National athletes capture Zambales duathlon titles

CANDELARIA, Zambales – National team members Javier Robeno and Kim Mangrobang had different results in the trail run, then coasted along in the bike leg to capture the men's and women's titles, respectively, in Saturday's duathlon challenge in the Zambales Multisports Festival 2011. The 25-year-old Robeno earned the best time in the five-kilometer trail run and the 30-kilometer bike race from Iba to Palauig and back, before cruising in the last 2.5-kilometer run leg of the race for a total time of one hour, 12 minutes and 47 seconds. Mangrobang, 19, who was the lone entry in the female category that broke the one-hour barrier in the bike leg (54:13), took home top honors in the women's division with a time of 1:28:11. Robeno, a Pangasinan native, registered the fastest time in the trail run (17:42) and topped the bike leg with a 45:17 clocking. He actually slowed down in the final 2.5-kilometer run but his efforts in the trail run and bike portions of the race were enough to beat many-time national duathlon champion August Benedicto and national duathlon team assistant coach Jeff Valdez. Robeno, who won the bronze in the 2004 Asian Duathlon Championship and a silver medalist in last year's Subic Duathlon Open Championship, was 1:01 better than Benedicto (1:13:48). Valdez finished third (1:33:55) in the multisports festival organized by Zambales Gov. Hermogenes "Jun" Ebdane Jr. "Mahirap 'yung terrain pero naging madali lang para sa akin 'yung bike dahil patag naman. Malakas lang talaga 'yung hangin pabalik dahil sa head wind," said Robeno. While Robeno built an early lead in the trail run, Mangrobang, a winner of the Asian Beach Games test event in Oman last year, trailed by four seconds (21:36) to leg winner Miscelle Gilbuena's 21:32 time. Her 54:13 record in the bike was almost six minutes ahead of Gilbuena, but was enough to vault her on top. Mangrobang checked into the finish line with a 5:22 lead over Gilbuena (1:33:33) while Rowena Valdez placed third (1:50:03) in the women's race of the multisports festival chaired by Zambales provincial administrator Jun "Omar" Ebdane. The age group winners were John Leerams Chicano (16-19), Bryan Borling (20-29), Virgilio Quintia (30-39), Dino Rodriguez (40-49) and former marathon runner Edgardo Pedregosa (50 to 59)l Tots Olendan captured the cycling race also dubbed as the Iba Cycling Challenge on Friday that kicked off the three-day event. The multisports event ends on Sunday with the Zamba Black Sand Triathlon where the best triathletes in the country is in the field. - Reuben Terrado, JVP, GMA News