Abella crowned new AWUM queen
CEBU, Philippines - Multi-titled Cebuana long distance runner Lizane Abella proved that she is not only one of the sexiest, but also the fastest of them all in the 6th All-Women’s Ultramarathon (AWUM) that started late Saturday night and ended early Sunday morning at the Il Corso grounds in South Road Properties.
Abella, who hails from Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City but now resides in Tungkop, Minglanilla, has conquered several local running events already, but she has never been heard of joining races longer than a 42-kilometer race until last Saturday night.
In her first ultra race, Abella, who placed third to Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal in the national finals of the Milo Marathon in Iloilo last year, swiftly made an impact on the way to be crowned as the new AWUM queen.
Leading all the way, Abella negotiated the grueling 50-kilometer course with the best time of four hours, 30 minutes and 32.93 seconds. She was ahead of dethroned champion Sandra Soliano by 14 minutes as Preciosa Sanchez wound up third in 4:59:01.93.
Interestingly, Abella, Soliano and Sanchez are all members of Spectrum Runners.
Omega Pro’s June Marq Ocana placed fourth in 5:05:49.01, while Jennider Red Sabela of Cagayan de Oro City landed fifth with a time of 5:07:37.51.
The sixth to 10th finishers out of 301 entries were Rona Lacanlale (5:15:16.15), Marivic Mari (5:17:04.36), Wilma Theresa Lugay (5:17:40.42), Janice Gabales (5:18:26.75) and Rhoda Oporto (5:18:31.12).
Tess Leono, the event's guest runner, clocked in seven hours, well within the cut-off time of 10 hours. Leono made history as the first Filipina to finish the world's toughest running challenge, the Badwater Ultramarathon. She completed her 216-kilometer journey in 46 hours, one minute and 29 seconds. (FREEMAN)
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