CEBU, Philippines - Now on its seventh edition, the Cebu Marathon is something that the Cebuano sports community can truly be proud of as it is now an international race sanctioned by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).
Calendared for January 12, 2014 at the Cebu IT Park, it is the first marathon in Cebu that has sought the certification of AIMS after the organizing Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) tapped RunRio as the new “handler” of the event.
Long distance running guru and RunRio top honco Rio de la Cruz said the Cebu Marathon is only the third running event in the country that is accredited by AIMS. The other two being the Manila leg of the Milo Marathon and the national finals set later this year.
With this latest development, runners can now use the Cebu Marathon as a qualifier to international championships like the Boston Marathon. They can also use it as a springboard to earn slots to the Philippine Team for the SEA Games and other major races abroad in the future.
More than the fun and the competitive side of the event, Cebu Marathon's membership with AIMS is definitely a big boost to Cebu's tourism industry.
This early, the race route has already been measured by no less than Dave Cundy, AIMS vice president and technical director. He is also the IAFF-AIMS measurement administrator for the Asia and Oceania zone.
“Now you have a correct distance. You can now use the Cebu Marathon to qualify to championships events like the Boston Marathon among others. This will also surely attract more tourists. The Cebu Marathon will now be listed on AIMS calendar of events,” said Cundy in a press conference yesterday at Mooon Cafe in Cebu IT Park.
As the Cebu Marathon levels up, the organizers decided to scrap the 5K run, leaving it open to only the 21K and 42K categories.
“We are very excited to have this event as we are also going to present a different concept to the runners,” said De la Cruz.
This as they will go cupless and paperless as registration will now be online and there will be no paper or plastic cups during the race.
For those who do not have credit cards, a runner can purchase a card that will be used in registering. Also, CERC’s John Pages said those who don't have internet access need not worry as they will put up an on-line registration booth at Ayala Center-Cebu’s Active Zone.
In its desire to come up with an environment-friendly event, RunRio in partnership with Safeguard will implement a zero waste run. With this, they will provide water bottles for the runners to use and refill at the designated water stations come the race day.
As of the moment though, the other aspects of the race including the cash prize and the start of the registration are still being finalized by the organizers.
Source: Philstar.com - FREEMAN
