Out of more than 10,000 runners, 48 qualified for the National Finals in this leg. As an added incentive to the prestige of winning the country’s premier footrace, MILO will be sending this season’s MILO Marathon King and Queen to compete with the world’s finest athletes at the Tokyo Marathon in 2015.
35-year-old Herrera led the pack, clocking in a time of 01:12:36. Robino Javier followed close behind, finishing at 01:15:59, and Ronnie Rosete placed third 01:19:37. Herrera, who hails from Guimaras, is a member of the Philippine Navy and a five time SEA Games gold medalist. He also competed in the 2012 London Olympics.
Herrera has been training in Baguio, the Philippine Team’s base in preparation for the Asian Games in September. His training regime consists of morning and afternoon sessions with extensive runs in the city’s Marcos Highway. Coach Jim Saret, creator of the MILO R2-APEX Running School, has also invited Herrera to be his assistant coach for beginner runners in the Baguio roadshow of the running school in June this year.
In the distaff side, Lany Cardona took advantage of the good weather and placed first, posting a time of 01:30:20. Rivals Cinderella Lorenzo (01:33:27) and Cristina Melchor (01:50:58) placed second and third, respectively. The 23-year-old housewife from Bolinao, Pangasinan is the record holder for winning the most number of gold medals in the PATAFA National Open.
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 Tarlac on July 13 before heading to Angeles (July 20), Manila (July 27), Naga (August 24), Lucena (August 31), Puerto Princesa (September 7), Lipa (September 14), Iloilo (September 21), Bacolod (September 28), Tagbilaran (October 5), 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.