Hannah Mikah PangilinanLast Saturday, the Marvel Run Philippines 2018 consisted of thousands of participants from all regions dressed as superheroes to run. Yes, you heard that right – to run. In superhero suits too!
About Marvel Run Philippines 2018
Marvel Run Philippines is an event by Color Manila in partnership with Marvel PH. In this run, there are no winners or losers as the main purpose of it is to all feel like winners. Each participant is given a medal as recognition for completing the run.
Every year Color Manila brings thousands of runners nationwide to experience the delight of a colorful fun run. As mentioned on their website, “Every CM run is a celebration of life, family, friendship, and fitness showcasing the Filipino brand of warmth and fun”.
In a nutshell – the Marvel Run 2018 consisted of selfies, laughter, random grunts, and “Hooked on a Feeling” on loop.
But you know what the funny thing is? – The experience wouldn’t have been better any other way. Here are some important highlights of what went down in Color Manila’s Marvel Run 2018.
Marvel Run 2018 Part 1: Pre-Run
Even as early as 3:30 in the morning, there were already hundreds of participants scattered around the Mall of Asia Grounds! It was especially crowded at Starbucks, where tons of friends and families were fueling up for the morning’s festivities.
Prior to the assembly, the highlight of that morning was watching this man dressed up in full Captain America gear drinking coffee. What was your morning like?
Just when you think that was crazy enough, the runners were smiling and laughing from ear-to-ear! How is it even physically possible to do that at 3:00 AM?
And as we got into the venue, there were even more reasons to have your jaws dropped. The venue was filled with cosplayers such as: Ant Man, Loki, Spiderman, Wasp, and Hawkeye. But the best costume of them all goes to the man who cosplayed as Stan Lee. Yes, a person made it out of his way to be dressed up as the Stan Lee himself. We also have to give a special mention to the girl who took it upon herself to dress up as Gamora. We know make up isn’t an easy thing to either do or sit through.
Marvel Run 2018 Part 2: Assembly
At the start of the assembly, a prayer was held to open the ceremony. And after the prayer, as an allegiance to the community, everyone rose for the national anthem.
Now, moving on to where the pre-fun began: Even as early as 5 in the morning, the crowd went wild as the hosts hyped them up for the event. The hosts fairly did a great job for being energetic and engaging despite how early the event took place. They pulled an extensive amount of effort to keep the hype going for the participants.
After several hosts’ remarks – there was an oath taking, safety reminders, and then a message from a Marvel Philippines representative.
The peak of the assembly was the group warm up held by people dressed up as Loki and Spiderman! But Tough Mudder later on led the legitimate group exercise.
Marvel Run 2018 Part 3: The 10K Run
In spite of not necessarily participating in the event, it was just as entertaining to see these people run in their superhero costumes. It might also come as a surprise that there weren’t just Filipino who participated. In fact, there were a handful of foreigners who joined in the fun.
The most amusing part of just merely observing the people run was the way they treated it. The one thing that all these people had in common was that they were all smiling while walking, jogging, and running at the event.
Here is a list of runners that stood out the most:
The Titas of Manila
That’s right! A majority of the participants belonged to the ‘titas of Manila’ category. You could easily spot one if they jog while putting on sunscreen and chat with fellow titas.
The Athletic Runners
Of course, it was pretty obvious that athletic people would use the Marvel Run as an outlet to unleash their athleticism. These runners were not here to just simply play around!
Mommy with a Stroller
One of the biggest standouts was this one mom strolling her adorable baby! From the looks of it, she seems like a really cool mom. Way to go supermom!
Captain America Gown
Yes, there was a person who wore a captain America gown while running! He was proudly posing as photographers were taking pictures of him. Major respect to him!
That one runner who FaceTimed his teammate
The funniest moment was watching this person facetiming his friend and asking where he was because they lost each other along the way. #Same
Daddy and Daughter Duo
The cutest participants go to the daddy and daughter duo! Watching the dad cheer for his daughter who went ahead of him was too adorable!
Marvel Run 2018 Part 4: Post-Run
It was surprising knowing that people had come from various regions in order to take part of the run. A lot of them had different reasons as to why they chose to attend this event as well. In fact, a fair amount of people mentioned that they were first timers, loyal runners, or marvel fans.
The Marvel Run Philippines was something beyond just a running event. Color Manila made it an opportunity for people come together from all parts of the Philippines and create a community. A lot of people went with their friends, families, and significant others – but they were seen mingling with other people as well.
The overall atmosphere was just really overwhelming to look at. Seeing all these people come together from different provinces with friends and families – it really felt like a community. Despite the rain, people still continued taking selfies all soaked and wet without complaints.
The best part of it all – the Marvel Run gave light to Filipinos who exhibit true Pinoy spirit in the best possible way. On to the next run!
