Press Release: Tallam, De Los Santos post back-to-back MILO Marathon national finals win

With Eduardo Buenavista at the forefront, about 21,388 runners
marked a milestone in MILO Marathon history, as organizers
report that they surpassed the initial 200,000 collective
target by over 10,000 runners, shattering last year’s 200,000
headcount.

Defending MILO Marathon champions James Tallam and Mary Grace de los Santos claimed their back-to-back wins in the 42K Open category run on Sunday in the event which started and ended at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

Tallam posted a remarkable finishing time of 2:26:34 and led fellow Kenyans Josphat Too (2:28:52) and Alex Melly (2:29:06) towards a 1-2-3 finish in the men's category while 25-year-old de los Santos dismissed a strong line of contenders to bag the MILO Marathon race title and lead two-time MILO Marathon Queen Jho-an Banayag (2:55:56) and Kenyan Everline Atancha (3:03:39) towards an easy finish.

Mary Grace De los Santos heads for a perfect
finish at the 42-K Women's Open Category
of the 36th National MILO Marathon Manila
Finals Sunday.

With six-time MILO Marathon champion Roy Vence as mentor, de los Santos developed the high-level performance that won her the coveted crown.

“Maintaining focus and consistently setting the pace in every turn were key to my victory today. I pulled away in the 18-km mark, and that guaranteed a solid distance from the other runners,” she said.

The Sibugay native shattered her personal best mark with a 2:49:29 finish, but fell short to beat Jho-An Banayag’s outstanding record in MILO history.

“I will come back next year not only to challenge Jho-An’s time, but to help the Filipino athletic community develop the sport further and nurture the next generation of powerful athletes.”

Current men’s event record-holder and three-time MILO Marathon King Eduardo Buenavista returned for a stellar win in the 42K local category race and eked out an impressive time of 2:29:45.

Completing the top 3 cast behind Buenavista were early favorites Eric Panique (2:32:08) and last year’s fifth placer Jason Agravante (2:34:58).

“The Kenyan line-up presented a massive challenge to all the local bets in today’s race, but the amount of agility and endurance that resulted from a year’s worth of preparation forced me towards the finish line,” said the 34-year old Buenavista.

“I may have been unable to break Tallam’s control on the road, but I believe that the Filipino spirit exhibited during the race did not fail to inspire young runners to build their potential and set a great future for sports in the country.”

Maintaining a swift stride in the women’s division 42K Local category race was 23-year-old trackster Mary Joy Tabal who posted an impressive 3:05:12. She adds this victory to several others in her career, including her victory in the 2011 Adidas King of the Road Southeast Asia meet and her record-breaking feat in the Singapore Sundown Marathon.

10-K category marathoners run for fitness and fun
at the 36th National MILO Marathon Sunday in
Pasay City. 

Behind Tabal, four-time MILO Marathon Queen Christabel Martes (3:10:46) and Jennilyn Nobleza (3:22:03) settled for second and third place, respectively.

Tallam and de los Santos each received P 300,000 from the 42K Open category run, while Buenavista and Tabal took home P 150,000 from the 42K Local category run.

Kenyans led Filipino runners in the 21K Open category races and took home the P 15,000 top purse. David Kipsang took the lead in the men’s division race at 1:12:23, while Jackline Nzivo conquered the distaff division at 1:26:48. Trailing behind Kipsang and Nzivo were Rafael Poliquit (1:12:58) and Denis Isika (1:13:43) for the men’s category race, and Manila eliminations 21K winner Nhea Ann Barcena (1:30:55) and Janet Lumidao (1:33:28) for the women’s category race.

Dominating the men’s 21K Local category run was Immuel Camino (1:15:25), who posted an early lead against Roldan Verano (1:18:15) and Eligiran Nelson (1:18:45). In the women’s 21K Local category run, Jocelyn Elijeran finished swiftly at 1:43:03, followed by Marychiel Morales (1:43:54) and Librada Tamson (1:45:02). Camino and Elijeran each received P 8,000 for their efforts in the 21K Local category run.

In the special awards category, Fort Bonifacio High School copped the ‘Biggest Delegation’ award with a total of 1,575 runners, while Karuhatan National High School nabbed the ‘Fastest Delegation’ award with an aggregate time of 23:27.93.

A woman enjoys the 10-K track as the weather shifts at the
36th National MILO Marathon Manila Finals.

Through its advocacy program called ‘Help Give Shoes’, which is now on its third year of staging, MILO donated a total of 1,000 shoes to public schools in Metro Manila as an ongoing commitment to develop the Filipino sports community. Students of CAA Main High School, Kapitbahayan Elementary School, Tipas National High School, Makati Science High School, Hulo Elementary School, Fort Bonifacio Elementary School, A. Villegas High School, Ramon Magsaysay High School, San Diego Elementary School and Pitogo High School were among the campaign’s most recent beneficiaries. Since the campaign’s conception, MILO has donated 24,200 shoes nationwide.

“We have seen a year of great talent, stirring victories, and humbling defeat in the National MILO Marathon. MILO has motivated Filipino athletes to run towards a brighter era of sports, and it will continue to provide opportunities for the youth,” said MILO sports executive Andrew Neri. “We are working to launch the next phase of developing Philippine sports, and we are looking to do that with the support of our marathon runners and partners who share the same vision as ours.”

The 36th MILO Marathon is made possible by Timex, the Bayview Park Hotel Manila, SM Mall of Asia and Reebok, along with partnerships with the Department of Education and the Philippine Olympic Committee. For more information, follow MILO on Twitter (@MiloPH).