that they are not cheating the race but cheating to themselves.

2.  Talk to Foreign Runners—A small gesture of trying to start conversation with foreigners speaks well about us as friendly people.

3.  Analyze Sponsors of the Race—It was a wrong decision on my part to bring with me my Nathan Water Belt. This was my first road race to see bottled water/mineral water being offered in almost all the water stations along the route. I later found out that one of the main sponsors was one of the popular bottled water brands in the country plus the fact that the main supplier of water in Metro Manila was the principal sponsor of the race.

4.  Validate Race Course—I have the “gut feeling” and “experience” to suspect that the course was short. In my running practices in the oval track and in the mountains of Jamindan, my PR time of 46:48 minutes in 10K is consistently my time for my 6-mile distance runs. Which means that I still need to run at least 0.2 mile (equivalent to 320 meters). However, even if the GIG 10K Run was exact and accurate, I could had still got my PR best time with at least a minute or two minutes impovement from my previous PR time.

5.  Race to Improve—The goal in every road race I join is to validate if I am training properly and be able to improve my finish time without any kind of injury or illness after the race.

6.  Kilometer Markings—How I wish race organizers should not miss placing kilometer markings along the route of the race. This is very basic in road races. GIG Run did not have any kilometer markings along the route.