PUERTO Princesa, Palawan, Philippines – A pair of unheralded runners struck with enough precision to rule the Puerto Princesa City elimination leg of the 35th Milo National Marathon participated in by some 4,864 enthusiasts.
Norlan Warizal outraced back-to-back Puerto Princesa regional race champ Ruben Samuya in the last kilometer to win the men’s division with a time of 1:14:22, while newcomer Jila de la Rosa surprised the more seasoned participants by grabbing the women’s top honor with a clocking of 1:36:53.
It was a big day for the 26-year-old Warizal, who rose to the top even without a coach and relied heavily on Youtube training videos of world renowned Olympian and long-distance runner Ryan Hall to guide his training and improve his performance.
“Last year, the only training I knew was to run long distances, but this year I wanted to try something different and improve, so I looked to Youtube videos of my running idol Ryan Hall on training programs and speed workouts,” said Warizal. Even the weather seemed to cooperate on the victory as Tropical storm Mina cleared in time for a sunny morning race.