5,000 JOIN CEBU LEG OF 711 FUN RUN

Organizers to send winners of 711 marathon to another race in Asia

Organizers of the 7-Eleven Run are encouraging runners and running enthusiasts to register now before they run out of slots for the simultaneous races on Feb. 4.

The run will be staged simultaneously in three places – Cebu, Manila and Davao. The Cebu leg will start and end at the Cebu Business Park with a projected 5,000 participants.

“Right now for Cebu, I think there are 5,000 runners already registered. There are a lot of out- of-town runners who chose to register here,” said local race director Joel Juarez of Coco Running.

Juarez said that some of the long-distance runners from Luzon will run here since the Cebu-leg has a longer cutoff time for the 42K, which is at seven hours, compared to just four hours in Manila.

Aside from the 42K race, Cebu will have the 21K, 16K, 10K, 5K, 3K and 500-meter dash categories. The event will also have a tandem race in the 10K Buddy Run and 5K Buddy Run.

Neville Manauis, also the race director of Ironman 70.3 Philippines, will lead the technical team and will be supported by Juarez.

“The team is now ready. We just encourage the runners in Cebu to register now because the slots may run out. I think for Ma- nila-Leg, almost all the categories are already closed,” he said.

At stake for the elite runners are cash prizes and the chance to represent the country in an international race in Asia. Last year, the top runners were sent to Danang International Marathon in Vietnam.

This year, the top three male and female runners with the best times in the 42K and 21K from Cebu, Manila and Davao legs will be tapped to gear up in an international race.

The race in Manila will be at Filinvest City Alabang, while the Davao race will be at SM City Davao. /