Milo holds first two-leg eliminations in Subic, Dipolog

The National Milo Marathon fires off its 33rd season on Sunday in Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte and Subic, Zambales.

This marks the first of 13 Sundays this year that the country’s longest-running foot race holds simultaneous elimination races in two key cities all over the archipelago.

According to Dipolog City local race organizer Virgilio Yu, more than 4,000 runners are expected to join in the kickoff leg in Mindanao. Rolen Paulino, organizer of the Subic run, said 6,000 runners are joining the race inside Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. 

The centerpiece 21K qualifying run in both legs will promptly start at 5:30 a.m. with Dipolog City Mayor Evelyn Uy firing the starting gun in Dipolog City on Rizal St. fronting the City Hall and SBMA administrator Armand Arreza flagging off the participants on Dewey Ave. The finish line at SBMA is located at the Remy Field.

The 3K, 5K and 10K side events, however, start at 6 a.m. All runners are advised to be at the starting areas not later than 5 a.m. for race briefing and check-in. They are also required to wear their supplied running t-shirts and singlets for proper identification and monitoring.

The last time the Milo Marathon held a qualifying race in these two cities was in 2006. Rolando Piamonte and Marianne Suson topped the Dipolog run while Jessie Ano and Vannesa Sugalan prevailed in Subic.

To add to the excitement of the races this year, the Milo marathon held in partnership with Bayview Park Hotel and the Department of Tourism, included the 10K distance together with the 3K and 5K side events to encourage more participants and give them the opportunity to showcase their individual running skills.

Another major change in this year’s races, according to national race organizer Rudy Biscocho, is the qualifying time in the provincial 21K races.

“To help improve the quality of qualifiers, male runners must now finish within one hour and 15 minutes and female runners must finish within one hour and 35 minutes in the 21K provincial elimination runs to qualify for an all-expense paid trip to Manila for the national finals,” Biscocho said.

To welcome the runners at the SBMA are Commodore Feliciano Salonga, chairman of SBMA, Raul Marcelo, tourism department head, and Milo sports events executive Andrew Neri.

Milo AVP Pat Goc-ong, on the other hand, will be on hand to award the prizes, medals and trophies to the top 10 winners in each race category in Dipolog City.   

The next stops will be on Feb. 15 in Batangas City and in Iligan City in Lanao del Norte; Puerto Princesa, Palawan and in General Santos in South Cotabato Feb. 22; Metro Manila and Cebu, July 5; Davao and Tarlac, July 12; Butuan and Santiago, Isabela, July 19; Cagayan de Oro and Laoag, July 26; Tacloban and San Fernando, La Union, Aug. 2; Tagbilaran and Baguio, Aug. 9; Roxas and Dagupan, Aug. 16; Iloilo and Legaspi, Aug. 23; Bacolod and Naga, Aug. 30; Dumaguete and San Pablo, Sept. 6 and the national finals in Metro Manila on Oct. 4.