ASPIRING local marathon runners will have a double incentive when they compete in the Galaxy Manila Marathon winding through the national capital’s premier spots, starting and ending on Sunday at the seaside of Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“The full marathon will be a qualifying event by Patafa for the 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games while the champions in the men’s and women’s divisions will be assured of slots in next year’s Sydney International Marathon,” said race director Rio dela Cruz yesterday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association forum at the PSC conference room in Malate.
Dela Cruz said that the challenging 42-kilometer course was recently measured and certified again by the Association of International Marathon and Distance Races and sanctioned by the Philippine Athletics and World Athletics.
“This means that times in the Galaxy Manila Marathon will be recognized by Patafa and World Athletics, and, in the future, it can also be a qualifying event for the Olympic Games,” Dela Cruz said.
“We are making sure that this event will be a success so it can be at par with other huge international marathons such as those in Boston and London,” said RunRio general manager Andrew Neri during the program backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, San Miguel Corp., Smart/PLDT, Milo and gaming portal ArenaPlus.
They said that this year’s number of participants has doubled to 18,000, prompting them to turn away others to keep the races in the 42, 21, 10 and 5K under control and manageable.
The country’s top marathoners—32nd Cambodia SEA Games men’s silver medalist ArlanArbois and Richard Salaño and former SEA Games marathon queen Christine Hallasgo—will see action in the meet, although they have already qualified for the Thai Games, according to Dela Cruz.
“But there may be other SEA Games aspirants who might meet the qualifying standards and can be considered by Patafa for the Thailand Games,” he said, among them his protege, Eduard Flores of General Santos City.
Flores finished third in the Milo Marathon finals behind Salaño and Arbois, who were first and second, respectively, in a time of two hours and 27.19 minutes.
He needs to meet the bronze medal standard of 2:35.49 set by Vietnam’s Nguyen Thanh Hoang in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh two years ago to qualify for the Thailand Games.
The women’s standard is 2:50.27 set by Hallasgo in clinching the bronze in the regional sportsfest, with CebuanaArtjoyTorregosa, who ruled the AIA Marathon in Cebu last January, among those gunning for a spot in the national women’s marathon team, the coach said.
The men’s and women’s full marathon champions will each receive P100,000 and the chance to compete in next year’s Sydney International Marathon.
Dela Cruz said that the route of the full marathon will wind past Manila’s popular attractions such as the Manila City Hall, Manila Cathedral in Intramuros and the Rizal Park.
Neri said that the event has also lured overseas participants from 16 countries, namely, Canada, China, France, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore Spain, Switzerland, South Korea, the US, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Taiwan and Thailand.
