In photo: 39th National MILO Marathon Angeles Race Route Map
Angeles, Pampanga, 02 December 2015 – The city of Angeles is excited to welcome all finalists and participants to the National Finals of the 39th National MILO Marathon on December 6, Sunday. The country’s biggest and most prestigious footrace will see children, students, aspiring runners and professional athletes of all ages on its running routes in Clark Field, Angeles, Pampanga.
With this new venue, runners will be able to get a chance to enjoy being away from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila, with less traffic and pollution. “The National Finals in Angeles is a fresh and exciting challenge our participants can look forward to,” said MILO Sports Executive Andrew Neri. “The MILO Marathon is all about bringing new and electrifying experiences to our runners. We believe that our runners will appreciate this change, and we cannot wait to see them in Clark on Sunday!”
Last year’s winners Rafael Poliquit and Mary Joy Tabal will be looking to defend their coveted National MILO Marathon King and Queen crowns as they go head-to-head with the country’s best. Poliquit is determined to break the record time of five-time MILO Marathon King Eduardo Buenavista, his senior officer in the Air Force of the Philippines and also his running idol. Meanwhile, Tabal is gunning to post a new record time, and is aiming to defend the MILO Marathon Queen title for three consecutive years.
The fastest Filipino and Filipina in the 42K centerpiece event will be crowned the MILO Marathon King and Queen, and will receive a cash prize of a PHP 150,000 each. If the King and Queen also win the open category, they will also be awarded the corresponding cash prize of PHP 300,000. An invisible time barrier is also set for the race, and if the King and Queen are able to break this, an additional PHP 50,000 will be awarded. A whopping total of PHP 500,000 awaits the champions.
In addition to the prize money and trophies, this year’s King and Queen will be sent by MILO to the USA on all-expense paid trips, for a chance to run in the prestigious 2016 Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual marathon. One of the six World Marathon Majors, the Boston Marathon ranks as one of the world’s best-known road racing events. It is considered as the Mecca of all races, where the best of the best runners compete.
To further inspire the 42K homegrown runners to push their limits and help champions move forward, local runners who finish amongst the top winners of the open category will also win the prize for the local category corresponding to their respective ranks. Bonus prizes will also be given to the first runner who breaks the 2:15:00 invisible time barrier (Php 100,000), the first male runner who breaks the 2:18:53 men’s course record of 5-time MILO Marathon King Eduardo Buenavista (Php 50,000), and the first female runner who breaks the 2:48:00 women’s course record of back-to-back MILO Marathon Queen Mary Joy Tabal (Php 50,000). “We want to provide our Filipino runners the motivation and additional level of competition, and support them in their journey as champions,” added Neri. “We at MILO believe that everyone has different reasons for running, but all runners keep moving forward as they tread the way to becoming a champion.”
Young racers will also join in the fun in the 3K and 5K divisions. Well-known personalities have also booked their slots in the grand finale, including Kim Atienza, Yayo Aguila, Ara Mina and JC Parker. The nation’s best sprinters will be up against each other to win the biggest title. By virtue of winning the MILO Marathon King and Queen titles last year, Philippine Air Force member Rafael Poliquit and SEA Games silver medalist Mary Joy Tabal are automatically qualified to join the National Finals. NMM regional winners and qualifiers will also be on their toes, especially elite runners Eduardo Buenavista, Cellie Rose Jaro, Ireneo Raquin, Mary Grace Delos Santos, Julius Sermona, Lany Cardona and Crestabel Martes to compete the full marathon race. Last year’s top foreign runners James Tallam, Josphat Kiptanui and Joel Kiplimo Kemboi are also expected to go full throttle in the open category on Sunday.
The gun start for participants of the 42K run is at 3:00AM, the 21K run at 4:30AM, 10K run at 5:00AM, 3K run at 5:30AM and 5K run at 5:35AM. The starting line and finish line will be in SM Clark.
The 39th National MILO Marathon is made possible by Timex, the Bayview Park Hotel Manila, ASICS, Smart, Subaru, Hisense and Salonpas, 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).
