Over 19,000 runners join Cebu leg of Milo Marathon, Ethiopians, Kenyans rule

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu galvanized its status as the country's premiere running venue after producing the biggest field of 19,013 runners spotlighted by 32 qualifiers for the 35th Milo Marathon National Finals at the end of the Cebu leg yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Of the 32 qualifiers though, only eight will enjoy an all-expense paid trip to Manila, four of them Ethiopians, three Kenyans and two Cebuanos.

It was such a big surprise for the local runners when they saw the Ethiopians joining the battle aside from the Kenyans who came ahead of them.

With the presence of the foreigners, the race became fast-paced, leaving the locals with no other choice than to put their best foot forward so as not to be left behind helplessly.

Teamwork paid off for the Ethiopians as Mikael Tesfaye and Mailemariam Kansay came up with a one-two finish in the men's 21K action.

Tesfaye crossed the finish line in one hour, nine minutes and 33 seconds, just four seconds ahead of Kansay who clocked in 1:09.37.

Kenya's Josphat Kiptanji claimed the third spot in 1:09.45 followed by two other Kenyans in Abraham Missos (1:12.58) and Francis Kakaui (1:14.14).

Last year’s Cebu leg champion Adonis Singson was relegated to sixth place, but his time of 1:15.56 was enough for him to get a free trip to the Big City for the national finals on December 11.

“They're so fast (Ethiopians and Kenyans). I tried to join the lead pack but it almost hampered my bid as I felt so consumed. Good thing I managed to go on,” said Singson.

Sherwin Managil placed seventh in 1:16.33. He missed the 1:15 cut-off time, but still qualified for the Nationals through the 18-34 age bracket.

Completing the top 10 finishers who also qualified for the same age classification as Managil were John Daryl Manos (1:19.31), Eugene Postrado (1:19.50) and Paul James Zafico (1:22.26).

The other qualifiers were Harold Estrada (1:23.17), Brende Conde(1:27.17), Jieter Bada(1:27.23), Rodney Celeterio (1:28.15) and Leo Abello (1:30.39) in the men's 18-34 class, Marlou Salaritan (1:34.46) in the 35-39, Ludivino Dioquiatan (1:32.58) in the 40-44, Roberto Besties (1:40.12), Jessie Mesa (1:37.25) in the 45-49, Francis Limpangog (1:49.18) in the 50-54, Ruth Banzon (1:37.35), Democrito Branzuela (1:47.31), Alejandro Geyrozaga (1:55.53) and Nemesio Escariñas (1:59.38) in the 55-59, Marlon Peñas (2:09.30) in the 60-64 and Paulino Obra (1:58.53) in the 65-69.

Anciano Abella, Jr. was the oldest qualifier at 72 years old. He posted 1:57.14, even way up the 70-above’s qualifying time of 2:30.

In the distaff side, the lone Ethiopian female entry Genet Agtew dethroned Mary Joy Tabal with a time of 1:24.12. Agtaw broke away as soon as the starting gun was fired and never looked back on the way to the finish line.

“I love it here. I like Cebu.It was a well-organized race," said the 22 year-old Agtew.

Tabal, who was behind by 700 meters from Agtew, still ended up happy as she beat the qualifying time of 1:135 for a free ride to Manila. Tabal completed the women's 21K in 1:27.23.

Rounding up the top 10 placers were Mary Jane Beboso (1:39.52), Madelyn Carter(1:43.02), Sandra Soliano (1:45.47), Merlita Dunkin (1:47.01), Emily Rosas (1:51.04), Amale Mendezona-Jopson (11:51.07), Melinda Ponce (1:53.01) and Tessie Escarinas (1:53.22).

Soliano, Ponce and Escarinas also qualified for the national finals through their age-groups.

In the 10K action, Reiz Enriquez took the top honors in the men's division with the time of 36.01, while

Jojielyn Mae Pepito snatched the women's tiara in 46:41. The top runners in 5K were Adlen Agang (17:49) and Clarisse Diongson (22:35)

In the 12-under category, Jeniucel Amamangpang of Naga who the boys title in 11:38, while Lovely Fe Andrin lorded it over in the girls class with the time of 11:54.

On the other hand, the University of Cebu (UC) stole part of the limelight by bagging the biggest delegation award with 2,285 finishers and the fastest squad with an average time of 27:18.49 for the first 25 finishers. Abellana National School came in second with the time of 28:21.25 followed by Southwestern University with a 31:49.57 clocking.

The SWU contingent topped the cheerdance competition in the tertiary level, University of San Carlos in the secondary and the City Central School in the elementary.

“This is the best race we had, so far. Everything went on smoothly. No untoward incident.The weather cooperated although it was a little bit hot, but thank God it didn’t rain,” said Cebu leg organizer Ricky Ballesteros.

The system applied by RunRio also greatly contributed to the smooth flow of the race especially in the 5K, which drew the most number of entries at around 16,000.

“The Cebu race is definitely a success. It’s the first time we are using timing chips for all categories and the waves (by batch) worked well .Dili gyud gubot. Kung naa man tay kulang, ato ng e-improve next time,” said Milo Sports Executive Pat Goc-ong. - THE FREEMAN