BMO Vancouver Marathon: Health, Sports & Lifestyle Expo

I registered for a half marathon at the Vancouver Marathon 2022. To pickup the run package (shirt, bib, and more), runners would need to go to the Health, Sports & Lifestyle Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 29 (Friday) and 30 (Saturday). The Expo is open to everyone, not just registered runners. As I thought more people would be going on a weekend, I planned to go on a Friday afternoon. I also need to go to the nearby consulate so I decided to do both on the same day.

The first section is the package pickup. You would need to know your bib number (which can be searched on the website but is also emailed to you) and have your ID to get your package. There is also a bib lookup table if you don't have your bib number. I went straight to the half marathon section for my package and the volunteer couldn't find mine. Apparently, I should have went straight to the combo booth as I have registered for a combo package. I thought I would need to get my bib first and then go to the combo booth to get the extra singlet. I also got one of those commerative keepsake (near the pins for the bib):

Photo from BMO Vancouver Marathon Facebook Page

The next section is the chip check where you can scan your bib and verify the details from the timing chip are correct. It feels like a toll gate where you must scan your bib to enter. The process was quick and it was nice seeing my details on the screen.

After that is the Running Room/Brooks booth where you can buy the souvenir shirts, hoodies, and other items. I was checking out running socks but the ones I want is not available or is not of the color I prefer. Most of the products for sale are the souvenir shirts. There were only two racks for men's shirt and there's only a few of the smaller sizes. I talked to someone and she said everything on the inventory is already there and that there were more items earlier. I think a lot of people who went in the morning have already bought these smaller sizes. In the future, I should also go earlier if I am planning to buy some shirts.

There were some other vendors as well for running gears, food, hydration, and more. A few booth are for future marathons or running clubs and some are not related to running. I mostly ignored the others as I need to go back to work. There are also a lot of spots where you can take a photo. I also saw a wall where you can find your name and take a photo. Next time, I can bring my wife with me so she can take photos of me and we can also look into buying fitness gears for her.

Towards the exit, you will find the shirt booth and the transit ticket booth. You would need to show your bib to get both. For the tech shirt, the sizes are not guaranteed. There are still a lot of shirts available and I think they try to match what you ordered. This is another reason why one should go to the Expo early, unless you want to exchange sizes (which is only possible on Saturday, subject to available shirts). There is also a BMO booth but as I am not a client, I went straight to the exit.

Top Ten for 2021

The year 2021 has been another challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. We're still working from home. Here are my personal highlights for this year:

Vaccinated

Celine and I (and both our family) have been vaccinated and we're still safe and healthy.

First Book

The book I have co-authored, How to Build Android Apps with Kotlin, has finally beeen published last February. If you want to learn Android app development with Kotlin, you can check out our book on Packt and on Amazon.

Android Developer Challenge

I joined the first two weeks of Android Developer Challenge: Jetpack Compose and was one of the 500 winners for both challenges.

Google Play Store Listing Certificate

I took Google Play Academy’s Store Listing Certificate training, passed the exam, and got my certificate.

First (Virtual) Half Marathon

I did my first 21k on 2021! It was a virtual half-marathon at the BMO Vancouver Marathon 2021. I finished the run in 2:45:26. I'm looking forward to my first in-person half-marathon next year.

Blood Donation

It has been one of my goals since 2011. There has been a lot of factors in the past that made me unable to do it. I was finally able to do it this time before the year ended.

Montly Run

I ran at least once a month this year. My total distance is 327 km, twice as much as last year's 161 km.

Le Français avec Duolingo

I extended my streak on Duolingo to 1655 days. In 4651+ minutes, I earned 18,750+ XP, got 157 more crowns, and "learned" 2256+ words.

Advent of Code, Kotlin Heroes

I tried Advent of Code for the first time. Using Kotlin, I was able to solve the first 15 days. I also learned some new things.

I also joined Kotlin Heroes 6 and Kotlin Heroes 7 this year. In the former, I solved a problem while in the latter, I got 2.

Victoria Trip

We were able to travel outside the city but within the province. It was our first time to visit the BC capital and we were able to visit different places and ate a lot of food. This trip happened when the cases were declining and the vaccination rate has been increasing so the province is starting to reopen.

Google Play Store Listing Certificate

One of the things announced at the Android Dev Summit 2021 is Google Play Academy’s Store Listing Certificate. The certificate is for app developers and evaluates knowledge of the best practices on creating Google Play Store listings, making them high-quality and policy-compliant, and marketing your app/games to a global audience.

I took the Play Academy training, passed the exam, and got my certificate: