THE marathon, organized by the Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), to save the Pasig River gained enormous support from the public Sunday.

Project director Girlie Aragon of the "Philippine International Marathon 2009: A Run for the Pasig River" told Sun.Star that it was “very heartening” for their organization to see such support from different companies, non-government organizations and schools.

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“Students and of course with the professional athletes, you can see the determination in their faces,” said Aragon.

One of the touching sights she noticed was also the participation of young children from Hospico de San Jose who waved their little flags while running.

The organizers aimed for 20,000 participants prior the event but the registered runners surpassed the target and hit around 22,000.

The KBPIP said they are also working hand in hand with the government with its projects to save what is left of the Pasig River.

“The challenge is so great. You can't exclude (the efforts of) anyone,” said Aragon.

The 3 kilometer (km), 5km, 10km and 42km marathon was held to create awareness about the cleanliness efforts for the Pasig River rehabilitation project.

The 42km event kicked off the race at 4:30 a.m. at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.

Runners passed through a route that gave them a sneak peek of the situation of the Pasig River. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)