Running Success!!!
Bleacher Talk
January 17, 2010
Running Success!!!
The gauge of a great movie is how much talk it generates after people have seen it. To this day, movie fans still talk about the “Star Wars” series and other blockbuster movies. The same can be said about big sports events. People will always be in awe when talking about Manny Pacquiao’s last fights against Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya. While we may not be able to generate events that will match the post-event talk levels of “Star Wars” or a Paquiao fight, Cebu can stand proud and brag about big sports events that we host with great success. We’ve had success at hosting world championship fights in boxing, thanks to ALA Promotions. We’ve also had successful runs of hosting dancesport competitions, practical shooting and a few events of the Southeast Asian Games a few years back. For the record, we can now proudly add another event to this list: the Cebu City Marathon, 01-10-10.
January 10 was a big day indeed for the Cebu Running scene as Cebu hosted the biggest and most successful marathon ever. Kudos to the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) for a spectacular staging of the Cebu City Marathon that had many runners praising the event to high heavens. Some even went to the extent to say that it was the best marathon they’ve every run in.
To us, the main factor why the event was a huge success was the attention that the organizers gave to the “little things.” And when I talk about the little things, I’m not even referring to the technical aspect about the marathon per se, but the little things that count a lot, but get the least attention by most organizers. The CERC’s attention to these little details was the very foundation for everything else to fall into their proper place, thus creating a unique experience for runners, something they probably never experienced in past runs.
I had a sense that the event was already a success the moment I arrived at the IT Park at around 5am. The first thing that caught my eye was that the parking guides in the designated parking areas had flashlights to guide cars where they were to park. Little details. When I saw this, I thought to myself, “If they can take care of making sure that parking was orderly and went the extra mile to equip the parking guides with flashlights to achieve this, then what else can possibly go wrong?
Everything else about the event was a reflection of little details that didn’t directly deal with running. The website was complete with information, race routes, news, pictures and results of the 42K and 21K runs. The information was simple to comprehend and complete. The IT Park was dressed up to become more than just a Start/Finish Line. It was a virtual fiesta that opened as early as 1am (for the organizers) and was THE place to be seen for all runners even way beyond the usual post-race “tambay” hours. Runners usually stick around for awhile after a race to chat, exchange notes and cool down. Last Sunday’s runners, however were there longer than the usual because of the fiesta atmosphere that featured not one, but two stages (where else will you see that here?), fireworks at 5am, booths of sponsors/fiesta “participants,” food, a lot of water, and two bands. With the Sinulog happening a week later, it was an advance fiesta.
The “creative” water stations and helpful marshals made the marathon more than just a run to race. The run was turned into a pleasant tour around the city on foot. Many of the runners actually switched from plain runners to become “tourist” runners. For them, it was no longer a race. They took pictures of themselves and their friends beside the Sinulog dancers, race marshals, cheerers, and the various attractions along the way. While it didn’t seem “normal” to do all these, they did it anyway. They certainly didn’t break any of the rules on running, did they? Mark Parco, a Manila-based 21K runner with whom I grew up in Cebu, had his picture taken with Sinulog dancers; at City Hall/Magellan’s Cross, the Sto. Niño spot of Penshoppe at Fuente Osmeña, at Capitol; and he even took a video of himself with the cheerers yelling “Go kuya go!” Some runners even slowed down to enjoy the view of the sunrise at the SRP. For the run-walk team of Dr. Peter Mancao, they even had the chance to take a snack break somewhere midway through their 42K journey. To all of them, this wasn’t a race. It was a run to be enjoyed. After all, who said that running wasn’t about enjoying oneself?
The traffic control was another great factor for the marathon’s success. The roads were all clear for all runners as motorists were politely asked to be patient. While some motorists may have been hit by a few traffic snarls here and there, this is a trade-off that we’ll have to accept if Cebu is to host a big event like this. After all, it’s only once a year. The pre-race activities were also a unique and critical element of the event. These track back to the planning stages that kicked off a year ago, to the free lecture series for runners, the timely presscons and the carbo-loading parties.
As I write, I haven’t even talked about the running at all! But there’s no need to do so anymore. With everything else covered, the running part took care of itself, running away with flying colors.
January 17, 2010
Running Success!!!
The gauge of a great movie is how much talk it generates after people have seen it. To this day, movie fans still talk about the “Star Wars” series and other blockbuster movies. The same can be said about big sports events. People will always be in awe when talking about Manny Pacquiao’s last fights against Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya. While we may not be able to generate events that will match the post-event talk levels of “Star Wars” or a Paquiao fight, Cebu can stand proud and brag about big sports events that we host with great success. We’ve had success at hosting world championship fights in boxing, thanks to ALA Promotions. We’ve also had successful runs of hosting dancesport competitions, practical shooting and a few events of the Southeast Asian Games a few years back. For the record, we can now proudly add another event to this list: the Cebu City Marathon, 01-10-10.
January 10 was a big day indeed for the Cebu Running scene as Cebu hosted the biggest and most successful marathon ever. Kudos to the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) for a spectacular staging of the Cebu City Marathon that had many runners praising the event to high heavens. Some even went to the extent to say that it was the best marathon they’ve every run in.
To us, the main factor why the event was a huge success was the attention that the organizers gave to the “little things.” And when I talk about the little things, I’m not even referring to the technical aspect about the marathon per se, but the little things that count a lot, but get the least attention by most organizers. The CERC’s attention to these little details was the very foundation for everything else to fall into their proper place, thus creating a unique experience for runners, something they probably never experienced in past runs.
I had a sense that the event was already a success the moment I arrived at the IT Park at around 5am. The first thing that caught my eye was that the parking guides in the designated parking areas had flashlights to guide cars where they were to park. Little details. When I saw this, I thought to myself, “If they can take care of making sure that parking was orderly and went the extra mile to equip the parking guides with flashlights to achieve this, then what else can possibly go wrong?
Everything else about the event was a reflection of little details that didn’t directly deal with running. The website was complete with information, race routes, news, pictures and results of the 42K and 21K runs. The information was simple to comprehend and complete. The IT Park was dressed up to become more than just a Start/Finish Line. It was a virtual fiesta that opened as early as 1am (for the organizers) and was THE place to be seen for all runners even way beyond the usual post-race “tambay” hours. Runners usually stick around for awhile after a race to chat, exchange notes and cool down. Last Sunday’s runners, however were there longer than the usual because of the fiesta atmosphere that featured not one, but two stages (where else will you see that here?), fireworks at 5am, booths of sponsors/fiesta “participants,” food, a lot of water, and two bands. With the Sinulog happening a week later, it was an advance fiesta.
The “creative” water stations and helpful marshals made the marathon more than just a run to race. The run was turned into a pleasant tour around the city on foot. Many of the runners actually switched from plain runners to become “tourist” runners. For them, it was no longer a race. They took pictures of themselves and their friends beside the Sinulog dancers, race marshals, cheerers, and the various attractions along the way. While it didn’t seem “normal” to do all these, they did it anyway. They certainly didn’t break any of the rules on running, did they? Mark Parco, a Manila-based 21K runner with whom I grew up in Cebu, had his picture taken with Sinulog dancers; at City Hall/Magellan’s Cross, the Sto. Niño spot of Penshoppe at Fuente Osmeña, at Capitol; and he even took a video of himself with the cheerers yelling “Go kuya go!” Some runners even slowed down to enjoy the view of the sunrise at the SRP. For the run-walk team of Dr. Peter Mancao, they even had the chance to take a snack break somewhere midway through their 42K journey. To all of them, this wasn’t a race. It was a run to be enjoyed. After all, who said that running wasn’t about enjoying oneself?
The traffic control was another great factor for the marathon’s success. The roads were all clear for all runners as motorists were politely asked to be patient. While some motorists may have been hit by a few traffic snarls here and there, this is a trade-off that we’ll have to accept if Cebu is to host a big event like this. After all, it’s only once a year. The pre-race activities were also a unique and critical element of the event. These track back to the planning stages that kicked off a year ago, to the free lecture series for runners, the timely presscons and the carbo-loading parties.
As I write, I haven’t even talked about the running at all! But there’s no need to do so anymore. With everything else covered, the running part took care of itself, running away with flying colors.
Comments