INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines?With organizers limiting the number of elite runners for each team, a competitive race looms in the Laguna de Bay Challenge: 200-Kilometer Ultra Marathon Relay on May 1 and 2.

Close to P1 million will be up for grabs in the event designed to heighten public awareness on the plight of Laguna Lake.

The race will start at the Fontera Verde in Tiendesitas, Pasig City passing through Sucat Road in Parañaque City before ending in Sta. Cruz, Laguna on the first day.

The second day of the race that will circle Laguna Lake will take the runners from Sta. Cruz back to Tiendesitas via Jala-Jala, Tanay and Binangonan, Rizal.

The top five finishers will receive P350,000, P200,000, P100,000, P75,000, and P50,000, respectively.

The Kenyan runners, who have made their presence felt in the local running circuit, will see action but they won?t be allowed to compete in one team.

?To level the playing field, elite runners will be limited to two for each five-man squad so it promises to be a competitive race,? race organizer Emmet Penson said during Tuesday?s PSA forum sponsored by Shakey?s, Accel, Pagcor and Outlast Battery.

?We hope the Ultra Marathon Relay will help residents of Metro Manila and neighboring provinces realize why Laguna Lake is a vital watershed,? said Laguna Lake Development Authority general manager Edgar Manda.

The entry fee is pegged at P2,500 per team.

Proceeds will go to the Gatalan Community Bamboo Forest Project in Sta. Cruz, Laguna and livelihood projects for the Laguna de Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council. Cedelf P. Tupas