Pasig River run eyes Guinness record

MANILA, Philippines –  About 140,000 runners are set to break a world record today in ABS-CBN’s 10.10.10 Run for Pasig River.

Dubbed “Kabit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig,” the run does not only aim to set a record but also to revive the Metro Manila basin.

“(We) hope to create even wider awareness of the cause and raise more funds for the seven-year campaign to clean the Pasig River,” organizers said.

The organizers initially targeted 120,000 participants, but as of Oct. 5 they had already listed 140,000 runners, according to Faizza Tanggol, media officer.

“But that would still depend on the turn out of registrants during the event,” Tanggol said.

Aside from running for a cause, today’s event is also aimed to break the Guinness World Record for most participants in a footrace.

The record of most runners has been held for 22 years by San Francisco’s 1988 “Bay to Breakers” race.

Free shuttle

Together with the KBPIP, members of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association (IMBOA) and Metro Bus Transport (PROBUS) will also help by providing 120 buses as free shuttles for the participants, according to IMBOA president Claire de la Fuente.

She said the buses will shuttle the runners from MRT Taft station to SM Mall of Asia for the three-kilometer category and CCP complex for the five-kilometer category.

Those joining the 10-kilometer category, meanwhile, will no longer need any shuttle because the starting point is just near the MRT station in Ayala.

De la Fuente said they decided to participate after ABS-CBN Foundation head Gina Lopez invited them to “help do something for the country.”

She said these are the same words she used to invite other bus operators to participate in the event.

Tanggol said that aside from shuttling runners, the operators also agreed to provide free transport to the runners of KBPIP-supported communities like Estero de Paco, Baseco, and Mandaluyong City.

De la Fuente said the operators also want to show the public, amid outrage over a series of bus accidents, that they are “proactive” and are “not just here to do business.”

Traffic advisory

Meanwhile, the lanes of Ayala Avenue adjacent to the Peninsula hotel will be closed for today’s activity.

Vehicles coming from EDSA are advised to take Arnaiz Avenue.

From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. today the following roads shall be closed to public use – Ayala Ave. from EDSA to Paseo de Roxas; Paseo de Roxas from Ayala Avenue to Mandarin Hotel; and Makati Avenue from Mandarin Hotel to Buendia.

Vehicles from EDSA are advised to take Jupiter street or Arnaiz Ave.