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THE CONVERSE BLOCK PARTY: SUMMER’S LAST, BIG BLAST WITH GAMES, MUSIC AND DANCE!

CONVERSE BRINGS AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY together for an entire day of street games, basketball-skateboard-and-dance exhibitions, musical performances and the chance to win fun prizes—it’s time for the Converse Block Party at the SM Mall of Asia! The Converse Block Party unites our community to celebrate and achieve worthy goals.

A block party, like the Fourth of July Block Parties in the United States, is more than just a street party. It’s about community members rediscovering and relating to one another in unity and mutual understanding.

From this unity, we discover the power of friendship and camaraderie so that we can act, as one community for our benefit. Essentially, we are tapping into the same spirit of bayanihan that Filipino communities of old mobilized to help each other.

Street cred

Converse is a much-loved, long-established leader in casual street-wear. The brand is already an iconic part of our lives. The block party is not just a perfect showcase for Converse as the preferred urban outdoors apparel—it is also an opportunity to show the not-so-obvious but ever-present reality: a community is most united when its members gather outdoors.

When families and individuals stay at home, they are all separated from each other by their respective domiciles. When they gather outside in the streets, this separation disappears and they go a step closer to uniting as a community. The Converse Block Party wants to dissolve the barriers that separate us and help us find the qualities that make us one community.

Converse’s iconic street-wear status bridges the gap between individuals. It’s so easy for people wearing Chuck Taylors or sporting the Star Chevron logo to strike a conversation. In a way, wearing Converse represents a common attitude, a shared act that, when enough people get together, transforms into a communal gathering. That’s where Converse’s “street cred” comes from.

Basketball, skateboarding

The Converse Block Party brings together the community through activities that Filipinos enjoy. Every community in the Philippines has a basketball court, big or small. That’s why the block party includes basketball exhibition games and shooting competitions, as well as other basketball-related contests that give away exciting prizes.

Besides basketball, skateboarding is also featured in the event. Skaters have the chance to do their own thing during the Open Skate session. Skateboarding competitions promise exciting prizes. Old and new skateboarding tricks wow the audience while a Skate Clinic welcomes all who wish to improve their skills on the board.

Electrifying performances

The block party features music and dancing from some of today’s top performers. The Philippine All-Stars and Krumpinoy gets everyone moving to the beat of their amazing street-dance moves.

Callalily and Gloc 9 with Pointblanc rock the house while Beatbox Philippines show off their skills onstage. A beatbox contest lets winning participants perform onstage with Beatbox Philippines. Visual artists create some cool graffiti and chalk art.

The Converse Block Party is the perfect send-off, the best hurrah for the summer, as we celebrate friendship, great memories, Life and Freedom. Let’s party!

A Doctorate in Running

I was a bit apprehensive upon joining the 10k race at first since I had a basketball game the day before. But I still decided to jump for the 10k instead of 5k or 3k because this is good training and base building for my 2 upcoming runs in may (Greentennial Half Marathon and Run for Integrity)

So anyways, race time was delayed by 10 minutes, to give time for the late comers affected by the closed roads due to other simultaneous runs and gatherings. By Gunstart I was able to hold my pace by continuously running up to the 3rd km marker. By the time I reached blue wave fatigue is starting to wear in. Re-tying laces also didn't help.

By the way, Runrio's km markers may not be much in 3-5k races but they're a big psychological help on 10k and above  races. It really helps when to pace / conserve energy and when to give it all out.  The heat was also something,  first time I  consumed all 4 hydration bottles.

Towards the end of the race, It was quite surprising a lot of participants from the shorter distances were leisurely walking towards the end of the finish line. It was quite hard to bypass them. I hope next time they'll treat it as a run. I Sprinted towards the finish line and gladly made it.



Post event had 2 long lines for Ice cream and photograph, good thing I left my camera in the car, no need for those long lines. Thanks to the sponsors for the medicine and some oatmeal cookies.

In the end, I clocked in at 1:06:21 56 second improvement for my 10k PR but still a lot of improvement needed. Since I got a free kit, I was known as "Unknown Athlete. Actually, that sounds kinda cool. I spent the rest of the day on rubbery legs.

PCPF Run with the Doctors

The PCPF (Philippine College of Physicians Foundation) is Proud to present Run with the Doctors.

 
PCPF " Run with Doctors”, will be held on May 1, 2011 at SM Mall of Asia. Boasting of 3 race categories 3km, 5km, and 10km.

REGISTRATION VENUES

Online registration period is from March 24, 2011 to April 25, 2011 only. Delivery of race kits will start on March 29, 2011.

Regular In-store registration period is from March 24, 2011 to April 17, 2011 only at the following venues:
•RUNNR – G/F Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City (12nn – 8pm,Tel # 4031787)
•R.O.X. – Level 2 R.O.X. Bldg. Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City (12nn–8pm, Tel # 8564638)
•Toby’s SM Mall of Asia – G/F Entertainment Mall, Roxas Blvd., Manila(12nn–8pm, Tel # 556-0445)
•Planet Sports Glorietta – 2F Glorietta 3, Makati City (12nn – 8pm, Tel # 8177896)
•The Athletes Foot Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City
•Planet Sports Trinoma – 2nd level, Trinoma cor. North EDSA, Quezon City(12nn – 8pm, Tel# 9167451)
•The Athlete’s Foot Robinsons Galleria – 3F Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Pasig City(12nn – 8pm, Tel# 6363162)
•PCP Office – Unit 2201-2203 22nd Floor, One San Miguel Ave. Bldg., San Miguel Ave. Cor.Shaw Blvd. Ortigas Center, Pasig City. – Tel # 02-910 22 50

Late registration period is from April 18 to April 25, 2011 at the following venues:
•ROX, Bonifacio Global City
•Toby’s SM Mall of Asia
•Athlete’s Foot Galleria

REGISTRATION FEES
3km Php500
5km Php600
10km Php600

for more details visit runrio.com


According to Runrio's Facebook page, They will be also open for registration at the Event grounds, 4am on May 1.

Review: Converse Force 5

Retro Shoes.... a keepsake from the past? a vintage fashion statement? a forgotten weapon from the battles of the past? Whatever way you think of it, Retro shoes have slowly faded away to the performance area into the lifestyle section. Either People are a lot tougher back then or retro shoes don't carry the same support they did before. While there are also some athletes who don retro kicks once in a while, reactions have been certainly mixed. In the late 90's before his first retirement, His Airness wore a retro AJ1 and caused him blisters. On the other hand, the black mamba laced up a pair of cons weapon 86 early in the 2000s as a part of "Endorser Shopping" after his contract with the 3 stripes brand expired, he then would play well on those retro kicks. Heck, even a college intramurals teammate of mine wore chucks during our basketball games..



And now, We give our take on one of those retro athletic shoes. The Converse Force 5.



Look:
Being a "Retro Running" shoe, the force 5 has that simplistic, 2 tone scheme of black and faded lime with accents of gray and white. The color scheme is still pretty much present in modern released runners. It's like a vintage car with a new paintjob. It's classic and modern at the same time.



Ventilation:

One thing that has it coming for the Force 5 is its breathability. It has a soft mesh  that keeps the feet cool and dry.



Performance

The rubber outsole is constructed flat but  has some ribbing in the upper part of the sole for flexibility.On the heel area of the sole, there is some kind of small polygonal wings called the stabilizer bars. They are responsible on keeping you land properly and spreading the weight on the whole feet..

An interesting thing with the outsole is that a part of the heel area has been hollow, this might have to do with weight reduction of the shoe.



Overall, the Converse Force 5 is a decent running shoe enough to protect and give you a long and stable support. While it may not be at par with the top of the line running footwear today, it is still better than the budget friendly "Entry Level" shoes of other top brands, And without a shadow of a doubt, better than Class A imitations of high end running shoes. So, If you guys are looking for a running shoe that is Affordable but has the ability to hold onto its own while doubling as a casual shoe, then the Converse Force 5 is for you.

Recommended for: Neutral Pronation

National Honor

April 17, 2011
Luneta Park



The Run with the masters is a fund raising event for our Philippine team for the World Athletics Masters Championships this June Held in the USA. Supporting the Philippine team is something I hold dear. And one of the few causes I really care about.

Being my first 10k run, I implemented a 10 week program that I saw in Front Runner's magazine for transitioning from the 5k to the 10k. Granted that time constraints prevented me from following it to the letter. I was aiming for the top 300 finisher's medals and looking at the race results of 10k runs, you would need at a sub 1 just to be sure to get to the top 300. A sub 30 for a 5k race would now be easily attainable for me, but my base is still not enough for 10k.

So come race day, I left for the race 30 minutes later than I would normally leave due to the venue being nearer than the usual BHS routes. I realized that carrying 4 bottles on my hydration pack feels a bit heavy (I am usually using just 2, until now) so I gulped down half of the contents 2 of the rear bottles .There is a small starting area at the front of Rizal monument (While the finish line is stationed at the grandstand). The sound system was far from being loud and by  5:40 am the gun was fired for 10k.

The run was tiring, especially the Flyover before the turning point at Buendia.A lot of experienced runners usually say don't expect much on your first try in a new, longer distance. Now I learned it firsthand.


By the Finish line I clocked in at 1:07:17 Not enough for the Sub 1 I was planning on getting but luckily enough to get a top 300 finisher's Medal. Hoping to improve on for the next Races.

Some of the Cons were lack of Photographers, On the past 3 races I participated in, there was only 1 hobbyist/ photographer taking the shots and he is also a runner (and not an official Photographer) . So you really can't demand having your photo taken because what he was doing was a labor of love. I hope this is something the organizers can improve on next time. Another one they said was the lack of hydration and the 20k route (which did not concern me due to the fact that I had my hydration belt and was running 10k).


Overall, those cons were forgivable, since this was for a legit, noble cause. And the organizers were honest on admitting their mistakes and improving the next time around.Good luck on our athletic masters this coming June.

By the end of the race, I was able to cop a "Run with the master's" Shorts. A nice way to compliment one of the best singlets so far.

Good Enough?

April 3, 2011
Bonifacio Global City



First, I had small expectiations for this race, from the overly pixelated singlet, to negative news coming from different forums. It seems like there was nothing new or different even with the price of P600. Gladly I was proven wrong.


Raceday, there was a moderate crowd for the race, But I'm surprised that it was far less than the yakult run. Hydration was ok. It was the same route as run united 1 and km markers were a plenty. Due to being more prepared this time around, I managed to get a new PR at 28:53 good for 77th place out of 714 participants. There were also a lot of celebrities in the race.

After the race, Lots of freebies were given plus free medical (blood sugar tests are fail though since it requires fasting.) Lines are still aplenty but not as bad as it was back in Run United 1.

It was the absence of pics that dissapointed me. There were a lot of Photographers in the event but only one managed to post pics. I was surprised that the site at bazu did not even show the pics unlike the races held by the same organizer (which not only had a fast time uploading the results but the pics as well). Sorry but if you have a high priced and well sponsored race, at the very least try to give the same quality as the previous races.

OK ka ba Run?

Yakult 10 Miler
CCP Grounds

After a slow Run United 1, I decided to give it another try to get a sub 30 at the 5k mark, An acquaintance gave me some tips on building up more base and sprinting faster. So, while browsing different running forums, I came across this gaudy singlet with colors that would make Christiano Ronaldo and Kris Kringle proud.

It was the Yakult 10 Miler which was the second oldest running event in the country. After learning they have a 5k fun run to coincide with their mile run, I signed up for this affordable race.



After gunstart, everything seems ok as we make a right turn for Roxas Boulevard. Ater 2 Kilometers though, the side of my calved felt a bit stiff, due to the fact that I was trying a new running shoe and I haven't broken it in for a longer period of time (it usually takes me a month to adapt to a new running shoe). But after the turning point in the buendia area, the legs felt much better and I cruised in for a sub 30.

The Results were 29:23 good for 87th place for about 796 runners. It finally felt good after my dissapointing performance at Run United 1.

At the end of the race, Former San Juan Knights Center and tallest Filipino ever Raul Dillo was greeting the finishers, We were given a free size Finisher's Shirt (Which looked like a singlet) and a bottle of Yakult. No frills or extra goodie bags, but you get what you pay for (Php 300) and by all means, a finisher's shirt (or a medal) is far better than goodies you won't be using anyway.