Ex-ultra marathoner, newcomer top Milo Marathon qualifiers in Cebu

CEBU CITY, Phiippines – Having grown up in the Queen City of the South, former ultra marathoner Noel Tillor knew the route like the back of his hand while newcomer Roselyn Balongcas, a single mom from a neighboring province, made it look like she was in familiar territory.

Tillor and Balongcas of Dumagute City easily dominated the men’s and women’s 21-kilometer divisions, respectively, of the the Cebu qualifying leg of the 38th National Milo Marathon on Sunday, October 12.

The event kicked off in front of the Cebu Normal College and ended within the Cebu City Sports Complex.

Racing under close-to-ideal conditions, Tillor, 29, a car mechanic, soloed home at the finish line, clocking one hour, 13 minutes and .07 second after running through the streets of downtown Cebu to top the event that attracted a record of 26,736 registered entries.

Tillor, who left ultra marathons 5 years ago to focus on shorter road races full time, bagged the top prize of P10,000 ($223).

He finished way ahead of Leyte’s Jerry Adap, who was struck by cramps with 5 kilometers to go and settled for second in 1:15.17 and the P6,000 ($134) to go with it.

Robert Daang took third (1:17.34) and received P4,000 ($89) as all three top finishers advanced to the finals of the country’s longest-running road race on Dec. 7 in Manila.

“‘Yon ang target ko na manalo sa race na ito dahil hometown ko ang Cebu,” Tillor said after the race. “Positive thinking lang ang kailangan.“

(My target was really to win the race since Cebu is my hometown. All you need is positive thinking).”

A 13th-place finisher in the 21K run of the 2013 Singapore Marathon, the Cebuano added his goal in the Milo national finals was to go under two hours and 30 minutes – his record when he finished 11th in the 2013 edition of the event.

Tillor is keen on breaking the monopoly of the Kenyan runners in local races, pointing out that he placed 6th overall to emerge as the best Filipino finisher in the recent Cebu Marathon.

Single-mom runner

Balongcas benefited from the absence of defending Cebu and national Milo Marathon women’s champion Mary Joy Tabal, who opted to race in South Korea on the same day that the competition was held in the Cebu provincial capital.

The 33-year-old single mom posted a runaway time of 1:40.51, way ahead of runner-up Christy Sevilano and third-placer Sandra Soliven, who clocked 1:49.11 and 1:49.50, respectively.

All three female runners got the same corresponding prize as their male counterparts on top of all-expenses paid trips Manila to compete in the Milo nationals.

“Matagal Gusto ko talaga sumali sa Milo Marathon,” said Balongcas, 33, who has an 11-year-old son and earns her living by selling longganisa.

(I have always wanted to compete in the Milo Marathon)

She took a ferry from Dumagute City, Negros Occidental and a 4-hour overland trip from Liloan, Cebu the previous day to see acton in the race held in the Cebu provincial capital.

Milo Sports marketing manager Andrew Neri cited local race organizer Ricky Ballesteros for luring a record turnout for yesterday’s races

“We are really overwhelmed by the response of participants the Cebu leg and the way it has been efficiently run. Our congratulations to the organizers,” Neri said.

Milo national race director Rio dela Cruz appreciated the efficiency of the local hosts in separating the finish lines for the 3K and 5K runners and 10K and 21K entries “so they could achieve their personal bests without hassle.”

Encouraged by the Cebu turnout, Neri said perhaps it would be time to host the Milo Marathon outside of Manila next year “which I believe is timely based on the response we’ve had here.”

The qualifying series moves next weekend to Mindanao with the races to be conducted in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. – Rappler.com