At 6 a.m., the strongest among them set out. Then at 6:02, the littlest of them followed. More came out at 6:05. And soon, there were 4,027 runners taking to the streets of Dumaguete the Milo way. Stormy skies or not, the 32nd Milo Marathon was definitely on!
Every year, Milo, the only drink that can give you Olympic energy, brings on a 3k, 5k, and 21k run challenge everywhere it goes. It started in 1974 and has been running around throughout the country since. And this year, the Milo Marathon will go around 25 cities nationwide. This includes Manila, Tarlac, Cebu, Batangas, Palawan, Angeles, General Santos, Bacolod, Iloilo, Roxas, Legazpi, Naga, San Pablo, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, San Fernando, Laoag, Santiago, Baguio, Dipolog, Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan and, of course, Dumaguete.
Understandably, the path to glory is always somewhat grueling and the Dumaguete leg of the Milo Marathon for 2008 was certainly no exception.
That very early morning of June 21, many gathered to run together. Amid the horrendous storm that swept through the whole of the Visayas just a few days earlier, it seemed that no marathon energy was lost. All seemed ready. All wanted to win.
Toughest of all these races is the 21k marathon. It also happens to be the elimination race for all the provinces that the Milo Marathon will take through. And whoever wins this race receives a P10,000 cash prize plus an all-expense-paid trip to Manila to compete in a 42.195k final race.
Meanwhile, those who are not exactly geared up for too much running athleticism still gets to take part in Milo’s marathon action by joining the open-for-all 5K marathon as well as the 3K marathon for young girls and boys ages six to nine as well as 10 to 12. All these enthusiastic runners also get lots of cool prizes, not to mention lots of Milo!
That day, as many as 91 runners showed up in Milo Marathon’s starting point to start Dumaguete’s 21k race. At exactly 6 a.m., the starting gun held by Dumaguete Vice Mayor Woodrow Maquiling went off to signal the start of the marathon. The runners all looked determined. Among them were Senator Pia Cayetano and Nestle’s very own AVP and Milo Sports Events executive Pat Goc-Ong who competitively strode through the whole race. And in the end, both finished the grueling race with Senator Cayetano taking eighth place. The first prize went to 19-year-old Jeson Agravante for the men’s division with a time of one hour, 13 minutes, and 34 seconds while 34-year-old Liezl Gitaruelas grabbed the first prize for women with a time of one hour, 32 minutes, and 59 seconds.
Meanwhile, the 5k group saw as many as 3,575 runners taking off from the starting line. And with a time of 17 minutes and 10 seconds, the 5K race named 17-year-old Joel Ycong as the first placer for the men’s while 17-year -old Faith Cang took the wome’s first-place title with a time of 21 minutes and 15 seconds.
For the 3k Kiddie Run race, 406 kids joined. And the male runners, age six to nine group, saw a winner in nine-year-old Michael Duran who completed the race in 13 minutes and 38 seconds. The six-to-nine group female winner was seven-year-old Clarisse Pabuaya who completed the race in 15 minutes and 29 seconds.The older 10-to-12 group named 12-year-old Joel Hermosilla Jr. the first-placer among the young men with a time of 11 minutes and eight seconds while 12-year-old Aizel Campilan took the women’s title with a time of 14 minutes and two seconds.
While the race went on, Milo gave away gift packs during a series of fun games that got everybody up their seats. The Milo Marathon also welcomed a very upbeat and energetic cheerdance performance from the girls and guys of San Jose Provincial High School who also got the crowd moving and grooving.
Also cheered on and given generous prizes were the top three winning schools for Milo’s Biggest Delegation competition. Third place went to San Jose Provincial High School with a Milo Marathon attendance of 309 students. Second place was awarded to Siliman University with a recorded attendance of 356 students. And finally, the grand winner was the Negros Oriental State University with a whopping Milo student attendance of 1,240 students.
As Milo leaves Dumaguete, it goes on to the nearby city of Bacolod for more Milo Marathon running action. Meanwhile, watch for a series of simultaneous races from Milo on Aug. 3. On that day, Milo Marathon will stage a 42.195k Metro Manila elimination race while also staging 21k elimination races in Tarlac, Cebu, and Davao. This event expects as many as 60,000 runners joining in the action.
So, if you’re ready, get set and take the Milo Marathon run!
