Manila to host the first-ever Rock N Roll Marathon in Asia

The Manila Public Information Office has announced that the first ever Rock n Roll Marathon in Asia will be held in Manila Philippines. You can read the official announcement here.

There are very few details about the Rock n Roll Marathon Manila so far. There is no date, race venue, registration dates and fees, and race route.

What we know from the announcement is that the Rock n Rock Marathon Manila registration will start on June 24.

Personally, I find this news exciting. Rock n Roll Marathon in the Philippines is an event I have been hoping to happen in the country and Manila City is a route I have been wanting to run. Imagine running along Jones Bridge with the song Manila by Hotdog being played! Now, that rocks!

There had been races in Manila City before. My first half marathon was the Manila Half Marathon Challenge in 2008. The route then was from Luneta to Quirino Ave, to Nagtahan, to Tayuman, to Binondo and back to Quirino Grandstand.

While there are no details yet, I have some assumptions about the Rock n Roll Marathon Manila 2020.

1. The event date will probably be somewhere between September to November. The start of registration will still be in June. The organizers, Sunrise Events, will be busy with their multisports events until August. Thus, September or October will be my guess for the Rock n Roll Manila Marathon. I would prefer it to be late in September or early October.

2. It could be a 2-loop marathon route. Roads in Manila are busy even during the weekends. Many roads are essential for commuters and businesses. So plotting a route that is entirely 42KM will be challenging. Unless the route will extend to other cities like Pasay, Paranaque and Makati, I think the Manila Rock n Roll Marathon will be a 21KM course and marathon runners will run it twice. A 42KM route will be ideal. And with the City of Manila fully engaged with the Rock n Rock Marathon planning, this is still very possible.

But I have no doubts that the route will be beautiful. Manila has changed a lot and there are plenty of iconic sights for runners to enjoy as they run the course.

3. I hope I am wrong in this one but I expect the registration fees to be expensive. It’s a premium race and putting up a race like this is very costly. Yet, it will be worth it. So save for the Rock n Roll Marathon starting today.

Are you excited about the Rock n Roll Manila Marathon too? Stay tuned as more details will be provided soon.