McHappy Day Fun Run 2012

Online games and hectic schedules seem to always get in the way when it comes to spending time with the family. This is why for the 4th year of McHappy Day, McDonald’s encouraged families to take a break from the usual grind and put those running shoes to use for the McHappy Day Fun Run 2012. This year, McHappy Day attracted more than 1,500 runners – most of them consisting of whole families.



Excited participants gathered together last December 2, 2012 to participate in the Fun Run and the bonus Family Fair activities. Participants chose from different race distances such as 1K for the little ones, 3K for the older kids, 3k for families of four, and 5k for individuals aged 15 and up. The registration kit for the race was a treat in itself both for the kids and the grown-ups as it already included a McHappy Day Fun Run singlet, free McDonald’s breakfast and McMoney for the Family Fair booths.

Fitness guru Jackie Lou Blanco hosted the event and led the participants in an energetic warm-up exercise before the fun run began. McDonald's Ambassador Xian Lim as well as Tessa Prieto-Valdes joined the crowd and raced to the finish line, while celebrities Regine Tolentino and Lander Vera Perez, Gary Estrada and Bernadette Allison, Angelou de Leon, and Anthony Pangilinan and Maricel Laxa brought their families with them to the event. 

Alongside the race itself, there were several mini-games as pit stops for the entire family to enjoy and special awards such as best head dress, best costume and most creative race bib were given. All the participants of the McHappy Day Fun Run came out as winners as each runner got a finisher’s certificate and a lootbag full of goodies. Add to that, the Family Fair booths such as glitter tattoo, face painting, balloon twisting, photo booth, and other games brought bigger smiles to everyone who attended the event.

Margot Torres, McDonald’s Philippines Vice President for Marketing, said: “Here in McDonald’s, we believe that physical bonding is crucial for a healthy family relationship and well-being of young children. Through McHappy Day, we wanted our customers and even our employees to create lasting memories with their loved ones. This is definitely one of our most successful McHappy Day celebrations and it’s also a fantastic way to give back to our community.”

Aside from being an event for the family, the annual McHappy Day is also a global fundraising effort to improve the well-being of children all over the world. More specifically, funds from this event were collected to help raise P1 million for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and its banner program, Bright Minds Read (BMR) which promotes beginning reading to Grade 1 public school children.