Milo win sweetest of 'em all for 'cheated' 5K runner

MANILA, Philippines - Payback time for Mervin Guarte.

Claiming he was “cheated” in his first crack at glory in a recent national competition, the 17-year-old Guarte got back at his tormentors yesterday when he ruled the 5-km race of the 33rd National Milo Marathon Manila elimination.

“I couldn’t forget the first time I ran my first national meet because two of my opponents elbowed me,” recalled Guarte in Filipino.

He was referring to the 800-m event of the Palarong Pambansa where he put on a record-breaking run in the prelims only to get robbed of the gold in the finals because of the “foul” runs by his rivals that stymied his title bid.

The Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro find actually bounced back to beat his rivals by a mile and capture the 1,500m and 5,000m gold medals in the Tacloban meet.

But his Milo run victory was the sweetest of them all.

“I’ve learned to fight back and never give up,” said Guarte, who registered a time of 16 minutes and 22 seconds to take home his first Milo-bankrolled paycheck and trophy.

So impressive was Guarte, now with San Sebastian and a double silver medal winner in last May’s RP Open, who bested a strong field that included Far Eastern U standout Nelbert Ducusin, 23-year-old track star who finished 10 seconds off the winner.

Michael Bacong, Guarte’s San Sebastian teammate, came in third in 17:08.

“I know it’s going to be tough running against them but I’m a person that doesn’t give up easily,” said Guarte.

Truly, hard work and willpower paid off handsomely for Guarte. – Joey Villar