MANILA, Philippines - Jeson Agravante and Mereeis Ramirez topped their respective divisions to lead the winners in the Dumaguete leg of the 34th National Milo Marathon in Dumaguete yesterday.
Agravante, last year’s Milo run champion, clocked 1:13:25 to dominate the 21k race in the men’s side while Ramirez, runner-up last year, turned in a 1:39:23 to capture the ladies plum.
It was a sweet win for Agravante, who who had to cut short fell ill last week that disrupted his training for the regional race.
Rommel Huleza finished second to Agravante in 1:15:39 while Joel Alcorin came in third with a 1:16:40 clocking.
Iresh Belleza placed second behind the 30-year-old Ramirez in 1:40:58 while Alyssa Lagahit took third place with a time of 1:42:10.
A total of 22 runners qualified for the national finals set Dec. 12 in Manila.
Gracing the awards rites were top officials of the sponsoring Milo led by Pat Goc-Ong, Milo sports executive.
The Dumaguete leg drew 6,269 participants, more than a thousand from last year’s roster.
Meanwhile, some 140 pairs of shoes were donated to the students of Camanjac National National High School as part of the event’s advocacy of helping the youth fulfill their dreams of going into sports.