Trouble-free race expected in Subic International Marathon

Organizers of the 3rd Subic International Marathon (SIM) assured all runners participating in Sunday’s race at the Remy Field inside the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) that safety will be properly observed along the racecourse. Event organizers teamed up with the Philippine National Police Corps Movement in assuring the safety of the thousands of local and foreign long-distance runners that will join the race. SIM founder (Ret.) Gen. Sam Tucay said that they can consider Sunday’s event to be the safest, cleanest and most gorgeous racecourse in the country. “We will observe discipline and cleanliness of the venue." Tucay said unfortunate incidents in other running events won’t happen on Sunday. “We’ve heard of several unfortunate incidents that happened in other running events, such as when one participant got bitten by a dog and a foreign competitor lost his iPod to a snatcher while passing by a street that is part of the running course. We don’t see that happening here in SIM because Subic Bay is a safe and clean place," said Tucay. Participants will be competing in the 42-kilometer, 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K events. Eric Imperio of Extribe Inc., a well-known race organizer, will be this edition’s race director. Imperio was also the race director of the 10-10-10 Run For Pasig River and the Ironman 70.3 Philippines. “We want to pattern the race after the fabled New York Marathon," said Imperio. “Runners will be given race chips, which we got from an Australian company, to monitor the time of the participants consistently. Portalets will also be made available in the racecourse, while drinking water will also be provided every 1.5-kilometers of the race." PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo will lead a group of runners from the country’s police force. He will join his predecessor, former PNP chief Jesus Versoza, and Tucay in competing against local and international runners. Thousands of local and foreign runners from Russia, the United States and neighboring countries from Asia have already registered for the race. More participants are still expected to register at the last minute. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV