Losiaboi, De los Santos rule two running events

CEBU, Philippines - In just a matter of six hours, Kenyan Simon Losiaboi and Mary Grace de los Santos got two titles after ruling the 8th Cebu Midnight Run and the UC-Teacher’s Association Run yesterday.

Losiaboi and De los Santos added their names to the champions’ list by winning the 8th edition of the CMR in their first try the other night at the City Sports Club-Cebu grounds.

Both Losiaboi and De los Santos were expected to emerge triumphant even before the competition began, but the two were a bit hesitant as it was their first night race.

The six-footer Losiaboi and De los Santos came up with impressive performances even on the night run, but they fell short of their follow’s targeted time of finish.

Losiaboi closed his bid in the CMR covering five kilometers in six minutes and 1.52 seconds to nose out two-time CMR champion Mendel Lopez, who ended up in 16:44.73. Philip Duenas settled for third with the time of 16:56.61.

De los Santos topped the women’s open in 19:13.16, while Leizsl Lumindas-Gitaruelas took the second place honors in 20:47.37. Mary Joy Tabal placed third with the time of 21:55.04.

 A few hours later, Losiaboi reigned supreme in the UC-TA Run.

“I’m lucky if I can sleep for two hours before the UC Run. I don’t know, I’ll just do what I have to do.After the UC run, I’m also set for a long distance training in preparation for the Cebu Marathon.I’m a bit short of time of training for the full marathon,but let’s just see,” said Losiaboi, a Protestant missionary.

Losiaboi clocked in 16:37.71, while De los Santos posted 20:37.15. – Caecent No-ot Magsumbol (THE FREEMAN)