I went on an easy 8 km run yesterday morning. I was planning to run farther but since I woke up late, I had to cut it short.
When I got up to my room, I looked outside the window and I was greeted by this sight… it sure made me shiver…
This brown, murky haze that hangs over the metropolis justs shows how polluted the air is… and this is the air we breathe in! There’s this article in Men’s Health Philippines (to read, click here), showing how much of a risk factor this smog is, especially to us runners and other fitness enthusiasts.
So hopefully we’ll all do our part in helping minimize air, and other forms of pollution. It’s not only good for the environment, it’s also good for our health 
Joe, the picture says it all. I have to say though that without the smog, you have quite a site of Manila Bay in the background?
I’ve seen it like that in L.A. from the air although the times I’ve traveled there and been on the ground, it’s not quite like from the plane.
The several pics that I’ve seen of Beijing this year really makes me sick. I can certainly understand why several marathoners have dropped out of the race (health reasons) including the world record holder.
As always, have a good week!
hi wayne… yup. That is Manila Bay! It indeed is one of the best places to view the sunset, though I think some of the pollution adds up to the various colors making it more radiant! Have a good week too!
loonyrunner, i also have that view of the Manila bay… inspite of all the smog it is still relaxing to look at it. I miss the baywalk at night… it used to be my running route after work.
hey lonerunner… me, I miss the old baywalk. I was a bit saddened when the food areas were removed by Mayor Lim. It was a bit more fun to run there, especially at night since the area was quite festive… bands and/or stand up comedians would be performing making the run more exciting
Great view you got there loonyrunner! Good thing I’m blissfully unaware of all the smog when running in the morning at BHS.
baywalk was filled with music… Dont need an Ipod. yup, i miss that!
this is one of the reason why i’m still on the fence whether to join milo full marathon or not. when i join the last gintong pangarap, it was really a struggle for me. especially when we have to pass edsa and cubao mrt station for two times… phew! i finish 1:41, 6 minutes different from my pr.
Joe, must be a lot of floors in the building unless you live on a hill area.
It’s too bad about the baywalk. Even if you didn’t run in the area, the idea of music, stand-up comedians etc. made it for a nice evening!
hello!
gene… yeah. That’s why I’m hoping the developers of the Fort will make the area green with trees!
lonerunner… yup. I don’t fancy running with an ipod pa naman
highaltitude… I agree. It was indeed tough running that course… but that’s the reality of running in Manila. Hope the air quality improves though
sfrunner… yup, it’s a lot of floors
Yeah, it used to be a much nicer area to just loiter around watching the sunset
Does this mean we have to wear mask when running in Manila?? (Will you be comfortable wearing one? Well, I definitely won’t!) I’m glad I run inside the park of Philamlife Village Las Pinas City–the least polluted area in Metro Manila.
Never knew that is what I am running through and it is scary. I am from Sout Africa and there are some other things we have to give price like crime. At least you get to the end of your race here in Manila with all your gear, in South Africa you reach the end and half of your gear is snatched and to make it worse it is 1600m above sea level. So I suppose every place has it’s negatives. Luckily we love running so much that we will put up with that. Maybe someone that did studies on this can say:
Is there any diference polution wise when running at different times for instance lesser polution early in the morning or late and what is the complications on us as runners and is it more different to us that run to those that just go to work and walk outside? It will be interesting to know…Keep fit!!
hi!
nora… wearing a mask won’t be very comfortable nga. Yup, that’s why we should be running in tree-lined routes as much as possible.
philip… from the MH article, the advice is to run early in the morning or at night. Less sunlight to activate the air pollutants