MANILA, Philippines – In time for Earth Day, the Galaxy Watch Earth Day Run 2024 had a rousing reception last Sunday. The race, which was aimed to raise awareness for conserving natural resources, saw more than 10,000 runners participate at the SM Mall of Asia Complex. It was a race supported by the Samsung Electronics Philippines and the Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines. The runners were asked to bring their own water bottles, a refreshing change from the traditional plastic and paper cups in hydration stations. For the 21K male category, Yoneil Enreras topped with an hour of one hour, 18 minutes and 57 seconds. He finished ahead of Jojie Daga-as (1:24:13) and Jevie Avila (1:24:22). On the other hand, Maricar Camacho finished fastest in the 21 kilometer female category with her one hour, 29 minutes, and 47 seconds finish. She ended ahead of Angelie Cabalo (1:33:00) and Jocelyn Elijeran (1:38:58.) Jaspher Delfino was the fastest finisher among the men in the 10K category with a time of 36 minutes and 35 seconds. Aldrin Serrano and Andrew Pope finished with times of 37:23 and 40:02, respectively. Among the women, Kristine Santillan had a time of 45:43, besting Jennifer Padallan (48:27) and Angelica Lim (52:51). In the 5K category, Karl Oxales led the males with a time of 17 minutes and 35 seconds. Jyzel Gabriel finished with 23 minutes and eight seconds for the females. “This is very special. We actually committed to being more eco-friendly for the Earth Day Run, to make use of the materials that we used here and recycle them into something more sustainable,” RunRio founder and CEO Rio dela Cruz said. For her part, Samsung Philippines ecosystem category head Jelina King said that the initiative “combined two of their biggest advocacies: building sustainability into our product experience, and pushing for wellness with our technology.” “The Galaxy Watch6 is designed to be a partner for a heart healthier lifestyle, and we are very glad to be able to do this with RunRio and the Tzu Chi Foundation,” King said. Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines Deputy CEO Peggy Sy added that all of the recyclable materials used for the event will be donated to non-government organizations and will be recycled into usable plastic products. “We’re glad they’ve learned our efforts for environmental protection,” she said. “We turn pet bottles into pellets and fabric, we also do upcycling. What we do is we try to sort recyclables, so they do not end up in the oceans and landfills. It was very good that they promoted bringing your own bottle, we reduced the single use plastic and paper cups. It’s a good start and I hope future runs will all follow this.” Among those who participated in the run were celebrities Donny Pangilinan, Gardo Versoza and Geneva Cruz, as well as National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.