Excerpts from THE STARTING BLOKE by Dr. Aparicio Mequi
“Meanwhile, online registration in the Dumaguete Adventure Marathon, the biggest sports tourism event in Negros Oriental, and scheduled on Nov 22 as part of the City’s fiesta celebration, presents an interesting development. The number of registered runners, with still three weeks to go, shows that most of the early birds are out-of-towners, with Cebu having the most number with 12, followed by Bacolod with 11, Dumaguete with 3, Makati City with 2, and one from each of the following cities: Mandaue, Sta. Maria, Butuan, San Juan, Lapu-Lapu, Iloilo, San Carlos, Parañaque, Cavite, Bago, Talisay, Toldedo, Dapitan, and Pasig”.
“This list clearly shows the potential of the Dumaguete Adventure Marathon, a race which traverses several barangays located in Dumaguete and the municipalities of Sibulan and Valencia, showcasing the scenic features of our Province, to become a major attraction for tourists not only locally, nationally, but world-wide. This is reason enough for the provincial and city governments, and the local residents, to support this tourism venture”.
“Interested participants can register online at the events website: dumaguetemarathon.com. Attractive singlets and recycled bags are given to all participants. And, in keeping with its advocacy as the only “Rice is Life” marathon in the whole world, sacks and bags of rice await the winners. Some 50 cavans of rice will be awarded to the competitors in the children’s 3k race and in the 5k, 10k and the 28k adventure run”.
“A children’s rap and hip-hop concert, with the theme “Dumaguete City, the City of Gentle People,” will also be part of the marathon event and to be held at the Sidlakaang Negros stage on Saturday, Nov 21. Elementary school children from the South City, Junob, COSCA, and Foundation University will be featured in the concert, while their secondary counterparts will come from Valencia national high school, City High and FU.
“A Rice Festival featuring the rice culture of the Province will also be part of the marathon event. Rice delicacies such as the Tanjay budbud, Bayawan baye-baye, and other local rice products will be exhibited and made available to the participants of the marathon. Arrangements are being made with PhilRice to make available its world-class tapuy, or rice wine, at the Sidlakaang Negros on the day of the marathon”.
“The tourists and visitors are in for a real treat when they visit Dumaguete City during our fiesta celebration this month”.
Dr. Mequi,
Will there be a carbo-loading event with the Rice Festival Products the day before the marathon?
YES, DEFINITELY because a marathon without a carboloading prior is like having a children’s party without the cake. Our plan is to have two carbolaoding: in the evening of the 21st right after the children’s rap and hip-hop concert at 6:30pm, with an arroz valenciana (eat all you can?), and right after the race with our rice porridge (lugaw) which is already a 3 year-tradition in our marathon program.
November is “Rice Awareness Month” hence, we have all these activities celebrating rice. We are the only marathon in the whole wide world who award rice to the participants. It is our institutional advocacy in Foundation University: RICE IS LIFE. So come and join our marathon and be treated to a pre-and-post marathon carboloading.
warm regards.