BAGUIO CITY – The city government is elated over the return of The North Face 100 marathon in the city because it will help boost the present administration’s agenda of having a revitalized tourism industry.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said that the return of one of the country’s prestigious trail running events, The North Face 100, is considered an added promotion of the city and its neighboring towns as one of the premier sports tourism events in the country.
He added that aside from being given free worldwide promotions of the scenic tourist spots in Baguio, Itogon and Tuba, the said areas will benefit from the trail running event with the utilization of local delicacies that will be served to the participants during the duration of the prestigious sports event.
Organizers of the annual trail running event said that domestic and foreign runners love to join the races in Baguio city and its neighboring towns because of the challenging terrain, apart from the cool climate.
The North Face 100 marathon was last held in Baguio City in 2016 after which organizers decided to try other similar trail running destinations in Camarines Sur in 2017 and Laguna in 2018.
The city administrator disclosed the city government did not hesitate to welcome back the trail running event in the city when organizers approached him over two months ago to inform the present administration they want to return to Baguio and Benguet with the discovery of new and challenging routes for the annual event that will entice the participation of more domestic and foreign trail runners who are looking for more challenging routes in the area.
He said the city government will extend to the organizers its utmost support to ensure the successful conduct of the trail running events that will start at around 3 am of Saturday, October 19, 2019 right at the Ayala techno hub.
According to him, the city government will deploy part of the personnel of the Baguio City Police Office to secure the route within the city to be traversed by the runners while personnel and volunteers from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Baguio City Emergency Medical Service of the City Health Services Office will be deployed in strategic areas for medical and first aid needs of the participating runners and the organizers.
He suggested to the organizers that a post-assessment gathering should be conducted after the event to assess and evaluate the city’s hosting of the even and for them to gather suggestions and recommendations on how to further enhance the conduct of the trail running activity annually and for concerned local governments to be guided on what aspects of the race should be improved for the safety and security of the organizers and the runners.
Dela Pena also cited the enormous contribution of the media in providing maximum exposure of the event worldwide and project the presence of still undiscovered scenic tourist spots in Baguio, Itogon and Tuba which have to be visited by people wanting to visit different places as part of their routine.
By Dexter A. See
