Shakey’s Color Fun Run 2015

Shakey’s, an iconic pizza hub that has brought many Filipinos the experience of great times and great memories, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the Philippines. With over 150 stores in the country, the restaurant grew to be not just an ordinary pizza place, but a home enjoyed by Filipino families.

Before the run. All neat and shiny...

As part of the celebrations, Shakey’s came up with a colorful fun run which was participated not only by its staff and employees, but by the running community as well. As the running phenomenon in the country grows larger every year, the Shakey’s 5 kilometer color fun run didn’t go unnoticed by many runners. 

Last March 21, 2015, hundreds of runners gathered at the Shakey’s Raja Sulayman branch, which happens to be one of the first stores that opened in 1975. It also served as the starting line of the fun run where the executives of Shakey’s thanked all who have been supporting the brand all these years. This, they said, imbibes a nostalgic feeling, knowing that it is where all the “great times and great memories” began 40 years ago. 

As a seasoned runner, I don’t normally run short distances anymore. But since my wife was pretty excited to run 5km, (it’s the only distance, so far, she’s comfortable with) I accompanied her to the event. The event is a color fun run, so I knew that we will all come out to be “colorfully-dirty” at the finish line. Thankfully, the course was only along Roxas Boulevard so the road was paved and smooth, which was very nice to run barefoot on.  

Covering my nose from dust powder...

It was a good 5k run for me, though I was never a sprinter, I still finished it under 20 minutes. So glad also for Ruth who came 20 minutes after, achieving a new personal record (PR) for her 5k. What added to her joy was a finisher’s medal she got at the finish line. I was also happy for her because a week before, she also got a finisher’s medal at the 7-Eleven 1500 Run. 

After the run...Colorfuly-dirty! 

At the finish line, everyone was so exhausted, dirty, and colorful but really happy just running with friends. After the event, we were all treated with Shakey’s food, of course! Yummy! 

Reef Supports the Filipino Surfing Culture

Summer is indeed just around the corner, and everyone is gearing up and planning their own awesome summer vacations.  For those who are going to the beach…please, don’t tell me you’re going to Boracay again?! Try to be more adventurous this time and learn other stuff the vast ocean can offer. If open water diving can be a little too much for you to handle, why not try surfing?

The Philippines is composed of 7,100 islands and our eastern sea board, facing the Pacific Ocean, offers one the most beautiful waves in the world. Some of these beaches are not as far as you may think becauase it just takes a two to three hour drive from Manila to get to a thriving surfing area up north, which is San Juan, La Union. 

Beach bloggers...

Just a few decades ago, a Japanese tourist named Hiroshi Yokohama visited the place and discovered that it has great waves for surfing. He encouraged a few locals to learn and opened the first surfing school in San Juan, La Union. Today, the town is thriving with hotels, surf shops, and surfing school, offering surfing lessons every weekend, even during off season. So, if you think western dudes are the only people who can enjoy surfing, why not head on to La Union and try it out for yourself? 

Mr. Joey Ortega

Mr. Kenneth Cheng

Last March 18, 2015, Reef, a popular surfing apparel brand from the US, was officially launched at the Sands, SM By the Bay, in SM Mall of Asia. The Sands is the newest attraction of SM for Beach Volleyball and Beach “Ultimate” (Frisbie) games where players (and spectators) can enjoy the sports on fine white sands, giving everyone the feel of being on a real beach. 

At the Reef’s launch, media guests and friends were given Reef flip-flops so everyone can enjoy cocktails on the sand while reggae music, courtesy of Mr. Jay Ortega, pumped up the evening for everyone’s pleasure. After a while, the host, Ms. Mara Lopez Yokohama, an avid surfer herself and a native of La Union, introduced the fashion show of Reef’s brand models. These models tried their best maintaining a perfect cat walk on the sands to show off the newest collection of Reef’s footwears and surfing apparels. 

Ms. Mara Lopez Yokohama

New surfing collection from Reef...

After the fashion show, a video documentary was presented featuring surfing history in the Philippines and how the sport transformed the lives of people in San Juan, La Union. Dubbed as Surfing 7107, this documentary highlighted the beginnings of the Filipino surfing culture as told by some of its iconic personalities. The campaign is an initiative to promote surfing among Filipinos and hopes to develop more surfing destinations that are accessible for everyone. 

The pioneers...

Reef, as a surfing brand well-loved by suffers, has expressed its full support to this noble campaign and intends to replicate it in other surfing areas such as Pagudpod, Baler, Aurora Province, Daet, Camarines Norte, and Siargao, Surigao Del Sur. Presently, Surfing 7107 intends to put San Juan, La Union in the map as one of the best surfing destinations in the world. This campaign is also an avenue to encourage more Filipinos to explore more of the Philippines and finally try and learn the sport. 

POWERMAN Duathlon Pilipinas 2015

Its official! The most prestigious Duathlon event in the world will be coming here in the Philippines and its venue is the historical town of Balanga, Bataan. Just recently, the ITU Powerman long Distance World Championship in Zofingen, Switzerland was bagged by an equally exceptional athlete Gael Le Bellec, and is very excited to come over to the Philippines and compete with our county’s best Duatheltes.

This most coveted duathlon event will be happening on November 15, 2015 and will feature Powerman Classic distance of 10km-60km-10km as well 5km-30km-5km distance. Duathlon, for those who is not quite familiar with the sport, is pretty much like triathlon without the swim part. It covers three activities having the running part to be done twice. There is no better and appropriate venue of having this world class sports event than  the province of Bataan, in which consequently have been the venue of the Bataan International Tirathlon (Bi3) that was held last year. In the event, organizers of the Bi3 gave due recognition to the LGU officials of Bagac and Bataan Tourism for the province's full support to the said event.

In the Philippines, as much as triathlon is the more popular one, Duathlon seemed to have more potential in among Filipino athletes because we were never been good swimmers. That is why, in triathlon events, Filipino triathletes tend to lag behind in the swimming part. True enough because our duahtlon athletes are consistent to conquer the top ranks in the world of Duathlon and Kudos to Joey Delos Reyes, Kenny Dalida and Robeno Javier who now ranked 5th in the world.

Last March 16, 2015, the Powerman Duathlon Pilipinas Organizers, headed by Tobias Bernardo a notable triathlete and duathlete in the country today and restaurateur Reymond Magdaluyo teamed up with veteran multisport and adventure cross-country athlete Thumbie Remigio launched the much awaited duathlon event at the City Club, Alphaland Tower in Makati City. 

The event was attended by members of the media, friends in the multi-sports realm and representative of the municipality of Balanga, Bataan. The event highlighted the town as the premier venue in the world of duathlon and triathlon events and the Bataan International Triathlon (Bi3) just recently won as the best triathlon race below-600 division by the swimbikerun.ph website.

The event also featured a video clip of the Powerman World Championship where Thumbie and Ias were invited by the International Powerman Association (IPA) President John Raadschelders. The event was held at Zofingen, Switzerland and has garnered over 600 participants and conquered a grueling 10km-150km-30km run-bike-run course. Ias Bernardo announced that the Powerman Duathlon Pilipinas is a qualifying event for the ITU Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Championship. 

Jack ‘n Jill Calbee: Get Ready for the #BestoPotato Experience

CALBEE, Japan’s leading snack brand partnered with Universal Robina Corporation, the name behind the country’s leading snack brand, Jack 'n Jill is giving the Filipino snack lovers the ultimate potato snack experience. These two snack giants have ventured out to come up with not just one but a whole line of potato snack products that every Filipino will love.

Last March 13, 2015, executives of Calbee Japan and URC as represented by Mr. Lance Gokongwei himself, have officially launched its partnership of bringing Calbee products to the Philippine market. The event was graced by members of the media and friends from Calbee and of course people from the Gonkongwei group of companies.

The event was celebrated by Japanese cultural dances. And as the Calbee products were being introduced to everyone, each one was given a pack of Calbee snacks for a firsthand taste. These new snacks are quite unique in taste and do not compete with other Jack ‘n Jill snack which are already in the market today.

As an example, the Cheddar and Sour Cream is unique flavor because it is the only one that combines Cheddar and Sour Cream together in one flavor. The Wasabe flavor, as much as there is already one out in the market, the Wasabe inside Calbee is quite strong compared to the other brand. So for those who wish to have a more kick of wasabi in their snack, the Calbee potato Wasabe variant will not disappoint you.

Jack ‘n Jill-Calbee Pizza potato is also quite exceptional in taste and flavor. Actually, if you try to close your eyes and much some of these, you would be mistaken you’re eating a real pizza, because it taste and feel like one and it has even melted cheese on top to give the real feel of a pizza. The fun snacks from Japan are available in 25g, 65g, and 170g variants.

Another one of a kind product is the Jagabee Potato Fries. As much as French fries are fun to while their fresh and hot, but once these fries become cold and stale, it loses its flavor and zest. The Jagabee Potato Fries was able to solve that problem and it stays crunchy for a long time. The Jagabee potato Fries is conveniently packed in an sturdy hard cartoon cup that keeps the fries in tack.

The launch, a solemn ceremony was initiated where all the representative of Calbee and Jack’n Jill dressed in the traditional Japanese kimono, gathered themselves around some drums and simultaneously beat them to officially seal the partnership.

Jack ‘n Jill – Calbee products are now available in all major groceries in the Philippines. So visit and grab a Calbee nearest you. If you’re lucky, you might bump into Jaga himself, the Calbee Snack cutest potato mascot.  

HONDA: The New Click 125i

Honda, a leader in the motorcycle industry, who has proven dominance over the four-strokes 125cc and up displacement engines classes, has finally broken its long pause to conquer the realm of scooters with its cutting edge design and futuristic features. 

The new Honda Click 125i is an evolution in scooters with features that is above what other scooter brands can offer. More than the sleek design and innovative look, the Click 125i is equip with PGM-FI, a fuel-injection system pioneered by Honda. 

Last February 18, 2015, the new Honda Click 125i was launched at the activity center in Trinoma. The event was graced by the executives of Honda who came all the way from Tokyo, Japan. With them are their local counterparts that represent its local distributors. The event was also attended by motorcycle enthusiast groups where some came all the way from Pampangga and Nueva Ecija. 

Honda showcased three colors variants of Click 125i, the Candy Rosy Red, Asteroid Black Metalic and Pearl  Horizon white. In the event Honda highlighted some of the innovative features such as the ISS or the Idling Stop System. This feature allows the engine to be programed to stop after three seconds of idling. This feature will enable the driver to save on fuel on those unnecessary idling during red-signals. The needed to run again, a driver can turn the throttle lever and the engine can restart and move as quickly with an approximate time of 0.9 second. 

The Click 125i also offers CBS or the combined breaking system that allows the driver to apply one break lever but executes stopping force to both wheels giving you a more quicker safe stopping time. The Click 125i is also equip with alternator Starter System, that optimizes engine performance while reducing the friction, vibration and engine noise. Another new feature is the side-Stand Switch, which turns off engine when the side stand is engaged. 

The Click 125i is one of the few scooters that offer a compartment space under the seat where you can actually put an entire helmet with more room to spare with some other stuff. The Click 125i is also liquid cooled which makes the fuel-injection system more reliable and more fuel efficient. This scooter can consume 58.0 kilometers per litter with a 5.5 fuel tank capacity. It has a maximum torque power of 11.16 N.m at 6,500 RPM. 

The new Honda Click 125i is now available in Honda Distributors nearest you offering an SRP of P86,000. 

For more details, you can visit a Honda Center or you can log on to www.hondaph.com or you can like their FB page: Honda Philippines Inc. For costumer care, you can call their toll free number 1-80010HONdaph – 4663274.

Check out the new Honda Click 125i and drive it to the future…