Three-time champs reach Milo 42K final

Three-time leg winners Roger Sawin-ay of Bukidnon and Mary Grace de los Santos of Zamboanga City led the final batch of runners going to Metro Manila for the 32nd National Milo Marathon grand final Nov. 30.

Sawin-ay, 34, topped yesterday’s 21K men’s qualifying race in Cagayan de Oro with a clocking of 1 hour, 17 minutes,15 seconds while De los Santos ruled the distaff side in 1:30:53.

It was a hard-earned win for Sawin-ay, a farmer who, last September, figured in an accident that caused injuries to his head and back. He ran a calculated race yesterday, patiently trailing Ronillo Sandinao and Jemarven Cabilan early before pulling away for good with two kilometers to go.

“I decided to defend my title only four days ago after I had this injury from a falling log,” said Sawin-ay, who topped the Cagayan de Oro leg last year and the Kidapawan City leg two years ago. “My time is a bit slower than last year but I’ll make a go for it in the 42K finals.”

Sawin-ay will be joined in the finals by Sandinao (1:17:33) and Cabilan (1:17:40), second and third placers, respectively.

Also getting the all-expense paid trip to the 42K grand finale are Delos Santos and runners-up Jennielyn Topia (1:40:59) and Roxanna Maaba (1:42:20).

De los Santos, who also claimed back-to-back titles in Zamboanga City in 2006 and 2007, fainted after crossing the finish line in front of the Provincial Capitol and was brought to a nearby hospital. She was released from the hospital after a few hours but failed to join her fellow qualifiers in the awarding ceremony.

Gov. Oscar Moreno fired off the 21K runners while Vice Gov. Norris Babiera flagged off the 5K and 3K participants. A total of 10,294 runners joined the last elimination race of the country’s biggest and longest-running foot race held in partnership with Bayview Park Hotel-Manila, Adidas and the Department of Tourism.

The top three finishers in the 5K fun run were Rodel Patrix Sandinao (17:09), Jayson Zamora (17:20) and Rowel Baguion (17:21) in the men’s and Jenelyn Curdilla (21:17), Elvie Tacbobo (21:25) and Jocelyn Cabatac (22:10) in the women’s.

The winners in the 3K age-group race for kids were Jomarey Ratunil and Thalia Garcia in the 6-9 category and Alexander Garcia and Jody An Davison in the 10-12 group.

Nestle Phils. consumer marketing manager Stephanie Toh and Milo sports events executive Andrew Neri awarded the prizes.