The Excitement begins

The 2011 Cebu Marathon was just formally announced. January 9, 2011 is the date. Runners from all over the Philippines will flock the Cebu streets to witness the beauty of Cebu and our much awaited marathon. 

The 2010 Cebu City Marathon summoned almost 4,900 runners in the best race the Philippines has to offer. Given perfect reviews by celebrity runners Jaymie Pizarro (The Bullrunner), Jinoe Gavan (Takbo.ph), Jovie Narcise  (Bald Runner) and Haide Acuna (The Marathonfoodie) the Cebu City marathon was a big success. The secret to its achievement is simple. The Cebu City Marathon is a race for runners organized and supervised by runners. Members of the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) manned every water station from KM 0 until the last turning point. Doctors, Entrepreneurs, Lawyers and other executives (all marathoners) made sure the race exceeded every runners expectations. 

 “This year will be bigger and better” promised Jesse Taborada the president of CERC since its early years. 

Souvenir Shirts. New Balance Shirts are given away to the first 4,500 registrants of the Cebu Marathon. As of October 28, 2010, a total of more than 2,790 runners have already registered thus leaving only 1,710 shirts up or grabs. New Balance will also offer a special 20% discount to all registrants wanting to buy new shoes in selected stores by presenting their Cebu marathon claim stub. 

Registration. Planet Sports, The Athlete’s Foot and other related shops will accept registration in selected key cities around the Philippines (Manila, Cebu, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao). The official website of the Cebu Marathon will be live soon and will accept online registration.

Out of town guests. Selected Hotels all over the metro and in Mactan will be offering special rates to participants. Since the marathon will launch the start of the Sinulog week, guests can stay longer and witness the sinulog festivities. 

Pacers. Yes. We will have pacers next year. We will have runners leading a group to finish at a predetermined time. Popularized here in Cebu by TEAM REBORN, pace group leaders will finish at sub-5:00, sub-5:30 and if possible sub-4:45. Recruitment is underway for these noble runners willing to extend their help to the less experienced.

Timing Chip. The next Cebu Marathon will have timing chips for all race distances. Yes, ALL. Runners in the 5K, 21K and 42K will all receive timing chips and will have their finish times recorded. 

 (From the Net) 

Route and the SRP tunnel. Negotiations are underway which will include the SRP tunnel in the route. It will pose as a challenge to runners as the route is almost a kilometer long and will be a different running environment. The route will still include the South Road Properties (SRP) coastal road and some parts of Cebu City. Starting venue will still be at IT Park. Organizers hope that all cebuanos support the event and help cheer runners during the race. We encourage everybody to participate during race day and wake up early. Like the Sinulog festival, spectators can hang around along the race route and greet all runners with an authentic Sinulog welcome. 

Medals. Like this year's race, the Finishers medal will still be given only to the 42K finishers. Sorry. The design? Wait and see. 

The next Cebu Marathon will also have running clinics scheduled this November and December to help participants prepare for the race. The Marathon Expo will be held on January 5-7, 2011 in Ayala Active Zone where all the race packets will be distributed. A carbo-loading party will be held on January 7, 2011 and will be free for the first 300 registrants. Restaurants in Ayala Center Cebu will be serving pasta at the venue at a reasonable price.

“All systems are go” said Meyrick Jacalan for the next Cebu Marathon. Runners have less than 11 weeks to prepare for the big race.

See you on the Road.