Press Release: #NatGeoRun2014

*** Press Release ***

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL RUNS STRONG WITH EARTH DAY RUN YEAR 5!

On April 27, 2014, National Geographic Channel (NGC) renews its commitment to the environment by celebrating this year’s Earth Day (which falls on April 22 globally) with another round of its wildly successful Earth Day Run. Now on its fifth year, Earth Day Run is expected to attract 12,000 running enthusiasts of all ages and fitness levels to participate for the good of the environment.

Earth Day Run has consistently been besting its record for number of participants, with last year’s expected number of 10,000 runners demolished by an actual registered 12,000 participants. NGC hopes to replicate that success for Earth Day Run 2014 by registering 12,000 runners in the 3K, 5K, 10K and 21K categories, including a new fifth category of 42K designed to draw the most physically fit and expert runners in the country. The event itself is considered one of the biggest runs in the Philippines.

This year, NGC is working once again with its environmental partner, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), to make a solid difference in the Philippines’ environmental footprint and give sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities. Last year, the two organizations used proceeds of the Earth Day Run to plant P1 million worth of fruit-bearing trees in the Abuan watershed in Isabela, in the Sierra Madre region. Besides partial reforestation of this important resource, local farmers were given the privilege to own and care for the trees as well as harvest their fruits for their income. In 2014, NGC promises to raise money  for WWF’s Bancas For The Philippines project, which aims to train fishermen affected by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) last November 2013 in the making and use of fiberglass boats for artisanal fishing. These boats are designed to withstand the onslaught of typhoons to ensure that the fishermen can continue with their livelihood in any event.

March 17, 2014 - Bloggers at the #NatGeoRun2014 Media Launch held at Vyne, BGC

WWF’s experts will train fishermen on site and help them build the fiberglass boats while reducing the use of sawn timber and plywood, in the hopes that the communities can produce one boat per day. Many fishermen were left with no sources of income when their boats were destroyed by Haiyan, and so this project is a significant step toward the rehabilitation of communities in Palawan, which was ravaged by the typhoon last November but slow to receive relief due to the sheer number of islands in central Philippines that needed to recover from the devastation. Earth Day Run 2014 aims to help these fishermen directly with the sharing of climate-smart technology that will help them recover their livelihood, as well as decrease the fishing pressure on our seas that have been heavily exploited by commercial fishing by promoting artisanal fishing for small-scale fishermen.

Earth Day Run uses recyclable materials for its race bibs and a “Zero Paper” registration process in the form of a Centralized Registration System, which National Geographic pioneered in the country. Participants can support the Haiyan rehabilitation efforts of NGC and WWF by signing up on www.natgeorun.com or visiting the sign-up booth at the Lower Ground floor of SM Aura from March 1 to April 20. Finishers of the longer races of 21K and 42K can not only take pride in their physical victory and willingness to help Haiyan survivors and the environment, but they will also each be getting a medal and finisher’s shirt to commemorate their triumph.

Nearly four months after Typhoon Haiyan, those affected by it still need so much help, and it has become important to sustain the public’s interest in their rehabilitation. Earth Day Run 2014 invites all runners to register and do their part while enjoying the health benefits of good exercise and unity in supporting the survivors of one of the most devastating natural disasters in the country’s history.

See you there! I'm running 42k!

Pro-Earth Run on April 12, 2014

This 12 April 2014, 4:30AM, at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Earth Day Network Philippines stages its first-ever fun run, PRO-EARTH RUN 2014. An advocacy run to encourage people to Protect, Respect, and Oversee the sensible and sustainable care for Mother Earth, it is presented by Malungai Life Oil – an organic and all-natural highly concentrated extract obtained from Malunggay leaves and seeds (www.malungailifeoil.com) and UPS – United Parcel Service (www.ups.com).

WHAT: Pro-Earth Run
WHEN: April 12, 2014 (Saturday)
WHERE: Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
RACE CATEGORIES: 3km, 5km, 10km

Registration Details:

Pro-Earth Run 2014 Registration Fee, Kit Inclusions and Gun Start Times

Pro-Earth Run 2014 Registration Process

Pro-Earth Run Sample SM Ticket Registration Stub

Pro-Earth Run 2014 Singlet Design and Size Chart

*** Press Release ***

EARTH DAY NETWORK PHILIPPINES' PRO EARTH RUN | 12 APRIL 2014 | BGC

In the year 2013, the Philippines has seen and experienced the worst of natural disasters. The country bore the brunt of a monster typhoon and a deadly earthquake that killed thousands and left billions of pesos in damage to infrastructure and properties.

Super Typhoon Yolanda alone, the strongest and most destructive cyclone to hit the Philippines in more than four decades, is now considered one of the four most powerful typhoons ever recorded in the world and the most intense to have made landfall.

Meanwhile, the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck the provinces of Bohol and Cebu on Oct. 15, moved part of Bohol closer to Cebu by 55 centimeters; the tremor has generated more than 4,000 aftershocks too.

Challenging Realities
No stranger to catastrophic natural disasters, the Philippines was ranked as the third most disaster-prone country in the world because of its high exposure to natural calamities based on the World Disaster Report 2012 released in Brussels, Belgium. Another study also reported how the Philippines rocketed up the list of countries that are most vulnerable to disaster.

Given the Philippines’ intensifying vulnerability to natural disasters, now more than ever, Filipinos from all walks of life must make a conscious and concerted effort to become active environmental advocates.

Crusaders of Mother Earth
This 12 April 2014, 4:30AM, at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Earth Day Network Philippines stages its first-ever fun run, PRO-EARTH RUN 2014. An advocacy run to encourage people to Protect, Respect, and Oversee the sensible and sustainable care for Mother Earth, it is presented by Malungai Life Oil – an organic and all-natural highly concentrated extract obtained from Malunggay leaves and seeds (www.malungailifeoil.com).

A 3K, 5K, 10K race category event, PRO EARTH RUN is also supported by UPS, PCSO, First Gen, Merrell, Globe, The Body Shop, Holcim, The Free Food Co. Coco Dolce, Business Mirror, Malaya Business Insight, Business World, Manila Times, Circuit Magazine, 106.7 Energy FM, 107.5 Win Radio, SM Tickets, SM Cinema, Digi Post, and Mother Earth advocates and runners.

Earth Day Network Philippines is the local counterpart of the global Earth Day Network International. It is a network organization that campaigns for environmental citizenship, spearheading the annual April 22nd Earth Day Celebration by partnering with government agencies, non-government organizations, private corporations, academic institutions, religious groups, and environmental advocates (www.earthdayphilippines.org).

Go PRO-Earth. Now.
Typhoon Yolanda has taught us that we don’t stand a chance against nature’s sheer force.  And if we have learned our lesson well, we know by now that our only option against nature’s wrath is to go PRO-Earth, never against it.

Do join us in this endeavor. After all, "we make the world we live in and shape our own environment" (Orison Swett Marden).