With foreign runners only allowed to participate in the 21-kilometer race this time around, local runners will finally have a chance to shine in the 42k category of the 36th National Milo Marathon Cebu leg tomorrow starting at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Milo Marathon organizers headed by Milo Executive Andrew Neri, Run Rio General Manager Angelo Yaneza, Cebu Organizing committee head Ricky Ballesteros and Milo Consultant Pat Goc-ong all agreed to limit the participation of foreign runners in the 21-kilometer race.
This will give local runners a chance to win in the 42k category and earn a seat to the national finals slated Dec. 9 in Manila.
Last year, Ethiopian runners dominated the 21k race in Cebu behind Mikael Tesfaye Kahsay and Genet Agtew.
“We are very happy for the regulation we implemented for this edition of the Milo race because it will determine the best-of the best Filipino runners in the country,” said Neri during the launching yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center. “It would be more fulfilling for local runners to represent their region in the national finals instead of some foreign runners who only compete for the purse.”
Foreign runners will also be limited to the 21k in Manila.
“Some of the foreign runners tend to compete in packs and in every category available so they usually bag most of the purse, which is very unfair to our local runners. That’s why we came up with this idea,” added Neri.
Stricter rules will also be implemented for foreign runners registering for the race. They have to be at least a resident in the city for a year and must have joined Association of International Marathons and Long Distance Runs (AIMS) and International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) accredited running events abroad.
So far, two German runners have already enlisted for the race.
“We are not here to discriminate foreign runners. We just want to see our own runners crossing the finish line first and that would be very rewarding not just for them but for us also.”
480 long distance runners will compete in the 21k race while 1,217 have signed up for the 10k race. Majority of the participants—18,859 to be exact— will be joining the 5k race. In the 3k, 1,141 have signed up. A total of 21,697 make up this year’s edition of the Cebu leg. This is considered as the second biggest after the Manila leg. Last year, 19, 040 joined the Cebu leg.
Yaneza, meanwhile, said they are looking to continue improving every race to maintain the level of competitiveness in each leg.
After the Manila Leg was accredited by the AIMS and IAAF last year, Neri said he and his team made sure that runners would have the best experience in every race.
“We want to improve the standards this year. We don’t just stop there, we are planning to improve every year so that we can meet the demands and needs of each runner,” said Yaneza of Run Rio.
For the organizers, being accredited by this marathon bodies is already an accomplishment. This means they have managed to put the Philippines in the international marathon scene.
The V-Tag timing chip will be used in the race to give organizers more accurate and fast results. This is the same chip being used in the prestigious New York Marathon.
RACE ROUTE
After 10 years, the organizers finally changed the route of the race from south to north.
The race will now traverse Osmeña Boulevard going to the Capitol area, Escario Street and all the way to Talamban.
As usual, Milo’s advocacy of giving shoes to less fortunate children will continue with the holding of this race.
Six schools in Cebu benefited from this outreach program. These are the Cebu City Central School, Camp Lapu-Lapu Elementary School, Mabolo Elementary School, Liloan National High School and the Cabancalan National High School in Mandaue City.