Sore, Martes rule Baguio Milo run

BAGUIO – Hernanie Sore and former Milo marathon queen Cristabel Martes served notice of their respective title aspirations by dominating the opening leg of the 36th National Milo Marathon here yesterday.

The 30-year-old Sore finished the Baguio qualifying leg in 1:14:59, topping the treacherous 21-kilometer uphill and downhill course in the men’s category, while the ageless Martes conquered the distaff side in 1:34:46.

“I didn’t really train for the 21-kilometer distance run so I was surprised that I won first place in this category,” said Sore, who edged Cesar Lastaneto Jr. (1:15:03) and Marson Tarcelo (1:20:18) for the leg honors.

“I will continue to condition myself for the Manila elimination leg at the end of this month.”

Martes, 30, defeated Mercy Taypok of University of Baguio (1:38:30) and Gretchen Felipe (1:49:32) for the ladies’ diadem.

Sore and Martes led a total of 25 male bets and three female runners who booked tickets to the 36th Milo Marathon National Finals on the strength of their performances here.

The City of Pines was a host to more than 6,000 registered runners for Milo’s opening leg race in this year’s National Milo Marathon. Organizers are expecting a total of 200,000 runners through the 18 elimination legs in 17 cities to participate in the nationwide search for the best runners in the country today. The winner in the local category of the 36th Milo Marathon National Finals will receive P 150,000 for the men and women’s division, respectively, while a sum of P300,000 will be given to the winners in the Open category.