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At top ten, Cebuano runners are world class
Written by staff   
Sunday, 17 February 2008 19:54

CEBUANO top runners Mendel Lopez and Leszl Gitaruelas made it to the top 10 against the almost 32, 000 runners in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon yesterday.

Lopez, 23, a Geodetic Engineering student from the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, landed fourth in the combined field of men and women in the 10K category. He crossed the finish line at 34 minutes and 17 seconds, 10 seconds behind the third placer from Hong Kong (34:07). The second finisher, who clocked at 33:47, is also from Hong Kong, while the top finisher from China finished the race at 33:42, said Lopez.


Catching up

Lopez told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday that he sped off at the outset, but in the last two kilometers of the race, the top finishers, particularly the first finisher, picked up their rhythm and outran him, leaving him some 120 meters from the finish line.

On the other hand, Cebu’s marathon queen Gitaruelas yesterday said she is sure she made it to the top ten in the 21K. However, she can not determine her place since the organizer only posted the first, second and third finishers. The full results weren’t given to them yet when they asked.

The 33-year-old Gitaruelas, an aerobic instructor, said she was leading the more than 11, 000 runners in the first two kilometers of the race.

But the runners from the US and UK, who she believed were the top finishers, slowly picked up momentum and left her in the last 10 kilometers. However, she picked up speed and came close to tailing them about 50 meters in the last five kilometers where she kept her pace to the finish line.

“I exerted all my effort and gave my best to run but the cold weather somewhat prevented my speed,” said Gitaruelas who felt numb on her feet right at the start of the race.

Gitaruelas, however, expected her time to be int he one hour and 30-minite range.

Lopez and Gitaruelas, who are set to arrive here on Wednesday morning, said they will have to rest for now and prepare for the Cebu marathons.

Not bad

Meanwhile, Pages also told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday that though Lopez and Gitaruelas did not make it to the top three, there is “nothing to be sad considering the number of participants and it is a major achievement that Cebu should be proud of.”

“Imagine in the 10K, there were more than 32,000, he (Lopez) was just a few seconds away from the third placer meaning our runners here in Cebu are in the international level, meaning to say they are competitive,” he added.

Pages also said that among the Cebuano runners who joined the full marathon, Dr. Yong Larrazabal was the top finisher with 4 hours and 19 minutes, followed by Dr. Vic Verallo with 4 hours and 37 minutes. CERC president Jesse Taborada also finished the marathon under five hours.
 
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