Pinoy sixth in NZ 21K

QUEENSTOWN–Long distance runner Rio de la Cruz finished sixth among 300 participants and settled for a $220 gift package in the 21.095-kilometer event of the New Balance Queenstown Marathon in this scenic New Zealand alpine resort city Saturday.

De la Cruz, 23, was in the lead pack from the starting line in Arrowtown, a sleepy village in the Queenstown outskirts where miners struck gold in 1860. But he couldn’t take charge as he struggled against a strong headwind, the chilly weather and a rough course that included a six-kilometer trail of sand, gravel and dirt.

The 5-7, 126-pound national pool rookie barely squeezed into the top six with a clocking of 1:15.17, five minutes over his target. He was way behind Indonesia’s Johan Juhari who bagged the first prize of $1,000 with a time of 1:09.06. Prizes were awarded only to the top six finishers.

Local bet Chris Dagg, a veteran internationalist, wound up second at 1:09.29. Another Indonesian, Agus Prayogo, was third at 1:11.37. Fourth was New Zealander Nathan Aldridge at 1:12.38 and another hometowner Eddie Smith, a triathlon coach, was fifth at 1:14.04.

Juhari and Prayogo competed for Indonesia at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam two years ago. Juhari, a 23-year-old law student in Sumatra, was fourth in the 10-kilometer event with a time of 30:25. Prayogo, 20, was sixth in the same event at 30:41. Both will compete in the coming SEA Games late this year.

At the 2001 Asean University Games in Manila, de la Cruz and Juhari faced off in the 10-kilometer race. The Filipino was third and Juhari, fourth. Four years later, the tables were reversed here.

"Kulang pa sa training," conceded de la Cruz. "Sumakit ang binti ko sa pagakyat ng slopes. Sa lakas ng hangin, nagtago ako sa likod ni Smith. Hindi nga ako pinawisan. Tapos, with about six kilometers to go, nag-breakway na si Smith sa akin. Nag-sprint ako sa last 50 meters but hindi ko na naabutan si Smith. Satisfied ako kasi mahirap ang course at hindi kasundo ang weather. At least, naka-top six ako. Kung may next time, I’ll do better."

De la Cruz said he owes it to New Balance for giving him the opportunity to gain valuable overseas experience.

Juhari said he pushed himself to win because his per diem was only $20. He has temporarily stopped going to school to concentrate on training for the SEA Games. Prayogo, an economics student in Java, has also deferred his studies to focus on running.

New Balance Asia-Pacific regional marketing manager Qing Ni of Hong Kong was particularly proud of the three Asian finishers as she coordinated their participation.

In all, there were 595 runners from over 12 countries in the three events–77 in the full marathon, 218 in the 10-kilometer run and 300 in the half-marathon.

Athens Olympian Dale Warrander topped the 42-kilometer race with a clocking of 2:23 to win the $3,000 first prize. He was so dominant that the second placer finished seven minutes behind.

Warrander, 31, qualified for Athens by timing 2:12.57 in the Fukuoka Marathon and was 32nd in the Olympics. A mobile technology consultant, he began running at 11 and was one of three New Zealand qualifiers in the Athens marathon.

The event’s scene stealer was Singaporean William Tan, a polio victim who rode a wheelchair to clock 3:30 in the full marathon. Tan, 48, has competed in nearly 40 marathons in the last 28 years. A physician and brain scientist, the former Harvard and Oxford scholar is unable to move his legs and feet.

In two weeks, Tan will race in Boston and set a Guinness record for competing in his seventh marathon in seven continents in 70 days. Before Queenstown, Tan drove his wheelchair in events in St. George Island, Argentina, Thailand, South Africa and Holland.

Anton Gonzalez, president of the Philippines’ exclusive New Balance distributor Planet Sports, said the Queenstown Marathon is proof of the brand’s commitment to grassroots development, performance and customer satisfaction.

He referred to New Balance as the "faster" shoes where function is preferred to fashion. There are two New Balance stand-alone boutique shops in Metro Manila–at the Glorietta in Makati and Festival Mall in Alabang. New Balance products are sold in over 70 outlets in the Philippines.