Color Manila '16: The Good and the Bad

                                                                        After The Run

The Color Manila: Blacklight Run 2016 stayed true to its intention. The creators of the run aimed for the event to be fun and exciting. And that they accomplished.

The event officially began at 8 pm, with the playing of a prayer (through song) and the National Anthem. After that, the countdown for the 10k runners began. Creators Jay Em and Justine Cordero had a goal, and that was to have ten thousand runners for the event. An approximation of nine thousand attended. They fell short of a thousand runners, but it was still a lot for the streets of Filinvest.

Since so much people signed up for the 10k, Color Manila had to divide the 10k runners into three batches, with each batch having a 5 minute interval. Soon, all the batches had started their run, as did the 5k and 3k runners. And the festivities commenced.

The streets of Filinvest were dark, illuminated only by the blue-light headlamps given by Color Manila. For the first few minutes, everyone ran. Unfortunately, that only lasted for the first kilometer. Most of the "runners" walked, talking selfies with their friends along the way. Nine thousand runners are a lot for the streets of Filinvest. Finding openings to run were difficult, as many participants opted to walk. Essentially, it was a walk-fest. In one's line of sight, a few hundred were visibly running. Nonetheless, it was a wild event as the race had surprises along the way.

Runners were drenched by water spouts, courtesy of firetrucks. After that, swaths of color powder were thrown onto incoming runners. Many portions of the streets were blanketed in neon colors, particles of color powder littered the air.  It was an annoyance for some of the serious runners, but many people had fun. And for the Color Manila organizers, that was their goal. And that goal, they met.

Color Manila '16: Party Ensues

Nine-thousand runners were a lot to accommodate. On the space Color Manila alloted (which president-elect Rodrigo Duterte had his rally), numerous foodtrucks greeted the hungry runners. Finishers immediately took their freebies: medals, stringbags, and towels. Vita Coco provided the hydration, during and after the run. Runners flocked to the photoboooths provided by GMA and Hygienix. To tune up the fun after the run, Color Manila held a party, complete with neon colors, blacklights, and remixed music brought by a local DJ.

The Color Manila: Blacklight Edition 2016 definitely brought out a lot of runners, accomplishing its goal of bringing the fun in running events.