NIKE Bajak Jakarta 10K 2013

Distance : 6.2 miles
Finish : 00:46:06
Rank : #37 (overall) running under Dixon Canirunners

After I got injured at Pinhoti and took a break from running , I went back to Jakarta for vacation and to visit my family. The first week I got there, my feet were getting itchy. So I talked with my local runners friends if there would be a group run or what not. And Dixon my high school friend told me that he had an extra BIB for NIKE 10K race, and I was like hell yeah.

The race started pretty early, 6.30 am inside the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium at the heart of Jakarta. Tho the temperature was not crazy hot, the humidity was pretty high. I was sweating already at the starting line next with 8000 other runners. It was like a red ocean of people because we were obliged to wear the official race red shirt.

When the race started, it was pretty chaotic, too many people. The race was not divided by pace corral, so I had to navigate around to get out from the runner horde. Some of the runners was starting pretty fast, but by the next couple hours it started to dwindle. Specially when we were ascending the Semanggi Bridge (the bridge shape looks like 4 clovers), the race started to become a single or double files lines, that allowed me to speed up my pace. Then I started to do my engine check routine, to see how was my fresh-healed ankle doing. Actually I felt great except I thought I was breathing in a sauna room.
After we got into the South of Jakarta region and started to head back, I had to slow down a bit, I felt I could not breathe enough oxygen from the humidity. Not for so long, I saw that I started to get closer to the stadium, and I gathered myself and tried to pick up my pace.
The finish line was inside the stadium running track which was pretty cool, felt like finishing a race in Olympic:D

I was drenched like just got out from a pool, but I got a pair of happy legs. As a bonus, I got a chance to meet with my old friends from high school, and my  high school head master, Rm Rio Mursanto SJ. It was also my 1st race in my hometown, it was really a happy day.

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ABOUT #BAJAKJKT 10K
The #BAJAKJKT 10K course brought runners through non-traditional running routes in Jakarta, beginning at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Senayan area, an iconic sporting arena in Indonesia. Runners then raced down the Car Free Day track (a road closed on Sundays for sporting activities), and carried on to the Semanggi bridge before entering Jakarta’s key business district, SCBD. From there, the course went through Pattimura Road, a lush and green space in the middle of the hectic city, before passing the Pemuda Membangun monument, a visual representation of today’s vibrant youth. The run returned to the historical GBK Stadium, where runners celebrated their finish in style, with DJ performances, complimentary massages and photo booths.

“The #BAJAKJKT mission is complete, but we hope the journey doesn’t stop here. Besides the 10,000 runners in Nike Indonesia’s first-ever race, we hope that we have inspired and enabled others to start moving,” said Nino Priambodo, Nike Indonesia Country Marketing Manager.