RP bet tops class in New Balance NZ marathon

Filipino Iron Man Alvin Alindogan topped his age category in the half-marathon by finishing 18th overall, becoming the highest-placed Asian in the event dominated by New Zealand adventure sports specialists and ultra-marathoners in the New Balance Queenstown International Marathon here Saturday.

Alindogan, 49, topped the 44-49 category in one hour, 30 minutes, 46 seconds in cold weather on the scenic countryside of the country’s outdoor sports capital.

"My legs were stiff in the first kilometers because of the cold (5 degrees Celsius) but I was able to catch up with the New Zealand runners as I heated up halfway in the race," said Alindogan, who came here as the best-placed Filipino finisher in the Subic White Rock half-triathlon which served as the qualifying event for Philippines’ New Balance team to New Zealand.

Craig Kirkwood, a marathoner who represented New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2000, easily won the event in 1:06.55, besting fellow Kiwis Chris Dagg, a local farmer (1:07.55), and off-road specialist Martin Cox (1:11.45).

Roy Aldeva, 32, finished 53rd overall among 360 21K runners in his best personal time of 1:40.04, beating Hong Kong New Balance qualifier Cheng Chun-yuen (1:42.09).

Wendy Yap, a Singaporean lawyer, shrugged off knee injury in ruling the 20 K women’s event in 43:49, while Chinese runners Chaun Wang of Shanghai and Shengguo Han of Beijing took a 1-2 finish in the men’s side of the 10K event in 34:06 and 37:18, respectively.

Paul Pradeep, lifestyle editor of the Singapore Straits Times, finished 12th in 50:46, also his best personal time.

The Asian runners are here as qualifiers from the New Balance regional eliminations held last year in various parts of Asia and the Pacific. There were no Asian entries in the marathon won by defending champion Dale Warren in 2:26:05 and Shireen Crumpton in 2:53.14. Ana Frost, also a New Zealander ruled the 21K in 1:18.30.

This is the second year New Balance has sent Asian runners to the New Balance Queenstown Marathon, considered the richest and most prestigious running event in this country. "The New Balance Queenstown Marathon is the most prestigious running event in New Zealand," said Adrian Baker, Asia area manager of New Balance. "New Balance is making a significant investment in the participation of the Asian team to give the local heroes out there a chance to go to the most beautiful places in the world."

"It’s a big success, and we’ll continue sponsoring this event in the future," he added.

The Queenstown marathon, which drew over 800 runners in the marathon, half-marathon, and 10K fun run, is being organized by New Balance in New Zealand as part of its grassroots development program worldwide.

"New Balance focuses on physical fitness. It’s all about performance and enjoying the environment, which is what the brand is all about. We’ve been working on the grassroots to encourage more people to take up sports and help them achieve their personal goals through sports," he said.

As part of its centennial celebration this year, New Balance in the Philippines is conducting a series of summer clinics on physical fitness, with international experts coming in as special lecturers in various fields.

New Balance itself is conducting a massive awareness program to educate runners on the proper shoes to wear to avoid injury and enable them to maximize their running potentials.

New Balance is soon to introduce to the Philippines a unique device designed to determine the right shoe through a computer analysis of how he runs. New Balance, distributed in the Philippines by Planet Sports, is available at the Festival Supermalls, the Glorietta all Planet Sports and The Athletes Foot stores nationwide.