CEBU, Philippines – A chicharon vendor yesterday ruled the sixth leg of the 34th Milo Marathon over a record field of more than 23,000 runners at the Cebu Sports Center.
Adonis Singson took a break from his daily chores of selling chicharon by trying his running skills, which surprised the big field of runners when he finished the premier 21K run in 1:15:15 to win the P10,000 top prize and earn a trip to the National Finals in Manila on Dec. 12.
The absence somehow of defending champion Mendel Lopez, who is currently in Manila taking a board examination, actually boosted Singson’s confidence as he won the annual Cebu leg for the first time after just finishing third last year and second in 2006 and 2007.
“When I learned that Mendel would not run, I made sure that I would win this time by calculating my speed. This is really my time now,” said the 27-year-old Singson in Visaya.