5,000 runners to vie in Clark sunset run

MANILA, Philippines — Night running gets a big boost with the staging of the inaugural Clark Sunset Marathon on Dec. 9 at Clark Freeport Zone.

An estimated 5,000 runners, both local and foreign, are expected to hit the roads under lights for the new internationally accredited race aimed at promoting night running in the Philippines.

“It’s hot and humid in a tropical country like the Philippines so it’s practical to run early in the morning and late in the afternoon, early night. And since it’s hard to do night running in Manila, we said why don’t we do one outside Manila, which is Clark? And the plan is to have a night run within international standards,” Andrew Neri, managing partner of Runrio Events, Inc. which is partnering with the Clark Development Corp. and Tourism Board of the Philippines for the event, said during yesterday’s launch.

Neri said the Clark Sunset Marathon has secured route standard accreditation from Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The full marathon’s gun start happens at 4 p.m. with the 21K, 10K and 5K races following at 4:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 4:45 p.m. respectively, according to race director Franco Bambico.

CDC Tourism Promotions manager Noemi Julian said the event will be the first of several as CDC has signed a 10-year partnership with Runrio and next month’s maiden staging couldn’t come at a better time.

“This is an opportune time for us to showcase what we have in Clark,” Julian said, citing new hotels, expanded roads and forthcoming water theme park, among others. “Right now we want to have more sports activities, a variety of events in Clark.”

To spice things up, Neri said DJs will give runners a musical treat during and after the running event, which is inspired by other world-famous running gigs like the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon.

“We at Runrio want to give a one-of-a-kind experience to all participants. We stage this event on a Saturday evening so that participants will have a relax and chill-type of an experience. It will be a night of running and partying. DJ Ashley Rivera and Tom Taus will be on hand to provide the party atmosphere,” said Neri.