Run.ph: The Game Changer for the Philippines’ Online Running Community

I’ve been blogging about running for almost six years now and, through the years, I’ve been witness to some great things in running.  How the community has grown from a couple thousands to tens of thousands.  How races grew in number from once a month to every weekend or even more.  How almost everyone is a runner now or knows a runner.   How the online community grew from blogs, forums, websites, social media sites, and more.  It is still growing…and evolving.

Today, I met Raymond Racaza, the founder of a new running website: Run.ph.

I will tell you now that I predict this to be the new and primary source of running information for the local running community.  I visited the site and it is everything—and more—of what majority of the runners now need and want. Myself included.

– Screenshot of Run.ph –

Here’s what you can expect:

1) Simple and easy to navigate.  The website is clean and simple.  From the home page, one can see upcoming races.  One click and you get the basic info.  Another click and you get all the race information you need.

2) Convenient online race registration.  If the race organizer allows for online registration through Run.ph, you can join the race through the site.  If you had already created an account in the Run.ph, all information will be stored and you will never need to input your information again.

3) My Run.ph Page.  You can have your own page enlisting the races you wish to join.  After the race, you can post notes on your thoughts about the race.

4) Share to Facebook and Twitter.  You can sign in via Facebook.  From your My Run.ph page, you can click on a race and with one click you can share to your friends on Facebook that you’ll be joining the race.

5) Run.ph Mobile App.  Soon, there will a Run.ph app for smartphones.

6) Results via text.  For some races, runners may sign up for text alerts regarding the release of the official results.

7) Directory — SOON.  The site will have a complete list of coaches, running stores, and more.

8) Articles — SOON.  Interesting articles from various contributors will be posted.

9) No ads.  Raymond was clear about this.  He will not be posting ads on the website for two reasons: first, he prefers a clean look with no “billboards” screaming at his readers and, secondly, the site is an advocacy; he doesn’t plan to make money out of it.  (Hurrah for you, Raymond!)

And, last but not the least…

10) Borne out of passion for running.  Through the years, I’ve seen it all.  Bloggers, organizers, and events that were fueled by the opportunity to make a quick buck from the running boom and how quickly they disappeared or, if they stayed, how the product simply fell or still falls below everyone’s standards.  But, I’ve also seen people—visionaries, dreamers, achievers—who are driven by their passion for running who wished for nothing more than to give back to the sport that gave them so much.  Today, I saw that in Raymond.

Raymond started running after his wife gave birth.  His weight had ballooned to 180 lbs as he ate along with their new baby.  He got into running as a means to drop back to his regular 140 lbs.  In 2008, he bought the domain name Run.ph.

This dream of his took him a full five years to create.  It is obvious that a lot of thought went into creating a website that is so simple and easy to navigate.  It is equally obvious that this is a passion project for him.  He doesn’t want to earn from it.  He doesn’t want to be popular through it.  In his words “I just want to give back to running because it changed my life.”

And, with that, Raymond and Run.ph get my full support.  Visit Run.ph now.