CEBU, Philippines - Cebuana runner Melinda Ponce finally got what she wanted, an ultra-marathon title at the age of 50 as she topped the frontrunner Magazine’s Warrior 50 Ultramarathon at Be Resort yesterday.
Ponce joined her first ultra-marathon last year and emerged only second to a foreign entry in last May’s second ultramarathon here set at 65 kilometers.
Determined than ever and armed with more experience, Ponce tried her luck again and eventually succeeded.
Ponce finished the race in five hours, 39 minutes and 25 seconds, beating two ultramarathoners from Manila.
Lana Mecado trailed Ponce with the time of 5:43.31, while Reylene de la Paz was third with a 5:45.31 clocking.
It was a clean sweep for the Cebuano bets as they posted a 1-2 finish in the men’s open division.
Noel Tillor took the top spot with the time of 4:49.13 followed by Renz Gabuya in 5:05.
Japanese national Kenki Yishioka came out third out of 200 entries.