10,000 steps ahead

Philippines’ National Record Holder; Collegiate Champion; Race Organizer and Promoter; Celebrity Product Endorser; Fund Raiser; Running Store Owner; Entrepreneur; the Maestro of Running and The Running Man with the ‘Fro; – Rio De La Cruz is all those things and more.  Most of his fellow Filipinos simply call him “Coach Rio”.  He is largely credited with motivating the running boom in his home country, and his rags to riches story can serve as inspiration to anyone.
Recently, Rio made a detour on his trip to the Running Event in Austin, Texas to visit the IPICO Sports Team and discuss business arrangements for the future.  We now call him our IPICO Sports Sales Channel Partner for Southeast Asia.

After a couple of years of organizing some of the finest running events in the Philippines, Rio created his own full-service race management company called RunRio Inc. and its family of related businesses.  RunRio is a complete, one-stop shop for race design, registration, promotions and production; and it owns all of its own race equipment from Start/Finish Line Structures, to course barricades.  The related businesses include:  Finishline – providing complete timing and results services; RunPix - offering performance analysis complete with graphic illustrations and comparative results services; and PhotoVendo – delivering professional action photography. RunRio Inc. has introduced many exciting innovations such as the LED start/finish arc, 3D race maps, and live video coverage, making RunRio events worthy of its world-class stature.

Rio has increased the size, quantity and quality of running events throughout his country.  Rio’s goal for 2011 was to stage races for at least one million participants, and he should top that number easily.  As RunRio has elevated the standard for running events in the Philippines, the growing numbers of participants are elevating their standards – both in competitive performances and expectations. “The runners are now better and smarter,” said Rio. “I want my events to be a great experience from registration, to event production, to the post-race activities.”

Rio is driven by a commitment to inspire the public in improving their quality of life by living a healthy lifestyle. Rio, a former national track star started organizing fun runs in 2007 after graduating with a physical education degree at the University of the Philippines in Manila; and he’s now considered a national icon with over 1.5 million registered followers in his RunRio website directory.

From his initial start of three staff – his sister, her husband and himself, Rio has grown his company to 40 full-time staff, including managers and event managers, along with over 1500 part-time staff for events (he does not rely on volunteers) to organize his portfolio of events.  Finishline, RunRio’s timing company has ten full-time employees that manage registration, timing and results for over 40 events annually including the RunRio Trilogy, the RunRio Series and other regional/national events.

In addition, RunRio manages the National Milo Marathon with over 30,000 participant and affiliate provincial races. (Note:  Title sponsor Milo is a chocolate and malt nutrition drink produced by food-giant Nestle. Milo expects to distribute 10,000 pairs of running shoes to 10,000 underprivileged students from 100 schools after last year’s marathon on December 10.) The largest event RunRio produced was the Run for Pasig to promote the cleaning of the Pasig River which drew 116,086 participants on October 10, 2010.  The Guiness Book of World Records recognizes the Run for Pasig as the World’s Largest Organized Running Event.

In the process of almost single-handedly promoting the national running boom in the Philippines, RunRio has also captured the attention of neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.  Rio has taken his road running show all over the Philippines, and he is now making plans to stage events in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Rio opened two running-specialty stores in October under the brand RioVana, a combination of his name with nirvana.  He plans to open six more stores in 2012.

Concurrent with the opening of his new running-specialty stores, Rio is introducing the RunRio Timing Card utilizing IPICO Sports Custom Tags.  RunRio will be providing these Tags to participants at no charge for initial events and then at a modest fee. In addition to simplifying the registration and timing processes, the RunRio Timing Card also provides priority registration to certain events and functions as a discount/loyalty card at the RioVana stores and other designated retailers.

Rio’s business success didn’t come overnight. He worked long and hard to establish a reputation of credibility. It all began when he left the national track camp in Baguio City in 2006 to pursue his goal of earning a degree.  “I was in Baguio for a year then decided it was time to finish my studies,” said De La Cruz. “It took me 6 1/2 years to finish a four-year course but I did it. After I graduated, I worked at Manila Water in Balara. Five days later, I resigned. Working behind a desk in an office just wasn’t for me. I thought of doing what I’ve always wanted to do – organize running events and coach runners. I’ll never forget Aug. 27, 2007, and my first event for 1,888 runners inside the UP campus – a record that still stands as the biggest on-campus running event ever in the country. I learned from that experience. I listened to criticism and I was determined to improve. In those days, I did everything. I stuck numbers on bibs, strapped supplies on my motorcycle, put up the barricades and water stations and distributed race kits. I was the usher, marshal and emcee, like a one-man show. If there were complaints, I took the flak. But the experience gave me a third eye as an organizer.”

As a celebrity endorser for such companies as Nature Valley, NIKE and Timex, Rio has created an iconic image with his Afro hair style. He has appeared on the cover of such magazines as Runner’s World and Men’s Health. “I used to shave my head when I was young, but when I got to college I let my hair grow,” he said. “It got long and curly.”

Rio says he hardly runs in his events now, but he makes it a point to race in other countries to learn from the experience. He has run marathons in New York, Boston, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and New Zealand. “I get a lot of new ideas when I run abroad,” said Rio. “In my country, I was the first to put up an arch with an LED screen for the starting and finish line and the first to distribute disposable and reusable timing chips.

I’m looking forward to growing my business with IPICO Sports in the Philippines and the rest of my region.  I want RunRio to be known as a world-class running organization.  I know that my success has motivated others to try to copy my success.  I now have lots of competitors chasing me. I need to stay 10,000 steps ahead through innovation and passion.”

To learn more about Rio De La Cruz and RunRio, visit: www.runrio.com