Sadia, Cadosale win in Bacolod leg of 38th MILO Marathon

Young runners enjoy the fun run of the Bacolod
City leg of the 38th National MILO. (MILO Photo)

BACOLOD City (28 Sept. 2014) – Elite runners Maclin Sadia and Stephani Cadosale emerged victorious in their respective categories in the 21K main event of the 38th National MILO Marathon Bacolod Qualifying Race.

The competition was participated by 9,266 runners – double that of last year when the race was held in Dumaguete.

With their victories, Sadia and Cadosale went home P10,000 richer and earned two of the coveted slots to the National Finals on December 7 that gave them the chance to compete for the MILO Marathon King and Queen titles. MILO will send this year’s King and Queen to Japan on an all-expense paid trip to the 2015 Tokyo Marathon.

In a highly contested race for the 21k male title, 21-year-old Maclin Sadia outlasted his rivals by posting a time of one hour, 14 minutes and 16 seconds, narrowly edging Joel Alcorin (1:14:22) and Rowell Hulleza (01:17:16) who finished second and third place, respectively.

Sadia, who hails from Cadiz City, started running during his elementary days but was forced to stop going to school because of funding problems and worked as a delivery boy to support his ten other siblings. He rekindled his love affair with running and trained under hisfather Alino Sadia, a former runner who used to compete in marathons in Bacolod.

Maclin Sadia (right)and Stephanie
Cadosale clinched the coveted
21K race trophies of the 38th
National MILO Marathon in
Bacolod City. (MILO Photo)

“My expectations was to finish with a good clocking, now I am grateful to not only won but achieve a career-best finish with this performance,” said Sadia.

In the distaff side, Cadosale displayed a relentless drive from the get go, finishing with an impressive time of 1:33:43, relegating Mereeis Ramierez (01:38:59) to second place, and Iresh Belleza (01:42:42) to third place.

Cadosale, a 4th-year college student of Central Philippine University, started running before finishing her elementary education. She continued to hone her technique and develop her endurance, eventually earning an athletic scholarship in Track and Field at the university level.

With podium finishes in fun runs and school competitions under the State and Colleges Universities Athletics Association (SCUAA), she also prides herself with accolades in past MILO Marathons, winning gold in Bacolod (2012) and silver in Iloilo (2013).

Though lacking in training because of the rainy weather conditions leading to the race, she used her experience to win the race.

“It was rainy leading up to this event but during my free time, I did some long runs and managed to work on my speed,” shared Cadosale. “My family was very supportive throughout the process and I owe this win to them.”

Each year, thousands of Filipinos join the National MILO Marathon and conquer the races together.

”We at MILO are thrilled to see a diverse set of participants ranging from kids, teens to adults,” said Andrew Neri, MILO Sports Marketing Manager.

“The National MILO Marathon has seen champions emerge from every corner of the country and it is gratifying to be a part of a program that makes aspiring athletes reach for their dreams.”

With the support of the Department of Education and the National MILO Marathon runners, MILO’s Help Gives Shoes advocacy will provide 16,000 underprivileged youth with brand new running shoes and reach the 50,000 mark this year.

As MILO celebrates its 50th year, Help Give Shoes aims to make the donation to students in Yolanda-hit cities, particularly Tacloban, Ormoc, and Eastern Samar.

The qualifying race will resume in Tagbilaran on October 5 before heading to Cebu (October 12), Butuan (October 19), Cagayan De Oro (November 9), General Santos (November 16), and Davao (November 23).

The National Finals will be held on December 7 at the SM Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City. (MILO Press Release)

Runners from all walks of life join the 38th National
MILO Marathon in Bacolod City.