Sofitel to stage bigger Manila Half Marathon

MANILA, Philippines - After holding two successful legs of the Battle of the Sexes run last year, Sofitel Philippine Plaza sets the stage for a bigger footrace dubbed the Sofitel Manila Half Marathon 2014 on Aug. 17 at the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

A revival of the event last held in 2008, the Sofitel Manila Half Marathon features races in the 5k, 10k and 21k categories, where 6,000 participants race through a panoramic view of Manila Bay while enjoying the bay’s cool breeze.

Apart from enhancing Manila’s reputation as a “running hub,” the event aims to help raise funds for the street children of Manila, according to Sofitel Philippine Plaza general manager Adam Laker.

“The Sofitel Manila Half Marathon aims to be at par with other international marathons such as the Boston Marathon or Singapore Marathon. Aside from this, the greater aim of the event is to contribute to the upliftment of the lives of the street children of Manila through Virlanie Foundation, the beneficiary of the marathon,” Laker said during Tuesday’s press launch at the hotel’s Davao Function Room.

The charity aspect of the race continues the tradition started in the Battle of the Sexes 1 and 2, which raised P1.5 million last year. Part of the proceeds was used to purchase a van handed over to Virlanie, a child-caring NGO working with street children in Metro Manila.

“This year we are targeting to have over 6,000 runners and for better success in terms of fund raising,” Laker said.

A total of 3,500 runners will be accommodated in the 21k while 1,500 and 1,000 will be accepted in the 10k and 5k, respectively. Cash prizes and luxury prizes from Sofitel await the top three male and female runners in each category.

Online registration, selling of prepaid cards and in-store registration starts June 27 at Toby’s MOA, Toby’s SM North The Block and Move, 30th Street BGC. Fees are pegged at P750 for 5k, P850 for 10k and P950 for 21k. All runners will receive a race bib, singlet, and finishers lootbag and drinks. A finishers medal and finishers shirt will be given in the 21k.

Also present during the launch were Sofitel director of sales and marketing Chanelle Garvey, Virlanie president and founder Dominique Lemay and the foundation’s children choir, and Rio dela Cruz of organizer Runrio.

“We hope to put Manila in the global map as a running destination and at the same time help the street kids,” said Garvey.

For his part, Dela Cruz said the ultimate objective is to “one day become one of the world’s most popular running event attracting both amateur and professional runners from all over the world to compete in Manila.”