Cebuano runners conquer Manila leg

A pair of Cebuano runners asserted their dominance to rule the Manila leg of the 2024 National Milo Marathon yesterday at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

Both representing SpectrumRunners, Florendo Lapiz and Lizanne Abella reigned supreme, ruling the men’s and women’s divisions of this 42-kilometer race that is regarded as one of the biggest and most prestigious marathon events in the country.

Aside from a trophy and a cash prize of P50,000 each, both Lapiz and Abella also booked tickets to the national finals that would be held in Cagayan de Oro City in December.

The 33-year-old Lopez was simply impressive.

After getting denied of the title last year, Lapiz negotiated the flat streets of Pasay City, Manila City and Parañaque City in two hours and 42:33 minutes to outduel Salvador Polillio (2:49:54) and Welfred Esporma (2:58:51) in the race that started an hour past midnight to beat the scorching summer heat.

“I was blessed to be the champion after getting second place last year,” Lapiz, a welder from Carcar town in Cebu, said.

“The road was flat and the hydration stations weren’t far off. You wouldn’t know how well you will do here until you crossed the finish line because of the hot weather.”

Meanwhile, Abella also did well, crossing the finish line in 3:21:05 to reign supreme in the women’s division that used to be ruled by Maricar Camacho.

Camacho, however, settled for the silver medal after clocking 3:26:19 while Jewel de Luna completed the podium with a time of 3:27:05.

“I just paced myself so that I would be able to finish the race. I’m happy because this was the first time I won in the women’s 42 km,” the runner from Minglanilla, Cebu who finished third last year, said.

“My target here was just to finish in the top three.”

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Christine Hallasgo topped the women’s half-marathon event while national athlete Richard Solano.

More than 20,000 runners joined in various distances in this leg of the Milo Marathon.

Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Christine Hallasgo topped the women’s 21-km event in 1:24:27 while national athlete Richard Solano dominated the men’s side in 1:08:38 of this competition that aligns with Milo’s 60th anniversary celebration.

James Darryl Orduna (32:23 minutes) and Anisha Caluya (48:03 minutes) ruled the 10 km event while Noli Torre (16:18 minutes) and Sheila Moreno (22:08 minutes) dominated the 5 km event.

Robi Rosadia (12:15 minutes) and Megan Palad (14:14 minutes) clinched the gold medal in the 3 km event with Ron Valenzuela (3:36 minutes) and Christine Galicia (4:19 minutes) winning the 1 km event.