Women’s Run PH Oct 2025 @ UP Diliman
The girlies finished their first marathon (5KM) last Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 💖💗 while Tropical storm Ramil (Fengshen) was moving over Metro Manila since 12AM. I was beginning to doubt whether we would actually go through with it after planning and preparing for months. And there have been influenza-like illnesses brought on by heavy rains since the first two weeks of October. Personally, I don't want to get sick. But my companions were like "No, let's do this!".
The rain even made it difficult for us to reach the campus, and we were going to be late, so we decided to get off near the UP Stone Markers and walked toward the starting line. We thought of it as a warm-up. We were happy to see many women from the 10K category already running toward the Oblation and that gave us motivation.
We're fine getting drenched in the rain. We even brought our own bags so we could carry extra clothing for later (mine was a gym bag). It’s just that the race village, where the check-in baggage area was located, was set up in the Sunken Garden, the vacant low-level basin-shaped field inside the UP campus that provides ample space for various events and activities. A place that becomes murky and very muddy during the rainy season. And many didn't appreciate this location now that it's raining (as seen on socials).
By the time we reached the Sunken Garden, we saw other runners’ shoes already soaked in mud, so we decided not to leave our bags at the counter. Running with mud on our shoes wouldn’t be helpful, just an accident waiting to happen.
During my entire run, I had to carry my gym bag, which was uncomfortable and frustrating for me because I couldn’t perform at my full potential.
When we started jogging from the starting line, the speakers were blasting the current popular song “Golden” by Huntrix from Netflix' movie Kpop Demon Hunters that instantly lifted our mood. Funny enough, we were a trio.
Song · 2025 · Duration 3:14
❝It's our moment You know together we're glowing Gonna be, gonna be goldеn"
This is our first marathon after all. And seeing all the women who participated, young and old only shows “Oh, How I love being a woman!”
See you in the next run!
Before you go....
Many women online who participated in this event didn’t appreciate that the race village was set up in the Sunken Garden. After a run, we look forward to claiming our freebies and interacting at each sponsor’s booth, it helps brighten the mood of everyone after a long run. But the area turned muddy and slippery because of the rain, making things difficult for everyone (also consider there were senior participants). Some women slipped or got their shoes caked in mud, while others had to take them off completely just to move, there were even shoe soles left stuck in the mud. To make matters worse, many lived far from Quezon City and had to commute home in that condition. And let's be honest, being stuck in mud for hours have health and safety concerns that aren’t necessarily covered by the waiver.
Personally, I was more concerned about not slipping, figuring out how to clean my Anta PG7 shoes, and finding a place to change into dry clothes. I even wondered if there was a wash area to begin with because the portable toilets were placed in muddy areas.
I don’t really mind the mud or rain as I’ve had prior experience running in those conditions but still, there are limits. I didn't sign up to run in mud and I don’t have a problem with rain, in fact, it helps to cool our bodies as we release more heat.
What I really didn’t like was how some male runners in the community are hijacking the conversation of women runners who joined this event. Invalidating the opinions of those who were actually there. Comments like “try mo mag-trail running” or “you’re just a beginner” completely miss the point. Whether the participants posted criticisms or words of appreciation, in the end, what matters is that we all shared the same experience. Two contradictory things can be true at the same time. So why invalidate them?
I understand the “grit” mentality, but don't you see these runners are those who think ahead, who care about the safety of their community. Also, those who first expressed their frustrations did so articulately. They were sharing these to simply say we can do better in the next run so that everyone can have a better and fun experience that is inclusive and safe, but that doesn’t mean they were being negative or ungrateful.
I also appreciate the organizers for addressing the problem in a post and that at least they’re listening, and hopefully, they can do better next time as we all move forward.
