Run United Series Kicks Off Strong with 13,000 Runners

Run United 1 2012, the first in the series of Run United and Run Rio Trilogy this year, was right on track with a huge turnout of about 13,000 runners in the five race categories: Ceelin 500 meter dash, three kilometers (km), Dolan 5km, Enervon 10km, and Enervon HP 21km or half marathon—which posted a record of the biggest turnout ever in the country, with 4,000 participants.

“The new features and upgrades that we offered for the first time in this race were very well received by the runners and their families, which at end of the running day is what counts to all of us” said Alex Panlilio, Head of Unilab Active Health (ULAH), who himself ran a half marathon at Run United 1 2012.

Among these new features was the unique race route for the 21km runners—gun start was at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City and finish line was at the SM Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City. Shuttle buses were provided to the participants to take them and their baggage between the two points.

“I personally followed the 21K runners along the new race route to monitor the situation. I got a lot of feedback and this will help in preparing upcoming Run United races. There were some glitches but there is always room for further improvement. Our main objective is to continuously provide the best running experience possible,” said Rio dela Cruz, Head of RunRio Inc.

Run United 2 is schedule for June 17 and Run United 3 will be on September 16. Run United’s very own full marathon or 42.195K race, the Run United Philippine Marathon, is set for October 28.

The redesigned Active Health Expo was also a big hit among the runners as well as their families who took part in the games and tried out the services plus freebies of Unilab products. 

“We are thankful for the continued and strong support of the running community to Run United races. Their feedback helps us in stepping up some more the quality of our events. We want them to have an experience worthy of motivating them to pursue a year round active and healthy lifestyle,” said Lester Castillo, sports events executive of Active Health.

Unilab Active Health has more multi-sports events slated throughout the year, including: The Bull Runner Dream Marathon on March 18; Tri United 1 on April 14 and 15; Tri United 2 on June 30 to July 1; Tri United 3, November 10 and 11, as well as year round running and triathlon clinics.

Run United is for the benefit of Gawad Kalusugan (the health program of Gawad Kalinga) and Hero Foundation.

For more inquiries on Run United and Active Health, check out www.unilabactivehealth.com.