There is a half marathon race, the Condura Run scheduled in Manila, Philippines on March 22, 2009 that has created a big buzz and lots of interest from Filipino running enthusiasts both in the Philippines and abroad.
The 21 k race is being organized by running brothers Patrick and Ton Concepcion who are both accomplished and respected runners. All the talk and posts from runner bloggers indicate that the half marathon race is going to be a resounding success, considering the excellent organization and the enthusiastic support of the running community in the Philippines.
I heard though that the cut off time for the half marathon is only 3 hours and thirty minutes .
Here in North America, I learned that in big half marathon races, the cut off time is more "new runner", "older runner" , "female runner" and "heavier runner" friendly. The 2008 Ottawa Half Marathon with 8,368 participants had a cut off time of 4 hours and 45 minutes. Similarly, The 2008 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon with 6,374 participants had a cut off time of 4 hours and 45 minutes.
Another big half marathon race, the One America 500 Mini Marathon in Indianapolis, USA, where more than 35,000 runners participated last year had a cut off time of 4 hours and 30 minutes.
I am pretty sure that the organizers of the Condura Run have taken into consideration all factors relating to the issue in coming up with the decision to set the cut off time for this prestigious race at 3 hours and 30 minutes only.
It's just too bad that runners who do not cross the finish line within the cut off time would not be officially recognized.
Do you think a 3 hours 30 minutes cut off time is reasonable for a half marathon?
I guess it's reasonable... but I'd be way happier if it were 4.5 hours!
ReplyDelete:-)
Now that you compared it with the other big races..hmmm...Don't forget this is Manila and the roads have to be open for traffic maybe that's why they could not extend the time. I wanted to do the 21k Skyway but still recovering from my back injury. So will do 10k instead. Wish me luck.
ReplyDeleteThey probably based thier decision from the results of previous 21K races here. Also, participants were not as big as those races you mentioned. I just hope that i can finish within the cut-off time. Thanks for visiting my site too!
ReplyDelete