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Feeling a bit of running fatigue or are you getting less motivated to go for a run? Well, every runner goes through such phases, but running advocate, athlete and mom-of-three Nicole Dela Cruz knows a thing or two to keep you motivated and stay focused in your running era.

Nicole Dela Cruz is the founder and CEO of Women's Run PH and during the media launch of the FCC Women's Run PH at the Olive Garden in SM Mall of Asia on January 30, she talked about the importance of having a goal in running.

Nicole explained to GMANetwork.com, “It's very important for you to have a goal, for you to be motivated you have a goal. Me, I've experienced running just for the sake of fitness, but once you have a goal in mind, just for example, just another goal, okay I register in an event, but that keeps you moving. Kasi there's something that you want to push yourselves to, 'Okay kailangan ko matapos 'yung 5k, so kailangan maganda 'yung feeling ko pag-cross ko ng finish line.' So nagpe-prepare sila diyan, so that's one of the things that we should always have is to be motivated all throughout.

"And here in Women's Run we don't only have one time event this year, but it's spread all throughout. And at the same time we also have training runs para ito sa mga bagong runners natin, who don't have the confidence in them to actually try it out, but having these training runs for them it opens their minds na 'Kaya ko pala.'”

She is also ecstatic to see the support of local government units and companies in encouraging citizens to run. One example is the "car-free every Sunday" initiative, which was implemented by Ayala Land in 2023 along the long-stretch of Ayala Avenue in Makati city.

The wife of Coach Rio of Runrio stated that these efforts help promote the mindset among Filipinos that fitness should be a top priority. “Iˈm very happy actually to know that we have these car-free Sundays. It's very nice that a lot of places like Marikina there's also one, different places. This only shows that they are also concerned with the health and well-being of the citizens.

On a personal note, Nicole Dela Cruz told GMANetwork.com how running affected the quality of her life.

“A lot of people are now joining races and running as well. So that way we get to become more fit, more conscious of our health, and become more happier 'di ba. That's how I feel, when I run I feel more happy, the happy hormones kick in, it's the great way for us to actually unwind, [it's] an outlet from work and stressful things that we have in life.”

FCC Women's Run PH happening on March 8

March is a big month for women across the globe as we all celebrate International Women's Month.

And making this celebration a lot more meaningful is the FCC Women's Run PH happening on March 8, 2026 with thousands of runners taking over the seaside roads of the SM Mall of Asia.

Aside from Nicole of Women's Run PH, who was present during the media launch on Friday, SM Supermalls EVP for Marketing Joaquin San Agustin was also in attendance together with SM Aura AVP for Marketing Marga Catalan and SM Mall of Asia SAVP for Marketing Krisel Ramilo.

Representatives from Filipina CEO Circle (FCC), the title sponsor of the Women's Run PH, were also there to show their support.

Organizing such big events can be a daunting task and for Nicole Dela Cruz mounting these mammoth races presents an opportunity for her and their team to learn new things.

“In organizing events there are a lot of challenges happen, most often than not we have no control over talaga of the weather in the Philippines, rain or shine it happens, but sometimes we make decisions na we also regret na, what happened from past events that we did. That is something that is a great learning for me and right now I'm very happy we have a concrete ground. It's going to be fun for everyone to enjoy, so some of the things that I also learned is that for us to have a great route as well, so that everybody can still enjoy.”

Women's Run PH Founder and CEO Nicole Dela Cruz discusses the exciting things that will happen on March 8 / Source: GMANetwork.com

(Left to Right) SM Aura AVP for Marketing Marga Catalan, SM Mall of Asia SAVP for Marketing Krisel Ramilo, Women's Run PH Founder and CEO Nicole Dela Cruz, and SM Supermalls EVP for Marketing Joaquin San Agustin.

As co-presenter of FCC Women's Run PH, SM Supermalls executive Joaquin San Agustin explained to members of the media the reason why their company partnered for this event that empowers women.

“What we'd like to convey in SM Supermalls is to really create a max out experience particularly for everyone. As you can see, we are one of the very few, if not, really the best venue particularly for a run this size, about 16,000 runners, where people can run in a very competitive way and they can run leisurely, a very inclusive and safe space,” San Agustin noted.

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