Tabal, Nerza dominate Citi Run

CEBU, Philippines - The fast-rising Mary Joy Tabal outsmarted Mary Grace de los Santos in the women’s half marathon under the 2011 Citi Run yesterday starting and ending at the Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel and Casino grounds.

After a neck-to-neck duel, Tabal, who just graduated college from Southwestern University, outpaced De los Santos in the last three kilometers and never looked back to win the title in one hour, 24 minutes and 59.17 seconds.

De los Santos finished second in 1:25:14.22 followed by Madelyn Carter in 1:36:11.06. The next two sports were occupied by Merlita Arias-Dunkin (1:44:33.74) and Rosemarie Adlawan (1:48:24.33).

In the men’s 21K, Davao’s top male runner Anthony Nerza denied Tabal’s training partner John Philip Duenas from taking the top spot.

Nerza, who sped up in the last five kilometers of the race, posted the time of 1:13:54.87, while Duenas came out second in 1:15:20.01. Ian Bernido was third in 1:17:02.51.

Jordan Bacong emerged as the fastest in the 12K category with a time of 41:43.25, beating Jess Gonzaga in 41:54.73.

Christy Sevilleno-Tutor lorded it over in the distaff side in 53:42.75 followed by Joery Lee in 54:37.43.

Joel Delposo topped the 5K class with a time of 17:13.54 followed by Jorry Ycong (17:38.95) and Raymart Montecalvo (17:44.62).

Aiza Suaybaguio dominated the women's 5K in 20:40.23, while Jhean Andrin and Crizel Diongson placed second and third in 20:54.57 and 21:41.59, respectively.

Citigym clients also had a great time showcasing their athleticism outside the fitness gym with Jane-Jane Ong and Gerard Cabatingan winning their respective classes.

Ong finished the women’s 21K in 2:00:58.16 followed by Andrea Patricia Yu (2:24:17.72) and Veronica Conchas (2:59:49.84), while the top three in the men's side were Cabatingan (1:33:37.11), John Ong (1:42:42.83) and Gabby Lariosa (2:00:04.19).

The top finishers in the 12K were Jane Sia (1:25:02.11) and Ramon Tan (1:01:21.80), while Iko Gomos (27:26) and Sherille Fuentes (39:25.84) lorded it over in the 5K. (FREEMAN NEWS)