The Silliman Alumni Association Inc.-Dumaguete Chapter, headed by Rudy Juan, is launching the 111-km Silliman Relay on Sunday, July 15 to drum up interest among the public for the main event on Aug. 10 to 11.
The total distance of 111 kilometers is equivalent to the founding anniversary of Silliman, 111th, and covers Dumaguete City and the municipalities of Amlan, Valencia, Dauin, and Zamboanguita.
Event manager Prof. Irma Faith Pal of the SU College of Mass Communication, said the idea sprang from the group, composed mostly of Sillimanians, who wanted to do something special to help mark Silliman’s 111th Founders Day.
Teams of eight runners each will run through the night until the morning. They start at 6pm on Aug. 10 with a road run along the streets of Dumaguete up to Amlan and back, then an uphill run to Valencia. On their way down, they conquer the rough road to Dauin via Bacong, then head off to Zamboanguita and back to the Silliman campus by Saturday morning, Aug. 11.
“What’s more exciting about this is that we are starting the run at 6pm on Aug. 10 and we run through the night until the crack of dawn, and we have until 9am of Aug. 11 to be at the finish line at the Silliman Amphitheater,” Professor Pal said.
She recalled that last April, a number of them completed what is called an ‘ultramarathon’, a distance of at least 50 kilometers from the Capitol up to the town of Siaton in the south. “What’s unique about this 111-km Silliman race is that we’re doing this in teams of eight runners. ”
Two local groups are organizing the event: the Metro Dumaguete Roadrunners Club (MDRC), and the Dumaguete Amateur Runners & Striders (DARS). Race director is Paultom Paras.
The 111-Km. Silliman Relay is open to all who are physically-fit and who have adequately trained for at least 10K, 15K or a half marathon of 21K.
Deadline for registration is on July 18. For details, please contact Maripol Rotea-Tecson at DermCorner between Perdices & San Juan Sts.
Major sponsors for the 111-km Silliman Relay are Lee Super Plaza, Adidas, and Globe.
Other partners are Gatorade, Spyder, Cosmetique Asia Corp./Silka, and Cong. Josy Limkaichong.
ONe Rescue EMS led by Dr. Kenneth Coo and Dr. Rosalind Flores-Yu, and the Silliman Medical Center are providing the medical support for the relay run. Head of the Silliman Medical Team is orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Macias.
Local government partners include Amlan, Dauin, Dumaguete, Valencia, and Zamboanguita — where the transition areas will be located. (SU OIP)
