Third day: Thursday, March 03, 2011.  Finally, after three days, the “trilogy” of media launches is about to conclude.  On this third day we were brought at The Establishment in the Fort Entertainment Complex for a lunch launch of one of the biggest races of the year, the adidas King of the Road.

The Establishment

The media launch was held in The Hall of The Establishment, a nice posh multipurpose events place-cum-bar-cum-restaurant located in The Fort Entertainment Complex.  From the outside it looked like a mere box with doors, but inside it’s easy to forget it was lunchtime!  The décor and ambiance was indeed nice, perfect for launching a grand event like the adidas KOTR.  Grazing the event were sports and entertainment personalities, so yeah we were literally rubbing elbows with the celebrities!

The New King of the Road

adidas KOTR is undisputedly one of the most popular running event in the Philippines, and as such adidas aims to spill over some of that enthusiasm with the rest of southeast Asia by bringing the race to four more countries in the region: Thailand (May 15), Singapore (August 28), Indonesia (September 25), and Malaysia (October 2).  The winners from the ‘Closed’ category (local participants) from these countries will qualify for an all-expense paid trip to compete in the adidas KOTR Southeast Asia Championship in host country, the Philippines, on October 23, 2011.

What’s interesting about this championship is its unique 16.8K flagship distance.  Since the event is being held in a total of five countries this year, attendance in all KOTR events in the region would yield a total mileage of 84 kilometers—practically the distance of two marathons!  Anyone up for some sports tourism?

adidas KOTR Southeast Asia Championship (Philippines)

For those interested joining the events here in the Philippines, you may register online starting June 01, 2011, or via the following adidas stores:

• Alabang Town Center
• Eastwood City
• Gateway Mall
• Glorietta 3
• Greenbelt 3
• Powerplant Mall
• RUNNR
• The Fort
• Shangri-La Plaza Mall
• SM Mall of Asia
• SM Megamall
• SM City North EDSA Annex
• Trinoma

Race fees are ₱1,050 for 5K and 21K, and ₱1,300 for the featured 16.8K.  Here are the race routes:

I never imagined that the Philippines would host a championship of this scale, this soon, and at running!  This just proves that we really had achieved racing standards of world-class caliber!  And we have to thank our race organizers, particularly RunRio, for continuously innovating to bring the sport of running to the next level.

* * *

It was a pretty exhausting week filled with running-related activities, and I have to thank our generous host Coach Rio dela Cruz and RunRio for a wonderful time, good food, good company, goodies, and exciting race announcements.  There would be more to be posted here real soon, but this is it for now. 😀

T-Rio “Trilogy”:

• Day 01: Photo-shoot, Party, and the Pouring Rain
• Day 02: The Heritage, the Run, and the Beneficiaries (Globe Run for Home 2011)
• Day 03: The Establishment of a New King (of the Road)