Okay, so whatever happened to the very first Hello Kitty Run Manila event?
Being a Hello Kitty fan, I made sure not to miss joining this particular event. That's why when I learned all about it through takbo.ph I immediately booked for an early registration in the month of July. Three months after, we were able to collect our HK shirts and race bib a week before the event. We were asked to only choose from either Wave 1 or 4 because that was the only available slots for us. Wave 2 and 3 were closed immediately because the time seems to be more convenient to many. Anyways, we chose Wave 1 and last Saturday, the fun run was held at the long stretch of Moa Seaside Boulevard. I run alongside my husband and joining with us was my brother in law and two of my sisters in the office (but they were on a different wave).
Our run was scheduled at 5:15AM. We arrived at the assembly area just about on time. We were able to do the warm-up exercises, which was pretty fun.
At 5:13 we were told to get ready and that's when Hello Kitty came out on stage and then a few minutes later the countdown begin. As a reminder, we were told to walk a few meters far from the starting point and run only after we reached the U-turn slot near Conrad Hotel. After the gun start, off we go. Funny thing was, we got stuck at the starting point for about a minute or so just because everyone wants to take pictures of Hello Kitty! Hahahaha (look at those hands and cameras, (my goodness!). Kasama ako sa kumuha pero di ako nag-babad ng sobra hahaha) pero dahil super cute naman talaga si Hello Kitty given na yan. This goes to show how fanatic we are. It's actually nice to see people of all ages still raves about Hello Kitty. I guess, it somehow revives the child in all of us. Well loved talaga si Hello Kitty!
And so we run our way to every kilometre. My husband and I, it has been such a long time since we last joined a running event. Though H.K Run is not a competitive run but more of a relax fun (cutie patootie) run. I initially plans to just walk from start to finish, but my husband was so eager for us to run side by side. I had no choice but to give in a couple kilometers. I was forced (charot! hahaha) to run. He would take my hand so I can run with him simultaneously. He end up to be the one adjusting just to accompany me! (Hahaha)
Aside for our HHWR moments, we enjoyed our every stops along the way. In every kilometer, they set up some petty gimmicks. The Love Signage, where you can take selfies at. The Pink/White balloon arch and some raffle boxes where one can win a prize. Of course we availed every water and energy drink there was in every station.
We finished our run in about an hour including the stops. I realized in terms of running, I am now back to zero. Anyways, we still got to finish the 5KM run and at the end line, we were given a gold-plated HK medal.
It was indeed a tiring yet fun early morning activity for us.
After which we went directly to the activity area. Picked up our loot bags and then tried to check out each of the booths.
But it was during this time that our excitement was starting to drag down. Why? here are some of the reasons:
The Lootbag
Well basically the drawstring holds 2pcs of Sanitary Napkins, 2 pcs of Skin White Lotion Samples, 1 Pascual Strawberry Yoghurt (Strawberry), 1 Hello Kitty Cafe Gift Voucher. (Food Item and Drink mentioned above were already consumed before this picture was taken hahaha).
Thank you!
But honestly, it's was quite disappointing to receive such few items considering the number of posted sponsors they have in their promotional ads.
We are even lucky, to have gotten a GV from HK Cafe. I heard many didn't received any HK Cafe voucher.
Sponsor Freebies
To at least boost our mood, we tried to collect from some other sponsors, like a cold Pocari Sweat Drink, a cold Crystal Clear Water, 1 Gardenia cream roll. But later on gave up considering the long queue in almost every booth. I wasn't able to collect the mini HK Toothbrush simply because we couldn't find any METRO ADVANTAGE BOOTH on the event area :(. Have not seen any information booth anywhere and had no idea who to ask. So I only got my HK Yellow fan.
The long queue and sponsor
After seeing the long queue for some other (freebies, which I feel was pretty lame). We decided to make ourselves busy by taking pictures around the activity area and eventually go home and rest.
Verdict
As a participant and a fan of HK since childhood, I knew the brand well. I was expecting no less than quality, fun and "fantabulous" event. I was also expecting for some surprising freebies and prizes to be given away because of the lists of sponsors presented.
Cherifer, was one of the major sponsors but I have not seen any item from the loot bags carrying their name.
It might also be more fun to receive a bag full of freebies altogether instead of trying to line up for long queues just to get a piece of a soap, a mini cupcake bar and the likes. Well yes, it is understandable that those companies should also promote their brands. But to basically put up their booths to sell their products alone and not seeing any of them in our loot bags conveys a different message. It would have been better if they categories it properly to either (Plain) Merchandisers and (Real) Sponsors and not put them together under one roof. Maybe, we won't expect too much.
Non Sustained Energy and Vibe
Is it just me or what, pero talagang nakulangan ako sa energy ng mga nasa stage. Sa madaling salita hindi lahat na enganyong makinig or sumali sa warm up, andun lang yung iba naka upo sa gater. Dami ring dead air from the host :( although she trying her best naman or sadyang antok pa mga tao. Thank goodness Hello Kitty Mascot made an appearance on stage. But that was it! It would have been much fun to see Hello Kitty run or even walk together with us during the first Wave. I bet that would have been an exciting story to take note.
On the other hand, I'd like to commend those staff who were stationed at the roadside, (marshals) they were far more accommodating and friendly than those who were stationed at the booth activity area. I mean come on! This is a hello kitty event, a simple smile can brighten up someone's day.
"Hello Kitty Sayings"- Sometimes a stranger can bring great meaning to your life, remember that po!
Well, they say it's a fun run and yeah we definitely had fun during our run. However, due to inconsistency I would give a 40/60 rate for this event. I wish I can share how intense and giggly I am in the beginning towards this event but dismally, I couldn't. The hype easily died down. Anyways, I just had to let it out, because like many participants I felt short of what they had to offer and I didn't think it gives value to my money, honestly. But nevertheless, we still try to enjoy up to the last minute of our stay. The event wasn't a total mess but definitely, there was a lot of loopholes to consider and so much room for improvements.
Hoping next time, (whoever the organizers will be) they will be able to sustain and live up to the hype that they are also creating. To everyone behind this event, thanks for the efforts. For sure you have given your best in providing participants with entertainment.
Filipinos fans are not that hard to please and we easily forgive (hehehe). But as much as I wish not to compare, I really saw the big difference on how HelloKitty Run was done from other countries and how exciting their loot bags were and again it just this feeling that it fall short to what is expected from the brand. Anyhow, hope the next one (if there's any) will be more organized, generous and creative. Ph can do better than this! I am still a Hello Kitty fan, nothing's change... so I guess for the love of Hello Kitty, this is the part where the hashtag #linklovetogether becomes relevant. Hehehe