Thousands of runners took off at the sound of the blast at 4:30 a.m., 5:00 a.m. and 6 a.m. from the 105mm Howitzer cannon of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Brigade in the biggest locally organized annual running event in Negros Oriental.
The Dumaguete Adventure Marathon, “Foundation University’s gift to the gentle people of Negros Oriental,” surpassed the organizers’ expectations this year, after runners from Kenya, France, Singapore and Japan registered online and joined the runners coming from Negros Oriental, Manila, Cebu, Zamboanga, Negros Occidental and other points in the country, giving two-time DAM champion Jeson Agravante of Silay City some tough competition.
As of 4 p.m. Saturday, there were 3,517 registered runners, with 66 running the full 42k adventure marathon, 144 running the 21k half marathon, 2,951 in the 10.5k quarter marathon, 259 in the 5k finisher’s run, and 76 for the 3k kiddie’s run.
Now on its third year, the DAM traces its roots to the Leandro Sinco Challenge Races which started in 2006. “It is a race for a cause,” Dr. Aparicio Mequi, race director, said. “The DAM is a race advocating the conservation of Rice.”
Officials of the Philippine Rice Institute, which had been partnering with FU for its rice conservation campaign, will not only watch the DAM but join the other activities that will be held after the DAM, such as the Rice is Life cookfest and the launching of the Gabo Ghas e-book, a book translated from Tagalog into Visayan by students from Siaton, Negros Oriental, who won a contest for that purpose.
True to its rice conservation advocacy, the prizes will be in the form of sacks of rice (convertible to cash for out-of-town winners).