Easy route for 6th AWUM ultra race

CEBU, Philippines - The organizers of the 6th All-Women’s Ultramarathon have designed an easier route for the participants when the 50-kilometer ultra race takes place on March 11-12 at the Il Corso grounds in South Road Properties.

City councilor Joel Garganera said in a press conference at his office yesterday that the organizing ThinkTank will be eliminating the uphill portion, the one going to Marco Polo Hotel, for the race to have a relatively flat course.

This marks for the first time that the annual event will start and end at the same area.

 The time to beat is four hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds established by Meereiz Ramirez a few years back.

The cut-off time is 10 hours but the organizers will still award medals to all finishers.

This year’s edition has the most number of participants at 300.

In a related development, a total of 25 running clubs have committed to set up an aid station, some of them have food and the others a breastfeeding area, sanitary pad changing area, hydration, massage, and a make-up station to keep the entries resh as they cross the finish line.

“When we started ultramarathon in Cebu, men’s ra. Ang mga babaye igo ra mo-support namo. Now, daghan nang kusgan na mga babaye. So we are thinking, why not fully support them as our payback to them.Because without them, we possibly wouldn’t be able to finish the ultramarathon,” said Garganera.

Meanwhile, Tony Galon, an environmental advocate and one of the organizers, said runners who are caught throwing away their trash anywhere will be outrightly disqualified. At the same time, he is encouraging everyone to bring their hydration bottles for water refills.

“As we promote a healthy lifestyle, we should also protect our environment,” saidGalon. (FREEMAN)