Touted as the biggest running event in the country by far, RUN FOR HOME attracted more than 6,000 runners and health enthusiasts from all walks of life, all of them joining this first ever running event by Globe and Ayala Land, for the benefit of the settlers of Ilog Pasig.RUN FOR HOME: Globe-Ayala Land City Run for Habitat for Humanity saw men and women of all ages and even children running together in the early morning of July 19 at Bonifacio Global City, in support of the development of a community especially for the settlers of Ilog Pasig.
Read more below and see the photo coverage
As early as 4:00am, thousands of runners were already out in the streets making their way to the starting line at the Bonifacio Global City. It was still dark that time but the excitement could be felt all around as the runners for the 21-km race assembled and performed their warm up exercises by 4:30am, making sure they were all set for the gun start at 5:00am sharp.
Once the running had started, there was no stopping them as the 10-km. runners took their place at 5:15am, stretching and readying themselves for the 5:45am gun start. It was straight to the finish line for everyone at RUN FOR HOME with the 5-km. runners releasing their adrenaline by 5:55am. The 3-km. runners, some parents with their kids and families with their dogs, took off at exactly 6:00am.
They all met one another at the finish line, where the runners’ families and friends waited for them and cheered them on. Such was the festive atmosphere at RUN FOR HOME.
The successful run, which was for a worthy cause and featured state-of-the-art race technology and a unique route, brought new and exciting experiences for Filipino runners and participants.
“At Globe, we feel a great sense of responsibility to the community we live in and we are glad to be given a chance to make a difference in people’s lives. We thank all those who joined us in RUN FOR HOME and contributed to the success of this endeavor,” said Ernest L. Cu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Globe.
He added, “To the runners and health enthusiasts, we hope we have given them a memorable and exciting run by allowing them to experience the Makati Central Business District route and making available to them the disposable electronic timing chips being used in running events overseas.”
By encouraging sports like running among Filipinos, Globe endeavored to bring the best running experience to each and everyone who joined RUN FOR HOME by introducing two firsts in this fun, fit and worthwhile activity.
A technological first in a Philippine running event, RUN FOR HOME made use of cutting-edge disposable electronic timing chips to track the running time of participants. The runners were able to rely on fast and accurate race results each time they crossed the mats.
The disposable electronic timing chip is a miniature transponder in a specially designed plastic housing. It is waterproof and can be used in any weather condition, whether wet, dry, cold or hot. These chips are used in popular international marathons where they are often attached to a runner’s shoelace, or in triathlons where the athletes wear them on ankle bracelets.
Each disposable chip was tagged to a specific runner and stored information on the runner’s performance throughout the course. Runners kept their chips as their memento of their RUN FOR HOME experience.
RUN FOR HOME also made use of a new route. This was the first time that the Makati Central Business District was featured as a race course in a sporting event, so it was a new experience even for veteran runners.
The track took the participants from Bonifacio Global City straight to the heart of the Makati Central Business District, allowing runners to pass through 26th Street, Rizal Drive, Kalayaan Avenue, Buendia Flyover, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas, Makati Avenue, Lawton Avenue and Bayani Road.
RUN FOR HOME offered a challenge for all ages and all fitness levels as it featured 3-km., 5-km., 10-km., and 21-km. runs. Cash prize of P15,000 was given away to the race winner for the 21-km. run, P10,000 for the first place in the 10-km. run, P5,000 for the winning 5-km. runner, and P3,000 as top prize for the 3-km. run.
Runners were able to review and analyze their runs through the Globe website, four days after the run. They were able to see their performance versus the total field of runners. Also, they were able to access and download, free of charge, photos of themselves during the run taken by a team of photographers stationed throughout the race route. To do so, they simply had to log on to www.globe.com.ph/runforhome.
Aside from featuring race photos and results, the Globe website also offered live race updates via microblogs and photo feeds, so anyone who wanted to follow the race was able to do so for free, in real-time.
In addition, RUN FOR HOME spectators were able to enjoy the onsite Food Bazaar from the organizers of the popular Salcedo Market, a playground for the kids, and Globe Broadband-powered booths for the microblog updates on the run and actual race photos via PixLink,
Among the participants of RUN FOR HOME were Ayala Corp. President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Land President Antonino Aquino, Integrated Microelectronics CEO Arthur Tan, KapitBisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig Project Director Girlie Aragon, and Habitat for Humanity Philippines Chairman Francisco del Rosario, Jr. and President and CEO Alberto Jugo.
Celebrities and personalities namely Senator Pia Cayetano, Cristine Reyes, Rovilson Fernandez, Maricel Laxa, Anthony Pangilinan, Christine Jacob, Paco Sandejas, Anton Huang, Samboy Lim, Ditrie Villacorta, and Leana Farrales also joined RUN FOR HOME.
The sponsors of RUN FOR HOME include Adidas, Fitness First, Intercontinental Manila, Timex, Photovendo and Philippine Star. The race organizer is Finish Line. Media partners are GMA, ABS-CBN, 99.5 RT, RX 93.1, 97.1 LSFM, Jam 88.3 and Wave 89.1.
RUN FOR HOME’s beneficiary is Habitat for Humanity Philippines, an organization dedicated to uplifting lives by providing affordable and durable housing for all, RUN FOR HOME will help fund the KapitBisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig Project (KBIP), a key part of which is the construction of resettlement houses in Bayanijuan sa Calauan. A housing relocation site in Brgy. Dayap Calauan, Laguna, Bayanijuan is the main resettlement site for families that used to live along the Pasig River and its tributaries.
Globe, Ayala Land and Ayala Corp. donated a total of P1 Million to help build new homes for the settlers in Ilog Pasig. Ferdinand M. Dela Cruz, Globe’s Head of Consumer Sales and AfterSales, said, “RUN FOR HOME is a great way of building awareness for this vital issue and giving people the opportunity to support a very worthy cause.”
Bayanijuan sa Calauan is a 100-hectare community with 800 housing units constructed by the National Housing Authority (NHA) and refurbished by KBIP and other partners.
As one of the partners of KapitBisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig, Habitat for Humanity will finish and repair the existing 800 housing units initially provided by the NHA. It will also construct and build new housing units to address the demand for the resettlement of the informal settlers being relocated by the KapitBisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig in partnership with NHA.
To know more about RUN FOR HOME: Globe-Ayala Land City Run for Habitat for Humanity,
log on to www.globe.com.ph/runforhome.
