Not
even the rainy skies and slippery wet roads could stop the racers from
running to their heart’s content. In the 21K male category, 24-year-old
Lyceum of the Philippines Batangas Criminology student Joseph Macaladlad
beat his fiercest rivals, posting a time of 01:17:14, relegating Greg
Vincent Osorio (01:19:25) and Jay Laya (01:19:43) to second and third
place, respectively.
Macaladlad,
originally from Mindoro but residing in Batangas, has been running for
six years and has been joining the MILO Marathon for three years now. He
makes the most out of his passion for running by joining races to help
him with his schooling. “I really love running. I’m grateful that I am
able to use my winnings for my college tuition and expenses,” said
Macaladlad. “I’m very happy that I won. Even if it was very rainy, which
proved to be a big challenge, the cool weather was nice and I had a lot
of fun in the race.”
On
the distaff side, 22-year-old Brokenshire College of Davao alumna
Criselyn Jaro came out on top with a time of 01:29:16, followed by
fellow contenders Mirasol Abad (01:33:47) in second place and Cellie
Rose Jaro (01:34:36) in third place.
The
Jaro sisters are no strangers to the running scene. Running definitely
runs in their family, with their names consistently appearing at the top
of running results in the different race categories of the MILO
Marathon, amongst various races. “My sisters and I are all runners. We
grew up into a poor family, and we had to go to school which was about
11 kilometers away from our house. We would run to school to avoid being
late, and that was the start of our foray into running,” shared Jaro.
“Our family is our inspiration, and our eldest sister Cynthia is our
biggest influence. She was the one who first started running
competitively, and we all followed in her footsteps. Through running, we
are able to help our family enjoy a better life.”
Each
year, thousands of families join the National MILO Marathon and conquer
the races together. ”We at MILO are delighted to see children, whether
kids or adults, run with their parents and their siblings at the MILO
Marathon. It is heartwarming to see families become really engaged in
running, such as the Jaro sisters,” said Andrew Neri, MILO Sports
Marketing Manager. “The National MILO Marathon is a communal gathering
where numerous Filipino families channel their athletic spirits and
enjoy family bonding through running together. We encourage more
families to join our national family affair that is truly fun for all
ages.”
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 pick up in Iloilo on September 21, then proceed to
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.
The 38th
National MILO Marathon is made possible by Timex, the Bayview Park
Hotel Manila, ASICS, Lenovo, Manila Bulletin and Gatorade, along with
endorsements from the Department of Education, Philippine Sports
Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.
For more information on MILO Philippines, log on to the official website (http://www.milo.com.ph) or the MILO Philippines Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/milo.ph). Follow MILO on Twitter (@MiloPH) and Instagram (@MiloPhilippines).