MANILA—The Guinness Record didn’t fall—yet—but the total number of runners and the environmental awareness it generated were more than enough to make Sunday’s “10.10.10: A Run for the Pasig River” a phenomenal success.
Seven-division boxing champ Manny Pacquiao led what organizers said was a starting field of 101,994 runners who started from four different points but all finished at the SM Mall of Asia ground in Pasay.
Organizers claimed before the event that about 160,000 registered for the races. An auditing firm will re-check the total count as a substantial number of runners failed to enter the manual counting chute due to overcrowding.
The event, expected to raise between P10 million and P12 million for the Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) foundation’s clean-up drive, wanted to break the Bay to Breakers 12K race’s record of 110,000 runners set in 1986 in San Francisco, California.
The Pasig run’s total number of participants, however, is a Philippine record. The ongoing 34th Milo Marathon claimed to have established a record with 28,331 participants during its Metro Manila qualifying leg last July 4.
Topping the centerpiece 10K event for men were Alquin Bolivar (35:24), Abraham Barcarse (35:59) and Ramie Lacson (36:00), while the female podium-finishers were Dalin Karmil (44:07), Olive Cortez (47:23) and Mary Joy delos Santos (48:41).
The top three runners bagged P7,500, P5,000 and P2,500, respectively.
Pacquiao, who co-emceed the short opening program at the corner of Ayala and Makati avenues where the 10K race began, said he joined because it was for a noble cause.
“We will all benefit from a clean Pasig River,” said Pacquiao in Filipino, shortly before bodyguards whisked him away from the thick crowd. He said he finished his 10K run in a little over an hour.
All races started simultaneously at 5:30 a.m. The 10K division proceeded smoothly until stalled vehicles along Gil Puyat Avenue near the Light Rail Transit station in Manila slowed down the runners.
“I’m really happy that the run was peaceful and many showed up, five times the attendance last year when 23,000 runners took part,” said KBPIP head Gina Lopez, adding they hope to solve the counting method by using electronic timing devices next year.
OTHER WINNERS: 5K Male—Mervin Guarte (15:45), Ferdinand Corpuz (16:03), Justin Tabunda (16:210; 5K Female—Nhea Ann Barcana (21:30), Serenata Saluan (21:45), Luisa Raterta (22:53); 3K Male—Richard Salaño, Jordan Paul Billones, Dave Gumaca; 3K Female—Kerzel Pedriña, Cristine Delfin, Ranya Bumpus
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