SM Mall of AsiaA total of 86,547 runners participated in Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig’s (KBPIP’s) 11.20.2011 Run for the Pasig River on November 20, 2011, making it the largest single racing event in the country this year.

According to ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) chief strategic officer Monchet Olives, the turnout at the advocacy run was five times bigger than the 16,000 participants at another run this year organized by a pharmaceutical company.

11.20.11 Run for the Pasig RiverHe said over 120,000 people registered and paid the fees, including slots that were sponsored. The figure was higher than last year’s 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River that broke the Guinness World Record for the largest number of participants in a racing event with more than 116,000 runners.

Olives stressed that the organizers “focused on the experience” as they arranged a festive setting for this year’s runners with bands from different universities, the military and the Metro Manila Development Authority.

11.20.11 Run for the Pasig RiverAFI managing director Gina Lopez, meanwhile, said that the contingents from schools, government agencies, the police and military, nongovernment organizations, the business sector and private institutions that composed the massive crowd only proved that they want a cleaner Pasig River for the future generation.

“It shows who we are as a people. The numbers don’t matter, there’s no doubt about it. Students came here. The army and the police were here. The private sector was here in full force,” said Lopez.

The charity 21K race organized by ABS-CBN’s Cable Channels and Print Media Group was participated in by KBPIP sponsors and partners, together with the country’s top businessmen and executives such as ABS-CBN chairman and CEO Eugenio Lopez III and Ayala Corporation president Fernando Zobel. 11.20.11 Run for the Pasig River

Olives disclosed that they are already planning to take on EDSA in 2012. “We’re going to play heavy on kids next year. If you get them to join, you also draw their parents,” he added.

KBPIP’s strategy is to clean up the esteros that drain into the Pasig River. Lopez said in order to successfully clean the entire river, they must first clean the water that goes into it and change the way people look at the river through events such as the annual run for the Pasig River.

Photo Caption:Clockwise from top: Thousands of runners take part in 11.20.2011: Run for the Pasig River; AFI managing director Gina Lopez, ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio Lopez III, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome and Kapamilya actor Piolo Pascual at the start of the run; EL3 joins the 21K charity run. Inset photo shows the area—Paco Market to Trece de Agosto—before the KBPIP cleanup; AFI chief strategic officer Monchet Olives, GL and Dir. Gen. Bartolome