Run United sets record

MANILA, Philippines - Unilab Active Health’s first offering for the year set another first: the biggest number of participants in the half marathon category in the country. Over 4,000 half marathoners ran the Enervon HP 21K at Run United 1.

“We are overwhelmed with the support of the running community. They have not only made Run United a part of their running calendar, they have made it a part of their active lifestyle, and that’s what we are after at the end of the day,” said Alex Panlilio, Head of Unilab Active Health (ULAH).

The sixth offing of the Run United series also marked record participants in other race categories: the Ceelin 500-m dash for kids, 3k, 5K, and Enervon 10K. In fact, ‘waved starts’ were implemented for 5K and 10K races due to the huge turnout of runners, to make the run orderly.

According to Rio de la Cruz, head of RunRio Inc., Filipino runners have really multiplied and matured. “In the previous races I have organized, the 3K and 5K slots are usually the ones that get finished fast. With Run United 1, we ran out of 21K slots a full week before the end of the registration period.”

Organizers of Unilab Active Health and RunRio Inc. introduced several new features in Run United 1, which will be carried over to other Run United events throughout the year. These include new race routes, better hydration stations, improved security, more safety marshals, new freebies, and more exciting ActiveHealth village, among others.

The new registration or pre-race giveaway, a race belt or bib holder, was a big hit among runners. The 21K finisher medals are truly worth keeping. It is created as a collectible medal, thus, those who will participate in all of the three Run United races during the year, can put together all their finisher medals and form a big Run United medal. In effect, getting the three medals symbolizes the runners’ commitment to sustaining an active and healthy lifestyle all year round.

Half marathoners also found the experience of starting off the race at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig and finish off at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City as something new and unique. It was the first time that it was done in a Run United race. 21K runners were shuttled back and forth between the two venues.

Run United 2 is set for June 17 and Run United 3 on Sept. 16. These will be followed on Oct. 28 by the much-awaited Run United Philippine Marathon, Run United’s first ever full marathon or 42.195K race.

“The runners really supported us all the way—with their participation, cooperation, insights and feedbacks, and we are very thankful. The relationships we have built with them keep on growing every event and we are encouraged to keep on making things better for them,” said Lester Castillo, brand manager of Unilab Active Health.

Run United 1 participants as well as their family members and friends also actively took part in the various games and activities at the Unilab Active Health Expo for kids, adults and seniors. There were also loads of freebies and product samples that were given away.

The following are the other events of Unilab Active Health lined up for this year: The Bull Runner Dream Marathon on March 18; Tri United 1 on April 14 and 15; Tri United 2 on June 30 to July 1; Tri United 3, November 10 and 11, as well as year round running and triathlon clinics.

Run United is for the benefit of Gawad Kalusugan (the health program of Gawad Kalinga) and Hero Foundation.

For more inquiries on Run United and Active Health, check out these websites: www.unilabactivehealth.com and www.runrio.com as well as their respective fan pages on Facebook and Twitter.