Pokemon Run 2025 Philippines, Hop Inn Aseana Experience and Everything in Between

 My husband won a roundtrip flight to Japan!!!! 🤯

Okay, sorry, I got so excited.

But honestly? I didn't expect there would be a highlight like this in our Pokemon Run experience last week.

Everything was a fail on D-day until the final raffle draw.

But before that, let me clear things up for those who are saying the registration slots for the run were bought by scalpers (because I read this a lot on Runrio's comments section whenever I'm visiting their page for updates).

I can't say for sure about the early bird registration because I missed that.

But I can say it's a system's bug or something on the day of the regular registration.

Perhaps they should update how their page is showing when there are overwhelming number of people trying to come in.

It wasn't actually sold out in few minutes.

I know because I've set up my alarm 2 minutes before the 8:00AM registration so that I can be ready for the rush.

Come 8AM of November 16, 2024, I went to the registration page and boom, it was looking like this when I tapped on Register Now:

It's empty!

I went back and forth on Runrio's Facebook page to check out the comments on what's happening and clicking back on the registration link.

A lot of people are complaining, and some are saying it's sold out, while others are saying they are being asked for a code.

Then at one time, more details appeared on the page for me, but all the categories are full! And yes, I also saw this access code thing.

This was almost 8:30AM already, and I'm losing hope.

But did you know that when a person is able to enter the registration page, the slot is held on for about 15 minutes or so for that person to finish the registration?

So if that person is unable to finish the registration, the slot will be open again.

It took me almost an hour from trying and refreshing the page until I got in on the 5K category and successfully registered for me and my husband!

And mind you, it was not just a one time try.

I got in earlier, but as I was entering our details, it got refreshed and I lost my slot.

So I had to keep trying.

Fortunately, the details I've entered got saved on my phone's browser so it was easier to fill in the next time.

Another thing that made me lose my time was deciding on what size of the shirt to choose for us.

I even had to wake my husband up and measure his shoulders and length with a tape measure. 😆

He didn't care about the run, he only cared that I disurbed his sleep.

But there's no way I'm going to the event alone! 😤

You can see below it was already 8:54AM when I got to the order summary page to finalize my order and you can see the time remaining for me to complete the registration (14 mins 16 secs).

I was fast this time because the browser already knew the details, and I already knew the shirt sizes to choose.

I paid a total of Php 4,280 via GCash.

It was Php 1,700 each for the 5K category, plus Php 200 each for the race kit delivery outside Metro Manila, and a Php 480 processing fee (kumikitang pangkabuhayan ang Race Roster).

And finally, after so many fails and tries, at 8:57AM, my registration was confirmed!

So that's how the registration went.

Another one that stressed me out was the race kit delivery.

I got anxious because there was only less than a month left before the event and we still haven't received our race kits.

So on January 14, I emailed PokemonRun@runrio.com to ask about it.

No reply.

I followed up again on January 19.

Still no reply.

I chased again on January 21.

But still, nothing.

So I DM'ed the Runrio Facebook page to ask because there were only 18 days left before the event and there was no update nor an announcement about the race kits.

And I saw that it wasn't only me who was getting anxious.

A lot of runners were also asking in the comments section.

Finally on January 24, Runrio replied on my DM and they have also announced the delivery of the race kits.

A day after that, I saw a lot of runners updating in the comments that they have received their kits.

So I estimated ours to arrive in about 3 days, since their courier is LBC.

There was no tracking number given though.

But true enough, our race kits got delivered on the 27th here in Pangasinan.

We got the race shirt, race bib, and the TCG fun pack.

There's a checkbox for the lootbag and the finisher's medal so it will be given at the event itself.

Few days prior to this, they had a giveaway for free hotel stay for 12 lucky runners for the event.

I joined in and the winners should have been announced on January 28.

I waited and waited, but it wasn't until February 2 that the winners were announced.

Unfortunately, I wasn't chosen so we had to book on our own.

My husband booked a room at Hop Inn Aseana via Agoda (beke nemen Agoda, suki mo naman kami 😏).

I don't know how much exactly he paid, but it was already around Php 3k I think, because it was only a few days away from February 8 (our check in date).

It's more cost effective and time efficient to commute, so we left Coco (our car) at our usual parking place when we're travelling.

Come morning of February 8, we were waiting for a bus to Pasay in Urdaneta when a Five Star bus bound to Avenida caught my husband's eyes.

I was wondering why we were running towards it and why we were getting into that bus when I don't even know where the heck Avenida is and how we are going to commute from there.

I figured out why when we got in.

It looked new and premium, the outlets are type C, and the sits are comfy.

I slept like a log throughout the ride and nakanganga pa! Haha! But I was wearing a face mask so nobody saw it.

When we got off the bus terminal, he asked where the LRT 1 station is.

We rode the train bound to Baclaran and got off the Redemptorist-Aseana station.

Ticket was Php25 each.

From there, we used Google Maps and walked our way to Hop Inn Aseana.

The basic/standard room is fairly decent.

There was no dental kit included in the room he booked though.

And there was only one dispenser in the shower, so I'm guessing that was 3-in-1 (shampoo, conditioner, body wash).

What I liked about Hop Inn though was that the check in and check out was pretty fast!

And the staffs were nice.

Our decision on what to do with our spare time on Saturday made a huge impact on how we did the next day. 😅

We walked from our hotel to the SMX Convention which was around 1.1km.

There we attended the PTAA Travel Tour Expo which was another round of walking around the booths from 6PM to 7:30PM.

And we didn't stop there.

We strolled IKEA after, until its closing time at 10PM!

So we walked for more than 4 hours!

But at least we were able to buy some stuffs for the house.

We were so tired, we just booked a Grab back to our hotel, and just ordered for dinner via Grab Food.

Come next day, it's the D-day!

We already showered before going to sleep so I've set the alarm at 4:40AM.

Prepared and pumped up, we were set to leave for the run when my hubby suddenly felt he needed to do his business in the bathroom. 😅

We were actually able to leave the hotel at 5:39AM, and the Gun start for our category was 5:30AM!

I wanted to book a Grab so we can get there faster, but hubby wanted to walk. 🤦‍♀️

That was another 15-20 minutes added, and we didn't make it to the second wave of the 5K category.

When we arrived, we went straight to the starting point, where the earlier waves were already on the other side closing in to the finish line and hubby was already tired.

But at least, we weren't the only ones! 😆

Good thing there were 2 hydration stations during the run.

Hubby almost didn't make it to the first hydration station, but fortunately he did as I kept saying "Meron na dyan pagliko" every time, until we got to it. 🤭

Thanks to these hydration stations, he came back to life until we finished the run.

We finished the run past 7:00AM, and I feel like we've missed out on a lot of happenings on the event ground.

The Pikachu Meet & Greet was already gone.

I only saw few booths left.

I am grateful they have Salonpas in their sponsors because we can't walk properly afterwards and this came in handy. 😅

Krispy Kreme came in prepared and had a lot of stocks for the free drinks.

Free lemon juice.

As we were waiting to be given our free juice in the queue, I noticed all of the runners passing by don't have their raffle stubs on their bibs anymore.

So after we got our drinks, I went to the information desk to ask where I should drop it.

Right after I asked, the hosts on the stage announced that they were about to draw the raffle!

Take note, I have no idea what the prizes were.

It wasn't announced in their FB page, and we were probably still struggling running/walking on the course when the prizes were announced.

Nonetheless, I rushed through the waves of people to be able to get in front of the stage where the box is.

I'm thankful to the fellow runners because when they saw me running while holding mine and hubby's stubs, every people I passed by were pointing me to the direction where the box is, so I made it in time before they drew.

First round were winners of Krispy Kreme.

I'm not sure if I'm missing some other prizes, but the next big prize I remember was a camera from Canon!

We weren't paying much attention to the draws and just sitting on the ground doing our own thing.

Then I was surprised to hear that there will be 2 lucky winners of a roundtrip flight to Japan.

There I got pumped up.

When the first lucky winner was announced to be coming from the 3K category, I didn't pay attention to the racebib number anymore. 😆

But when the final one was announced that it was from the 5K category, oh, my ears were fully committed.

I don't know if the fellow runners around me heard, but I was saying our racebib numbers as the host announced it one by one. Magkasunod lang naman kasi kami ni hubby.

Host: 5!

Me: 1 

Host: 1!

Me: 2

Host: 2!

Me: Zero

Host: Zero!

I got silent because for a moment there I was thinking, "wait, is the host really saying what I was saying?".

Then I didn't know which number to say out loud because I was already overthinking all of the what ifs if my number was called or if my hubby's number was called. Like the visa, the immigration, my passport, and whatnot. Yes, advance mag-isip and it all happened in a split second. 🤣

But nonetheless, my mind was thinking 3-4-3-4-3-4... 😂

Then the host said 4!

I immediately tapped my husband and said "Ikaw yun!!!".

He got up in an instant and ran towards to the stage and reached for his racebib which was already stuffed in his lootbag (btw, I'm disappointed with my lootbag and I will tell later).

So he got an official photo from the Pokemon Run and even won the final grand prize.

While me who never gave up from the registration process while he was sleeping soundly, I, who was really looking forward to this event, and I, who was practicing my widest smile to get in the official photos kahit habang tumatakbo or habang nasa event ground sana, waley.

Hubby knows how excited I was, so he kept on teasing me with his prize and pic and cameo on the SDE after.

We lined up for Canon's photo booth, but too bad we didn't make the cut. The photobooth was already closed.

We were able to get our photos taken from other freelance photographers anyway, so okay na rin.

And I'm proud of him, nonetheless, because he sacrificed his sleep to be here with me (well, he has no choice), and was able to finish the race kahit inabot kami ng siyam-siyam.

Kating kati na akong tumakbo, but I learned sa Lazada Run 2023 experience namin, na kahit pabiro niyang sinasabi, I heard him say na iniiwan ko siya. 😅

So this time, I waited for him even though he's telling me to run.

See? I waited for him. 😂

Hindi ko na rin kailangang itago kasi searchable naman.

Out of the 3776 runners from our category, we finished at 3769th and 3770th. 😂

And what's worse was my lootbag.

It was only until I looked into it while we were sitting on the ground that I realized bawas ung lootbag na naibigay sa akin and may pinagbalatan pa ng Wiggles sa loob. 😑

I wouldn't really know kung anu-ano dapat yung laman, but when I compared it to my hubby's lootbag, I'm missing a C2 drink and the Wiggles.

Hindi ko na pinapalitan sa Lootbag section kasi hindi ko nacheck agad at baka mapagbintangan pa akong ako ang bumawas doon tapos gusto ko lang makarami.

Pero dinadamdam ko yun hanggang ngayon lalo na yung pinagbalatan ng Wiggles. 😆

These are the items from both of our lootbags.

Nonetheless, this was the most tiring, yet fulfilling experience we've had as yet, siyempre fulfilling dahil isa siya sa grand prize winner. 🤭

We are just waiting to receive more details for his prize para makapag-book din ako ng ticket ko (the prize was only for one person).

We were procrastinating this trip since 2023/2024, but I guess tadhana na talaga ang nagpupush sa aming mag-Japan. 😅

And this Pokemon Run was like our training for the unlimited walking we are about to experience in Japan.

Imagine, yung supposed na 5km lang for the race, naka-9.25km kami dahil sinimulan namin from the hotel. 😆

If we add in the km from the night before, naka-more than 10km kami for the weekend in total!

~~~~

But hey, this is my 3rd medal from a run already, and my hubby's second. Achievement unlocked! 😃