Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) officials (left to right) John Pages, Joel Juarez, Jesse Taborada and Kenneth Casquejo grace a press briefing to talk about this Sunday’s 10th Cebu City Marathon. (CDN PHOTO/Glendale G. Rosal).
Organizers of this Sunday’s 10th Cebu City Marathon are pleading for extra patience from the public as the race is expected to cause some traffic congestion.
“We will close half portion of the road in the entire race route. We will also make sure that the entire race route is well lighted and safe for runners,” said Joel Juarez, one of the officials of Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) who graced a press briefing yesterday at the Shaka Hawaiian Restaurant at the Cebu I.T. Park.
The race, which will feature 42-kilometer, 21k, 10k, and 5k distances, will traverse through the major thoroughfares of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu. It will start and end at the Cebu Business Park.
CERC officials, headed by its president Kenneth Casquejo, also encouraged the public to come out and cheer on the participants.
“I want to invite everyone to come out of their houses and cheer on the runners to motivate them to finish the race. We’ve seen this in Boston Marathon and other international marathons so why don’t we try it our own way,” added Pages.
Josel Juarez said they have already coordinated with the traffic management groups of Cebu City, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu City.
Traffic agencies of the three cities have pledged to deploy enough traffic enforcers to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
Some 300 marshals and 50 communicators will be deployed during the race.
Organizers expressed confidence that this year’s race will be bigger in terms of the number of participants.
As of yesterday, the race has already matched last year’s turnout of 4,000 runners.
“The registration is still going on so we might be able to attract more runners and exceed the total number of expected participants. This may be because of the new route that covers the three cities that’s why we have a lot of participating runners,” said Pages, a former president of CERC.
Around 1,400 runners have enlisted for the 42k race and 1,700 for 21k. The rest of the early registrant have signed up for the 10k and 5k categories.
Some 150 foreign runners from 30 countries will also be competing.
CERC officials assured of a safe and an enjoyable race.
Tapped to secure the race were personnel of the AFP-Central Command and its Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) and K9 units.
Policemen and barangay tanods will also help secure the race.
Organizers vowed to implement a tighter security following the bombing incident in Hilongos town, Leyte that left several people injured last Dec. 28.
A general coordination meeting among the race’s stakeholders will be held this Friday at the Cebu Grand Hotel.
Race kit claiming started yesterday at the Active Zone of Ayala Center Cebu. An on-site registration will be available for the 10k and 5k distances.