dear messrs. red dumuk, dino jose and renato unso,
i am writing you in your capacities as race organizer, race director and technical director of the 2011 manila international marathon respectively and as an actual participant of the 2011 mim.
let me thank you at the outset for giving me the opportunity to run this race, much revered in the past and certainly not lacking in the pre-race hype(http://manilainternationalmarathon.com/index.html). i was excited no end to finally becoming a part of this supposedly prestigious race.
i understand the postponements you did especially during that non-typhoon if only for the sake of your participants. but i think it was too much to match up against the well-marketed camsur marathon by pitting mim on the very same date the other marathon was to be held.
mim’s route for sure had way better views(think running along the bay) and pre and post-race facilities to offer than that of camsur but as i said, mim is no match to the marketing skills of governor lray, who incidentally, i do not personally know.
come and past race day though, i could not help but share you my sentiments in the hope that should you decide to hold the 2012 mim, things will be better for your own sake.
- inadequate dissemination of the 330am gunstart. if i were not blessed with good friends who had the smarts to tell me, i would have stuck with the 430am guntime as underlined even in the race envelope you handed out. the eventual kenyan winner(female) was late but the speedy one that she is, she still ended up first on the distaff side. many locals and friends too were late.
- the eerie silence somewhat at around 3am at the event site was a portent of things to come. i could hardly hear any updates or drumbeaters from the organizers’ end. busily chatting at the rear of the pack, all i heard was a faint air horn to signal the start.guys, it wouldn’t take too much to invest in a good sound system, the kind that gets heard by all. how about a countdown next time? no need for fireworks.pollutants.
- inadequate water supply. guess, this would have been avoided if your marshals stuck to giving water only to legitimate participants and not to the usual roxas blvd crowd who kept asking the marshals for drinks.it would not have been difficult to identify the legits. bibs, you know. good thing that at the 2nd to the last water station, the water boys had the heart to tell me that there were no more supplies ahead and that i had to bring my own water bottle. bless you, boys. guys, the least you could provide runners is enough water.
- road closure and opening. during the first loop as i descended buendia flyover coming from ccp, i noticed the usual buses flying and jeeps honking on the race route SIDE. having been used to running “open roads” races, i did not mind this but was careful enough to stay on the safe side. on my way back, that portion was mercifully closed for runners’ exclusive use and just to make sure, i asked the traffic enforcers up to what time their task for us was. it was either 9 or 930am, they said. i was relieved but my joy was short lived. during my 2nd loop on the way back to the finish line this time, lo and behold, in front of me in the middle of roxas were the flying buses once again. i looked at my watch and it read 8am, barely 4 hours and 30 minutes into the race. who let the dogs in earlier than expected, i do not know.so, together with the other runners, i stayed on the far side of the road. we were no road kings once again and fair game for the reckless. had you informed us early on, we would not have minded playing along.
- race timer shutdown at 04:55:00. i was surprised to see no timers on as i approached the finish line. just to tell you also that at gunstart, no time was running. nobody bothered to get my barcode at the end and i do not know how my time was captured,if at all. i was at the finish at 05:01:34 by my own watch. the least you could have done was to wait it out until your announced cutoff before you started dismantling the stuff.wasn’t it a SIX HOUR CUT OFF you said?
- lacking by more than 1 kilometer. i made sure, i asked all those who had gps watches that day, it is confirmed, this is NOT a marathon. i am sorry for all those who thought they nailed new marathon prs. new prs yes but in a 41k race that the mim was. i ran slowly all the way to the us embassy and back to fill in the gap.if any, this is my pet peeve, “short” races. mr. unso, i revered you as a national athlete in your prime hurdler days but i think this falls squarely into your lap, sinukat mo nguni’t kulang.
- lack of medals. we were so few i swear, i could count by my fingers how many runners were in the race and yet this, lack of medals.none even for some who finished WITHIN six hours.
- a little lighting would have helped all the runners find their way along the sentosa condominiums area.if not for an unrelated warehouse light somewhat providing guidance, many would have stumbled. imagine running in the darkness of it all amidst talahibs. all i heard was a repetitive alien-like voice blurting something about doing a turnaround somewhere. i could hear but not see. be kind to men with failing eyesights.
and if i may ask,what was the hurry anyway in packing up the timers and opening the roads while runners were still along the course running well within the cutoff?
lack of preparation can’t be an excuse given the time you had to prepare for this much-ballyhooed event.
but i believe in second chances though and given the opportunity to run this with you at the helm again, i will gladly choose this over the camsur marathon anytime should you choose the same date again. sure, you got walloped big time by that other marathon attendance-wise but take consolation in the fact that nothing beats running along manila bay on a good sunday morning.
as for the first-timers, do not be carried away by your first frustrating foray into the world of marathons, this even if you got hit by stray cyclists along the route and suffered nasty looking bruises as a result, all under desert-like conditions. learn your painful lessons well.
i sincerely wish you nothing but the best, red, dino and rene. just don’t forget that international means international standards no less.
one with you in running,
jonel c mendoza(happy to be alive after 41k plus 1)
2011 mim participant
p.s. do not allow promo people to sell drinks to runners DURING a race. runners expect drinks to be free in such an activity.
FRONTRUNNER Philippines 
