Seventh heaven
From 7th place last leg, Tuñacao wins CUC 100K in Alcoy; Alvarez wins 100-mile race in Bogo
AFTER losing in the last leg, Andy Tuñacao and Rhodora Oporto made up for it as they wound up the winners in yesterday’s Cebu Ultrarunners Club 100K Ultramarathon, which started and finished in the Municipality of Alcoy.
Tuñacao, last leg’s seventh placer, took the first place in the men’s division, finishing in 10 hours, 32.58 seconds. Archie Alvarado came in second with 11:26.34, while Lowell Batulan finished at third in 11:41.22.
Last leg’s champion, Jether Bada, failed to defend the title after succumbing to blisters in kilometer 40.
Blisters were actually the main reason for the 14 runners to bail out on the race. “It was very hot and the constant pounding on the pavement caused a lot of runners to suffer from blisters,” said organizer Michelle So.
In the women’s division, Oporto, last leg’s third placer, overpowered erstwhile defending champion Virgie Parojenog for the title. Parojenog could only salvage third place. Oporto checked into the finish line in 13:27.27, followed by Preciousa Sanchez in 13:52.02. Parojenog, at third, clocked 14.17.06.
So said that while the weather cooperated and runners enjoyed the scenic race route, the major factor leading to the success was the help of the municipalities of Alcoy, Boljoon, Oslob and Santander, who fielded people who assured the safety of the racers.
“Although there were areas that were too dark, there were still tanods and police in place, who stopped buses and other vehicles when runners pass by,” said So.
Aside from that, there were also several water stations and even groups of people who cheered on the runners along the road.
“We appreciate the support the four towns gave us the entire time. We did not expect this kind of hospitality, especially from Alcoy Mayor Nicomedes delos Santos,” said So.
So also extended thanks to Mayors Teresita Celis of Boljoon and Ronald Guaren of Oslob and Vice Mayor Wilson Wenceslao of Santander, who threw their full support to the event.
There was an increase in the number of participants this leg. From 119 last time, 145 registered for the second leg. Of the 145 registered runners four did not check in and 14 did not finish. But the 125 who crossed the finish line finished within the cut-off time of 20 hours.
The event attracted runners from all over the country, including 14 100K newbies from Davao, who all finished. There were also runners from Singa- pore, Malaysia and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Cebu, in Bogo, it was media person Bayani Alvarez who took the title in the 100Mile Ultramarathon, which also finished yesterday.
Alvarez showed his toughness as he completed the race even after losing a huge lead when he suffered cramps.
Alvarez finished in 20 hours, 17 minutes and 51 seconds, a good 10 hours away from the 30-hour cut-off time.
Kenjie Yoshioka came in second after checking in seven minutes later. Yoshioka actually gave Alvarez a good scare, when he gained on Alvarez, who was suffering from cramps, in an uphill area near Sogod.
“This was the second part of the race and Alvarez was trying to shake off leg cramps. He had a pretty good lead all through the race but was slowed down by the cramps. It was then when Yoshioka cut down Alvarez’s lead. Fortunately, Alvarez kept his pace and finished on top,” added organizer Raffy Uytiepo.
Out of the 23 participants, only 19 survived with the rest failing to make the cut-off time. The event also featured a shorter ultramarathon covering just 80K.
Manila’s Jeffrey Diaz (10:22.12), Jonathan Ancajas (10:31.41) and Zano Tagulangon (11:03.29) took the top three spots.