The 32nd Yakult 10 Miler event is more than just a competition for around 8,000 runners who trooped to the Mall of Asia grounds to vie for pride and glory.

It’s also about giving back and helping those who are in need.

Yakult Philippines vice president Michael Ong told DAILY TRIBUNE that they use the event as an avenue not just to advocate for a healthy lifestyle but also to give back to the local community.

In fact, the annual marathon was able to generate around P100,000 which it donated to The Center for Health Improvement and Life Development (CHILD) Haus to help cancer-stricken children.

“We wanted to make sure that we don’t just do some kind of activity. We wanted to do some charity work,” Ong said.

“Whatever endeavor that we wanted to do, we always have an objective of helping people just like our product.”

Ong said having a lot of runners join their three-kilometer, 5km, 10km, and 16km categories, he is happy seeing the rise of runners who want to get active.

“You can just imagine. From the 4,500 runners in the previous edition, now we have 8,000 and people are becoming more health conscious,” Ong said.

“That is the driving force why we need to give back more to those patrons who are supporting us.”