What does it take to run in one of the world’s largest sporting events?

For 12 Filipinos comprising the ING Team Manila, running 26 miles in less than five hours with nearly 50,000 runners from more than 100 countries in the ING New York City Marathon 2010 on Nov. 7 (New York time) takes more than just intensive training, focus and determination to keep running when others stop.

“It also requires a great amount of passion to run for every Filipino family who needs a roof over their heads and for every poor Filipino child who needs to learn,” said Consuelo Garcia, ING Bank’s Country Manager in the Philippines.

Through the support of the runners and their families and friends and in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, ING Foundation hopes to raise funds for its second ING Village in Calauan Laguna that will house 100 families displaced by Typhoon Ondoy. The Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI) also invited the runners to support its “KaRUNungan 2010: Run for Knowledge” campaign, which aims to generate awareness and support among athletes to help fill the continuing resource and learning gaps plaguing the education system.

Aside from being touted as the “best marathon in the world,” the ING NYC Marathon also serves as a venue for charitable organizations to raise funds. This year, there are 86 groups seeking to raise funds and awareness for their respective causes.

ING Group has been a title sponsor of the marathon since 2003. “This is the fourth year ING Bank in Manila is sponsoring runners to the ING NYC Marathon, which embodies the Bank’s focus, dedication and determination to always to raise the bar and improve on what we do,” said Ms. Garcia. “By tying this activity with our fundraising efforts, we can make a difference and do something for our communities.” Three years ago, Ayala Land, Inc. Chairman  Fernando  Zobel de Ayala and Senator Pia Cayetano formed part of the ING Manila team that ran in the NYC marathon, and generously supported with their friends the building of the first ING Village in Baseco, Tondo, consisting of more than 170 homes.

Comprising the ING Team Manila for the 2010 ING NYC Marathon are: Carlo Katigbak, Chief Operating Officer of SkyCable Corporation; Rina Lopez-Bautista, President of KCFI and her son Daniel Lopez Layug; Atty. Eric Puno of the Puno & Puno Law Offices and wife Bea Lopez Puno; Butch Tansengco, President of First Philec Solar Corporation and wife Lora; Nestor Vasay, Senior Vice President and Comptroller of First Gen Corporation; Aldrich Javellana and Melody Yapson of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Artemio Engracia, News Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer; and Ma. Isabel Cecilia Cruz.

The ING New York City Marathon calls itself the “largest one-day live sporting event in the world,” and backs up the claim with numbers: more than 43,000 runners finished in 2009, drawing two million spectators and a worldwide television audience of 315 million. The course covers all five boroughs of New York City.