Camarines Sur continues to be a popular sports spot in the Philippines as Governor Luis Raymund "LRay" Villafuerte announces its first CamSur Marathon on September 26
From international competitions such as Ironman 70.3, World Wakeboard Championships, Asian Wakeboard Championships, and the International Dragon Boat Festival, the local government of CamSur created its own competition dubbed as CamSur Marathon 2010 "Race to Rebuild the Nation," which aims to be an annual popular running event in Asia in the future.
"A lot of you had been in CamSur for the past two year but there's still a lot to experience what's happening in CamSur," said Gov. Villafuerte to the guests who attended the media conference yesterday, June 16, at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.
In his speech, Gov. LRay cited the importance of sports tourism in the growth of his province.
"Because of tourism, CamSur has been transformed," he stated. "From one of the poorest province in the country to now becoming the 10th richest in income as of two years ago. A province known for devastation, typhoons, and tragedies; now, when you talk about CamSur, you talk about sports, Iron Man, marathons, everything positive. I always say that when you Google something before in the Internet, you always read about negative things. Now, mostly positive."
The local leader also mentioned that this effort is not only to uplift CamSur but the whole Bicol region as well.
Gov. LRay said, "I'm advocating sports tourism not just to promote CamSur but also to create awareness in the Bicol region, to inspire people that because of sports tourism, we can rise from being poor to rich."
Although this is the first major marathon that carries the name of CamSur, Gov. Villafuerte keeps a positive outlook that it will be one of the big sports events in Asia.
He declared, "Our goal for the CamSur Marathon is to be the Boston Marathon or the New York Marathon in the next few years. You know, there might be skeptics here. But I think, you know, believe it and it will happen. What we did in CamSur, no one's expected. Soon, CamSur marathon will be the biggest in Asia and will be the elite running event in Asia. With all your support, I assure you that we will continue doing this in the next few years."
With 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K runs, the marathon is intended to mainly benefit Gawad Kalinga, a nation-building organization that aims to empower poverty-stricken Filipinos through dignity restoration and values transformation. This marathon is also for the benefit of the Organ Donor Card awareness drive and K.I.D.S. Foundation.
CELEBRITIES JOIN CAMSUR MARATHON. At the press conference, some celebrities already expressed their support for the upcoming sports event in CamSur.
Among those who attended were actress Iza Calzado, socialite Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Sports Unlimited hosts Dyan Castillejo and Marc Nelson, running coach Rio dela Cruz, former actress and model Tweetie de Leon, and Senator Pia Cayetano. Award-winning actress Dawn Zulueta also graced the event to represent the Organ Donor Card.
Other local stars who are expected to join this marathon are Derek Ramsay, Drew Arellano, and celebrity couple Aubrey Miles and Troy Montero. Some of the world's best runners are also said to be joining the first CamSur Marathon.
When Sen. Pia Cayetano was called on stage, she encouraged everyone in the room to join the event and keep a healthy lifestyle.
"My work in the Senate is almost useless if people do not go out and take care of their own health. We can pass legislations that lowers the price of medicines, create better hospitals, create a very active doctors in this country or nurses with better pay—all these I have done, and yet if people will not take time to take care of their own health, take time to keep well, take time to exercise...," said the lady senator.
"Sabi nga nila, hindi na uso hindi ka fit. The in thing is to be fit. And there's no use not to be fit because every week there are races to join and every now and then, an interesting race like the CamSur Marathon. It's a great time to go there and it's a great way to have a vacation. Nowadays, you can have a vacation and be fitter than when you went away for your vacation."
Aside from the five categories, the event will also have a Gawad Kalinga "Bayanihan Run" category. Here, participating groups will race as a team of 15 and pledge to raise funds to build GK communities for the poorest of the poor, with at least minimum of one house to building an entire Legacy Village for a period of three months from June 24 to September 24.
The event aims to gather 20,000 participants. If you want to be part of this big running event, visit www.camsurmarathon.com for more details.