Manila Marathon draws record field

The biggest ever one-time gathering of runners on Philippine soil take center stage tomorrow morning with the staging of the first Manila Marathon, a multi-distance race set on a course that starts and ends at the Luneta.

More than 20,000 runners from all walks of life, including the country’s marathon bets to the 22nd Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam this December and members of the national team in other sports, are participating in the centerpiece sports program of the city of Manila.

Intended to become the country’s trademark sporting event, one that would someday rival the prestige and magnitude of the Boston, San Francisco and London Marathons to name a few, the Manila Marathon would also gather together VIPs both in Manila and Philippine sports who have vowed to support the event.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza will be the main man when the runners are flagged off on Roxas Boulevard (between the Rizal Monument and the Quirino Grandstand). He will be joined by officials of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), whose chairman Eric Buhain vowed all-out support to the endeavor.

"We are behind the Manila Marathon, which is a first of its kind in Philippine sports," said Buhain. "We would want to see the success of the Manila Marathon."

Besides the PSC, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, SuperFerry, Air21, Selecta Moo-Sunkist and Aqua Prima, the official water, and Konka television are also backing the event organized by the City of Manila through its sports arm, the Manila Sports Council chaired by Ali Atienza and the Manila Sports Foundation.

The 42K race will begin at 4 a.m. Among the streets or Manila landmarks the race will cover are Roxas Boulevard, Quirino Avenue, Nagtahan, A. H. Lacson Avenue, España-Welcome Rotonda, Dapitan, P. Noval, Morayta, Plaza Miranda, City Hall, Plaza Lawton, Escolta, Binondo and Intramuros. The 42K runners will run the route twice before finishing at the Quirino Grandstand.

The 10K, 5K and 3K races will be flagged off beginning at 6 a.m. The route for the shorter races will cover Roxas Boulevard and part of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex and the Diosdado Macapagal Avenue.

More than 300 volunteers primarily from the City College of Manila are helping run the Manila Marathon. The Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association has sanctioned the event and has made it as one of the qualifying races for the selection of members of the national marathon team to the Vietnam SEA Games.