A DAY after organizers of the 41st National Milo Marathon Grand Finals announced they will change the official route of the 42-kilometer race, the Cebu City Marathon organizers followed suit.
The race scheduled on January 14, 2018 was supposed to use the South Road Properties (SRP) and the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) as part of the official route of the 42-kilometer distance, but due to the memorandum of the Cebu City government last October sparing the mentioned areas from being used as an official route of a running event, the organizers of the upcoming run — Cebu Executives Runners Club (CERC) — decided to divert the route to the northern part of Cebu City.
“We will be running within Cebu City and not [use the] SRP anymore. We will have a looping route back and out of the Cebu Business Park and within the City,” said race director Kenneth Casquejo, who is also the president of CERC, in a press conference yesterday at the Cebu Grand Hotel.
Co-race director Joel Juarez explained that the SRP will no longer be used for running events to prevent traffic congestion.
“The situation along N. Bacalso avenue can’t be controlled. The bulk of the cars divert to SRP, and if we use the road there, it would be closed and it will surely cause traffic jams,” said Juarez.
The start and finish line of the Cebu City Marathon is at the Cebu Business Park and will use its premises as the route for the shorter distances, the 10k and 5k. The 21k and 42k route will reach the Talamban Road in northern Cebu. The route back passes through Katipunan Road in Labangon and head straight to Osmeña Boulevard through the historical sites such as the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and Plaza Independencia then back to the finish line.
Around 3,000 runners have already registered for the run. Some runners come from the United States, Europe and some parts of Asia.
Registration is still going on with the deadline set on December 17.