Next stop: North America

Fresh from completing the Middle East leg of his solo run around the world, Filipino Global runner Cesar Guarin is now setting his sights on conquering North America.

The next challenge for Guarin is the 2,500-km run in North America, covering Alaska, Vancouver, and other key cities in the West Coast—from October to December this year, which will put him closer to the fulfillment of his ultimate dream of running around the world.

Widely considered as the “Father of Ultramarathon” in the Philippines, Guarin recently returned from his remarkable Middle East run that boosted his stock as an elite runner.

Backed by GMA International, the international arm of leading broadcast company GMA ZaffNetwork, Guarin ran in six countries in the Middle East for 30 days, covering a total distance of 932 kilometers.

Guarin started his journey in Bahrain, with local female ultrarunner Dunya Elias, covering 110 kilometers apart from his 22-km run within Bahrain’s capital and its largest city, Manama.

The next leg of Guarin’s journey came in Qatar, where the Filipino runner endured extreme temperatures.

Guarin marked the third leg of his  run in Kuwait, where he was met by over 1,000 spectators—his biggest crowd in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia was his next stop last May 1 in a fitting tribute to Overseas Filipino Workers in the country.

The Filipino ultramarathoner capped off his Middle East run in UAE, where he covered a total running distance of 285 kilometers. For his longest leg, Guarin ran through major highways from Abu Dhabi going to Dubai for  nine days.

But Guarin said his run in Oman was the most difficult of all legs as he had to go through a mountainous region before completing stage in six days covering 175 kilometers.

“We are proud of Cesar Guarin for successfully completing his Middle East run, which was deemed as his most challenging global run stage of all,” said GMA vice president and head of International Operations Joseph Francia.

“We admire his passion and determination, and consider it an honor to play a significant role in his quest to become the first Filipino and Asian to finish a solo run across the globe,” he added.  /inquirer