Cebu leg of Milo marathon draws another record field

CEBU, Philippines -  It’s the time of the year again when some of the City's main thoroughfares get green as a record field of close to 27,000 runners will take part in the Cebu eliminations of the 38th Milo Marathon set this Sunday starting at the Cebu Normal University and ending at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Local organizer Ricky Ballesteros said in a press conference yesterday that with this avalanche of entries, Cebu shattered its own record of 25,000 entries it set 10 years ago. Prior to Cebu’s staging, the biggest turnout of a regional leg was 16,000 in Iloilo.

 The bulk of the participants come from the 5K category. The rest are from the 21K with 791, the 10K with 409 and the 3K with 411.

Except for this Nestle Philippines-sponsored tilt, no other running event or other sporting activity for that matter that can easily attract such a huge number of participants.

Interestingly, the organizers even had to accommodate the runners on a first-come, first served basis to ensure fairness in the registration process.

The 21-kilometer distance is open to Filipino runners only since this is a qualifying race for the national finals. Participants under the 10K class must be at least 16 years old, while  those listed in the 5K must be at least seven years old.

Those who are competing under the 21K are also required to secure a “fit-to-run” medical certificate signed by a licensed physician within two months before race day since the action is a very demanding one especially those who are seeking qualifications for the National Finals set December 7 in Manila.

“This is the first time that we are requiring a medical certificate for the 21K runners. If they are not fit for the said distance or if they cannot submit the required certification from a doctor, we will assess them and see if they can join the shorter distance instead.This is part of our way of keeping up with international standards,” said Milo Sports Executive Andrew Neri.

There are two ways to qualify for the 42.195-kilometer national finals. One is to finish the 21K action in one hour and 15 minutes for the male and 1:35:00 for the female runners and the other is to breach the qualifying time for the specific age brackets. The qualifiers will enjoy an all-expense paid trip to Manila for the national finals.

Those who will qualify through their respective age-brackets and time specified though will have to pay for their own trip to Manila, but are entitled to a free registration fee.

All participants need to put their best foot forward as there is a cut-off time set for each of the categories, something that is also unique in this event.

    The cut-off time is two hours and 30 minutes for the 21K, an hour and 30 minutes for the 10K, and one hour for the 3K and 5K.

As runners pursue their targeted time, the organizers are also ensuring their safety with the road closure along the race route.Marshals, policemen, traffic enforcers, medics and some volunteers will also be deployed along the race course.

 “We want Milo to be a race that is something different from other marathons in the country. Aside from the innovations that we are doing every year, we also want to ensure the safety and security of the runners. This is an elite race and we want the best race that we can do,” said Neri.

The top 10 finishers in each class in the regional leg will get cash prizes, trophies and medals.

 Five side events will spice up the race including the biggest club or company delegation, inter-club/company running competition, biggest school delegation, inter-school running competition, and the cheerleading contest.

More than the fun, the prizes and the bid to qualify in the finale, each of the runner also gets the chance of helping less fortunate students through Milo’s “Help Give Shoes” advocacy.

For this year, the worst-hit areas of super typhoon Yolanda including Tacloban, Ormoc, and Eastern Samar have been chosen as beneficiary for the Nestle's charitable endeavor.

All other regional hosts including Metro Manila, Baguio, Dagupan, Tarlac, Angeles, Naga, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, Lipa, Iloilo, Bacolod, Tagbilaran, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and  Davao have also benefited from the HGS advocacy. (FREEMAN)