Azlan Pagay and his long-time girlfriend Ruffa Sorongon will join over 6, 000 runners in the SM2SM Run 10 that will be held on Sunday, February 16, 2020. | CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Running couple Azlan Pagay and Ruffa Sorongon will be among the 6,500 runners who will be joining the SM2SM Run 10 scheduled on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Start and finish will be at the SM City Mall at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City.
Both Pagay and Sorongon will be competing in the 12-kilometer distance wherein Sorongon is the defending champion in the women’s division.
This will be the couple’s sixth time to compete in the SM2SM Run which is already on its 10th edition this year.
Sorongon has been a three-time 12K women’s champion, while she finished second to Olympian Mary Joy Tabal in the 21K at least two times.
Azlan, for his part, had his best finish last year, which was fifth in the 21K. He has consistently made it to the top 10 and has made it a priority in these races to pace Sorongon.
Aside from the 21K and 12K, there’s also the 8K and 4K categories in Sunday’s run. The 21K will be released at 3:30 a.m., 12K at 4 a.m., 8K at 4:30 a.m. and 4K at 5 a.m. respectively.
The run will give participants a glimpse of Cebu’s scenic spots since they will be passing by Fort San Pedro on their way to the South Road Properties, passing by SM Seaside City Cebu and all the way to Talisay City and back.
To address concerns on the threat of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), SM management will be using thermal scanning devices on participants to make sure that they are in good shape during run.
Small bottles of alcohol will also be distributed to all runners.
A sanitation station will be set up beside each water station so volunteers can spray alcohol on the runner’s hands.
The SM2SM run continues to live up to its reputation of being one of the biggest, cash-rich runs in the Visayas and Mindanao. For the 10th edition of the run, more than P600,000 in cash prizes will be given away to the winners.
Other prizes that will be up for grabs include a Chevrolet, gift certificates from hotels and other major sponsors, airline tickets from Cathay Pacific and RealMe phones. / dcb