STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. Women around the world have joined Nike’s yearlong call to action for girls to go beyond their fears, insecurities and excuses to achieve their personal bests.

The annual Nike We Run Manila may have been noticeably missing in 2014, but it’s making up with a comeback this year, with surprises.

For the first time, Nike Philippines has launched an all-women race to be held in Filinvest, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, on May 9. The race will start at 9 p.m., another first for the organizers, in consideration of the summer season.

The race is part of the 2015 Nike Women’s Race series, which invites more than 200,000 women in 21 major countries to experience the road to fitness through a series of races.

Women's playground: Runners get free workouts at Track 30th in Taguig City every Saturday leading up to race night. — Women’s playground: Runners get free workouts at Track 30th in Taguig City every Saturday leading up to race night.

Manila is set to bring together 10,000 runners to the finish line as part of this global circuit that kicked off in Nagoya, Japan, on March 8, and will wrap up in October with the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco.

Aside from Manila, the all-women race series includes the cities of Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Lima, London, Medellin, Mexico City, Milan, Moscow, Nagoya, Paris, Quito, San Francisco, Seoul, Stockholm, Taipei and Toronto.

Fitness and sports

“Women in the Philippines today—and all over the world—are increasingly engaged in fitness and sports, and we are excited to launch the inaugural Nike Women’s 10K Manila,” said Patrick Reyes, Nike Philippines country marketing manager.

Nike Phils. product specialist Andro Torres explaining how the Nike+ app works

It’s also the first time Nike will implement a buddy system, encouraging women to nominate a friend, BFF, sister, mother, tita, colleague, or even one’s kumare in the race.

“Filipinos are very social. We realize that when we run or train with someone else, the chances of succeeding are so much greater. It’s like ‘Hey, we can do this, we can reach the finish line,’” Reyes said.

This is especially relevant, since all runners have only one target distance. Nike Philippines has always taken the 10K challenge, departing from the usual practice among organizers who offer a range of options from 3K to 21K.

Ten kilometers can be especially daunting for first-time runners. Nike Women Run 10K hopes to encourage women to run to the finish line, and not run away from the goal without trying.

“Nike has always been about inspiring people to push beyond their limits. Globally, more women are getting into training,” he said.

Reyes said that over the years, the races have been dominated by male runners, but now about half or more of the registrants are women. “It’s really a testament to how much more women want to race,” he added.

To help the runners achieve their personal bests, participants are invited to a series of training sessions before race night.

“This is not just a simple race where you sign up and bahala ka na,” Reyes said. “We want to help women balance an active lifestyle. This is more of a road to fitness.”

For one, the Nike Run Club has been holding training sessions every Saturday since March leading up to the Nike Women’s 10k Manila. The sessions are open to the public from 4 to 5 p.m. at Track 30th in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Fitness expert Obet Javier and two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Allan Ballester are the resident coaches for the hour-long workouts.

Patrick Reyes, Nike Phils. country marketing manager, will be one of the many men who will cheer on the runners in Nike’s first-ever all-women race.

A range of workouts

Race registrants also get free access to a variety of fitness classes in 360°, Plana Forma, Striking MNL, One Life Studio, HIIT Philippines and Elorde Gym. They can sign up for a range of workouts that suit their style, from simple conditioning and yoga to Pilates, crossfit and even boxing.

As a pre-race grand workout, 500 registered racers signed up for the Nike Training Club (NTC) Live last April 25 at Valkyrie.

“In Nike, we believe that women can work out hard and party harder. The NTC was one big super-charged event,” said Reyes, noting the event happened in Manila’s largest nightclub.

But beyond group training sessions, modern Filipino women can also work out on their own time and pace.

Nike+ Running and Nike+ Training Club apps are available for free on iPhone and android for runners and fitness buffs.

“We believe that everyone with a body is an athlete, but not everyone is starting from the same point,” said Andro Torres, Nike Philippines product specialist.

He explained how the app includes a step-by-step guide to attain different goals—to be lean, toned, strong and slim.

The apps can be customized to indoor or outdoor activities, where trainees can track their routes, pace, time, distance and calories. They can also share their milestones in social media and allow song streaming. These apps are hosts to Nike’s social community of 65 million women.

Participants will receive a race kit with a free Nike shirt, a D-tag timing chip and other freebies.

Registration ends on May 3. Log on to www.nikewomen10kmnl.com or follow the hashtag #WeRunMNL.