Wednesday, January 09, 2008 Two races, same place, 2 Sundays
IN less than a week, running enthusiasts will experience two half marathons to kick off on the same venue, both start and end at the IT Asiatown Park in Lahug Cebu City, organized by two Cebu running clubs for two different reasons.
First, the Cebu Road Runners Club benefit run called Sugbo Marathon 21K Tri-City Run on Jan. 13, which covers the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, and the Sinulog Half Marathon organized by the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) on Jan. 19 as part of the week-long Sinulog Festivities.
Race director Raymund Silot of CRRC said that should runners join the two races, they better be in good shape.
“If runners are physically fit, they can join, it’s okay for them to join the marathon the following Sunday as long as they have proper rest and proper diet,” Silot said.
Accoding to Silot, this is the first time the CRRC is holding the Tri-City run since it was first staged with the Cebu City Sports Commission in 2000. This could be the sixth tri-city run. It stopped in 2003, but was restaged last year.
“Running doctors” Yong Larrazabal and Peter Mancao and the rest of their club members will join the race and expects at least 1,500 runners during the event, said Silot.
They will give P10, 000 for first prize in the Sugbo Run, along with gift packs from their major sponsors. Big prizes are also at stake for the other category winners.
However, since giving cash prizes for the kids is discouraged, they will only receive gift packs, vitamins, and discount in Common School and Fun and Learn, located near Baseline Restaurant.
The CRRC headed by its president Rodrigo Potestas has also tapped the services of the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation and the traffic enforcers from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu to help manage traffic for the Sugbo Marathon 21K Tri-City run this coming Sunday.
Engineer Blas Hipulan, who will take charge for the safety of the runners during the event, said in the press conference yesterday at Hanga Bai that they tapped the said agencies in case there will be some problems they will encounter on that day.
Hipulan, a safety practitioner engineer and a member of the Safety Organization of the Philippines, said they wanted the Sugbo Marathon to be safe for runners. (NSM)
