Carolino, Sevilleno top Tagbilaran leg of 36th MILO MarathonCar

Carolino (left) and Sevilleno ruled the Tagbilaran leg of the
36th MILO Marathon qualifying series.

Tagbilaran City (Sept. 30, 2012) – Jobert Carolino of BIT International College (BIT-IC) and Christy Sevilleno overcame the challenge of the difficult terrain to rule the Tagbilaran Leg of the 36th National MILO Marathon, organizers said on Sunday through a press release.

Organizers added that About 5,000 athletes, students and running enthusiasts joined the race on Sunday.

Carolino went all out in the crucial stretch to cross the finish line in one hour, 15 minutes and 23 seconds and pocket the P10,000 top purse. Felix Cenia of UTAFE managed a 1:26:54 that was good enough for second place, while James Palma of Sandingan National High School settled for third in 1:27:33.

Carolino crosses the finish line all by lonesome.

26-year old Carolino expressed his determination to improve his pace for the next MILO race to win the top prize and pay for university.

“Since 2008, I have been joining races to fund my college education. Through my efforts in the MILO Marathon, I am able to pursue a degree and take a step closer towards achieving a life goal of becoming a Programming Technician. However, I still need to do a lot of preparations to fare well against the country’s best in the finals,” said Carolino.

In the distaff side, Sevilleno finished with a time of 1:40:45 to top the women's 21k category. BIT-IC runner Teodelyn Calabroso finished second with a time of 1:41:26, while Helen Dionson finished a distant third in 2:02:09.

Sevilleno has been running in the MILO Marathon for 9 years and is currently training a group of fitness enthusiasts in Bohol.

“When people ask me why I run, I tell them I run to advocate a healthy lifestyle. The group I teach focuses on the values and benefits of fitness and exercise, to which running is essential,” said the Candijay, Bohol native.

Students show off their brand-new shoes donated by MILO throughts its
"Help Give Shoes" advocacy.

Manga National High School took home double wins in the Biggest and the Fastest Delegation categories with a total 413 participants and an aggregate time of 22:33.38. The special awards categories aim to encourage schools to develop running as a prime sports activity for students.

Organizers of the MILO Marathon said that they are nearing their target of 200,000 runners participating in the longest annual race in the country.

Carolino and Sevilleno will join last week’s MILO Marathon Puerto Princesa victors Norlan Warizal and Jila de la Rosa, as well as winners of previous qualifying legs at the 36th MILO Marathon National Finals.

A whopping P300,000 top prize awaits the men’s and women’s division champions in the Open Category of the National Finals, while champions in the Local Category will receive P150,000 each. A bonus prize of P50,000 will also be awarded to the runner who can break the 2:15:00 invisible barrier and P20,000 to a male runner who can break the 2:18:53 course record set by Eduardo Buenavista in 2004. Another P20,000 is offered to a female runner who can break the 2:48:16 record of Jho-Ann Banayag in 2005.

More than 5,000 runners answered the call of the gun start in Tagbilaran.

After the Bohol leg, the qualifying race will shift to Cebu City on October 7, followed by the Bacolod leg on October 14 and the last Visayas swing in Iloilo City on October 28.

The Mindanao leg will commence in General Santos on November 4, Davao City on November 11, Butuan City on November 18 and Cagayan de Oro City on November 25.

The 36th National MILO Marathon Finals will be on December 9 at the SM Mall of Asia Grounds in Pasay.

MILO also strives to develop the future of the Filipino youth by promoting and actualizing its advocacy program, ‘Help Give Shoes’, which has already reached 19,200 underprivileged school children nationwide. Five schools in Tagbilaran City are among the beneficiaries namely, Mansasa National High School, Cantagay Elementary School, City East Elementary School, Inabanga High School, and Tabalong Elementary School.