Preparations and promotions continue for the upcoming “NegOr100: The North 116 Ultramarathon” schedule in December 2023 which starts at Kilometer Zero at the Provincial Capitol in Dumaguete, and ends at Km. 116 at the baywalk in the northern town of Guihulngan.
In last week’s “Buglas 50-Kilometer Ultramarathon”, some 30 endurance runners made it to Guihulngan Baywalk after starting off from Km. 66 in the town of Bindoy. The first group of runners finished at around 10:35 pm, and the last group clocked in at 3:14 am the next day.
According to Race Director Paultom Paras, the community organization of long distance foot races to complement the government’s tourism initiatives has been successful in other countries.
Since 2014, ultramarathon events have been organized for towns and cities south of the provincial capital. “This time, ultra-runners started to include in their bucket lists running towards the northern direction,” Paras said.
Running long distance towards the north started with nine local ultra-runners in July. This was followed by the NegOr50K from Dumaguete City to Bais City which was participated in by seven ultra-runners. Then in September, they organized the “Peace Run for Solidarity in Negros Oriental”, a 58-kilometer race from the town of Manjuyod to the Guihulgnan Baywalk.
The events were organized by the Negros Oriental Sports Federation, and supported by Gov. Chaco Sagarbarria and 2nd District Cong. Chiquiting Sagarbarria.
“Three months of ultra-running preparations and promotion are getting more endurance runners excited for the upcoming NegOr116 in December,” noted Paras. He said that as of October, about 100 ultra-runners from 39 cities and municipalities in the country are expected to run from Dumaguete to Guihulngan. (PR)