Five Kenyans lead field in CamSur 42K

MANILA, Philippines - Five Kenyan runners ranked among the best in the world will head the tough international cast in the Summit Water Camsur Marathon 2010: Race to Rebuild the Nation which fires off Sept. 26 in Camarines Sur.

Henry Cherono, with a personal record at 2:10:26, leads the five-man Kenyan delegation in the blue-ribbon event, whch also lured participants from Ethiopia, Ukraine and Russia. They include John Mutai (2:12:19), Bernard Kimuigei (2:16), Anna Jelagat Kibor (2:29) and Rael Kimaiyo (2:34).

“This event marks another milestone in CamSur’s race towards a more progressive, pro-active, and prosperous Bicol. This is slated to be the biggest and most prestigious marathon not just in the Philippines but in Southeast Asia,” says Governor Lray Villafuerte.

Ethopia is fielding in two of its best runners – Tariku Abosete Bokan (2:24) and Radiya Adlo Roba (2:35) while Ukraine and Russian will be represented by Ivan Barbaryka (2:14) and Tatiana Vilosova (2:30), respectively.

Aside from the centerpiece 42k race, other events on tap are the 3K, 5K, 10, and 21K across Camsur. The races will utilize world-class D-Tag, the same electronic device used in the New York Marathon.

With its theme, “Race to Rebuild the Nation,” the event will benefit Gawad Kalinga, a nation-building organization founded by Tony Meloto. GK builds houses for poor communities and aims to empower poverty stricken Filipinos through dignity restoration and values formation.

One of the highlights of the event is the “Bayanihan Run” category where a team of 15 race and commit to pledge in raising funds to build GK communities. The marathon is also for the benefit of Organ Donor card awareness drive and K.I.D.S. Foundation.

Online registration ends today. For details, log on to www.camsurmarathon.com. Listup is also open at Timex Mall of Asia, Timex Glorietta, Timex Megamall, Runnr Bonifacio High Street, Republ1c La Fuerza Pasong Tamo, Republ1c Eastwood, Republ1c Trinoma, Republ1c Westgate Alabang and at CWC until Sept. 12.

Camsur Marathon 2010 is presented by Summit Water and co-presented by Smart Communications, Timex, 100 Plus, Alaska, Nature Valley, Dusit Thani and the Department of Tourism. Media partners include ESPN, Solar Sports, and The Philippine Star.