The afro-sporting Rio dela Cruz, more popularly known as Coach Rio in running circles has been organizing the best runs in the country since 2007.

A classic rags to riches story, Rio endured hardships during his early years. He was discovered during his fifth year in grade-school after beating everyone on the track team, barefoot.  A kind soul donated his first pair of shoes, a Mighty Kid, after seeing his potential. The shoes however were a tad too small and he had to work around it by cutting off the toe portion so he can still use it. 

After wearing out his Mighty Kid, he invested in a Converse Chuck Taylor and modified it by adding an alpombra, a thick rubber sole used on slippers, so it would last longer.

Now a Nike endorser, he now has an arsenal of shoes to choose from for running.

He has won numerous running awards in his twenty years as a runner and started organizing running events after a dare by his girlfriend that he cannot put one into order. Doing everything himself; from the registration materials, supplies, payments and everything else in between, he managed to finish his undertaking with the aid of his measly scooter.  
  
The RunRio Trilogy is a year-long series of races consisting of the Century Tuna Superbods Run, Nature Valley Run, and the 2010 Timex Run. Runs range from three-kilometer dashes to 32-kilometer semi-marathons.

The first leg of the trilogy was held last February. A whopping 11,000 runners participated in the 3km, 5km, 10km and 21km runs. Everyone was there, mega-celebrities, the richest of the rich, Kenyan Olympians, hard-core runners, and your everyday Juan dela Cruzes.

The air was thick with anticipation as runners of all shapes, sizes and age waited readily.  The timer started counting down and when it finally struck zero, the streets of Fort Bonifacio rumbled with the stampedes of RunRio’s first salvo for the year.

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Register for the Leg II of the RunRio Trilogy here