Local running scene has ‘matured’, says Coach Rio

Running advocate Rio dela Cruz said the running scene in the Philippines is now matured, in comparison to other countries, as around 8000 runners participated in the HOKA Trilogy Run Asia on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

According to Dela Cruz, 3800 participated in the longest route which is the 16K run, while 2500 participated in the 10K run. Previously, the shorter runs had more participants while in Leg 1 of the Trilogy Run, the shortest 5K run had 2000 participants.

“Yung running scene kasi sa Philippines is medyo matured na siya compared sa ibang countries,” Dela Cruz said, adding that the increase in participants in longer routes also happened progressively.

[The running scene in the Philippines is matured compared to other countries.]

He added that there were a lot of runners who wanted to run and train as part of their fitness routines.

“This is actually one of the biggest participants natin dito sa Trilogy. Before the pandemic, we’re averaging 4000-5000. ‘Yung boom ng running, very different when we started back in 2007 and 2010,” Dela Cruz said.

[This is actually one of the biggest participants we’ve had here in Trilogy. Before the pandemic, we’re averaging 4000-5000. The running boom is very different from when we started back in 2007 and 2010.]

Meanwhile, national team athletes Richard Solano and Christine Hallasgo ruled the 16K race, with the former clocking in 50 minutes and six seconds, while the latter had one hour, one minute, and 47 seconds.

James Orduna (32:03) and Maria Jona Lina Abutas (42:24) topped the 10K race, while Noli Tore (16:14) and Jonezamie Sustituedo (23:13) ran the fastest in the 5K race.

Leg 2 of the Manila race will be held on June 2, while Leg 3 will be in August. Races will also be done in different parts of the country such as Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod/Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao, before the National Finals in December which will have 10K, 21K, and 42K races.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News