Nat Geo’s Earth Run 2013: Running to save the earth
Some say that saving the environment is a race against time. Here's a race to help mankind win that race.
The Nat Geo Earth Run this coming April 28 won't just pay lip service to saving the environment. It isn't just an event to raise awareness for ecological issues. Many steps will be taken to ensure as small an environmental footprint as possible.
For starters, each finisher will have three trees planted in his or her name. Fox International Channels country head Jude Turcuato says that while there is no firm decision yet on where the trees will be planted, Anvaya Cove and Camarines Sur are candidates.
Runners also get three name plates that they can personalize and have affixed on the trees. A post-race event is planned for some runners to actually plant the trees themselves.
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Race kits will be made of recyclable materials, and registration will be completely paperless. You can either sign up online or at the colorful registration booths in Greenbelt 3. Biometrics will be used for the registration.
Instead of using motorbikes, race marshals will use bicycles to hop around.
Runners expecting plastic cups at certain points along the way will be disappointed. Nat Geo will give runners a reusable plastic bottle that they can bring with them instead. The bottles can be filled up at hydration stations.
Even the press launch was earth-friendly. Held at the Buddha Bar's open-air third floor veranda last Monday, there was no need for air conditioning.
For certain the fourth running of the race will serve as a reminder of the earth's many woes.
“Running doesn't use any energy or fuels that would ruin the environment” said Turcuato.
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Celebrities have joined the previous iterations of this race, and Turcuato expects celebrity running enthusiasts like Rovilson Fernandez, Karylle, and Miriam Quiambao to once again hit the road.
Turcuato says he participated in last year's 10k division and finished it in sixty minutes flat, impressive, but a wee bit off the pace of top Kenyans, who can vanquish ten kilometers in roughly 38 minutes.
This year's race will take place in Bonifacio Global City and will feature 3k, 5k, 10k and 21k divisions. Only the 10k and 21k races will have routes that go beyond BGC, and only 21k finishers will get a special finisher's shirt.
21k racers will receive a special black racing singlet. That might seem an odd color for a summer race, but the 21k division starts at 4:00 am. The shorter distances start after that.
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Race entry fees range from P500 to P900 and the amount raised will be used to purchase the tree seedlings. Nat Geo will accommodate up to 10,000 runners and plant a maximum of 30,000 saplings.
The event is a celebration of Earth Day on April 22. Nat Geo was unable to schedule the run on that day itself because of a previous engagement in BGC.
In yet another earth-friendly twist, one of the hydration partners is Coco Fresh, a natural Coconut Water drink that Asia Brewery is marketing. AB claims that Coco Fresh offers five times more potassium than leading brands of sports drinks.
Other sponsors include Cherifer Premium, Century Tuna, 100 Plus, Ayala Malls, Dévant, Dove, among many others.
The event is also being supported by the World Wildlife Fund.
There will be a first prize of P7,000 for the top male and female winners in the 21k Open division, but there will also be P5,000 prizes for the top Filipino male and female finishers over that distance. Smaller cash prizes will be on offer for the other distances and places.
But Jude Turcuato says that prize money isn't the focus of this race, since according to him “the Kenyans usually win everything.”
Hopefully come April 28, our broken earth will be the biggest winner of all.
For more information, visit the race website at www.natgeorun.com. Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.
