Participants speak up: This year’s race better
A Cebu Marathon participant has her picture taken with fellow runners Fritz Labastida (left) and Francis Costilla (right), who ran the 21-kilometer distance of the 2018 Cebu Marathon in Sinulog-inspired costumes.
Glendale Rosal
MORE freebies, more food and more entertainment.
These were what participants noticed that made this year’s edition of the Cebu Marathon better than the previous edition of the annual footrace.
“It’s better this year. There is food, there are more freebies and the water station is very entertaining,” said men’s 42-kilometer local champion Rafael Pescos.
“Everything has improved. There is more than enough water, food, and freebies,” added Prince Joey Lee, the winner in the men’s 21k local race.
Not only did top-notch runners notice the improvement, but also the regular runners such as 56-year-old Heide Flores from Ibabao-Estancia, Mandaue City.
Flores has joined the Cebu Marathon for five straight years now.
“It’s more fun this year because I received a lot of freebies, especially the shirts. There was an early bird shirt, an event shirt and the finishers’ shirt.
Last year, we were only given a piece of bread and a bottled water,” said Flores, who ran the full marathon. “ I enjoyed a lot of the water stations because they provided us not just water but food and entertainment as well.”
Fritz Labastida, another 42k finisher, loved the fact that the running event was very festive.
“It really lived up to its name as the grandest marathon in the country,” he said.
Some also took notice of this year’s finisher’s medal.
Francis Costillas, a 21k finisher, said this year’s medal was also better.
“All of us know that the medal design for us runners really matter because we add it to our collection,” he said. “Also the finisher’s shirt is well designed.”
For 37-year-old Pipo Casiño, who came all the way from Don Carlos, Bukidnon in Mindanao, what amazed him was the festive mood all throughout the race route.
“It was so fun because there was always music along the route,” said Casiño, who chose the Cebu Marathon for his first try at a 42k distance to make it more memorable. “What I liked most was that there was a lot of food in every hydration station.”
The positive feedback from runners was a big pat on the back for the organizing Cebu Executive Runners Club as it fulfilled its promise to bring back the excitement and the festive atmosphere Cebu Marathon is known for.
Last year, CERC was bombarded with complaints such as having an expensive registration fee with very few freebies, having not enough food for runners and the dull hydration stations.
CERC could have achieved a perfect grade if not for a technical glitch in releasing the official time of the winning runners.
“Despite some concerns with the rain and some technical issues with the winners’ results, the feedback has been positive,” said CERC former president John Pages.
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