Unabia, Sotto to renew rivalry in Milo Marathon's CDO leg

Top runners from Northern Mindanao will gather in Cagayan de Oro City on Sunday for the 14th Qualifying Leg of the 35th Milo National Marathon at the Pelaez Sports Center.

Intense competition will unfold in the City of Golden Friendship, with four-time CDO National Milo Marathon elims champ Arnold Unabia and 26-year-old Iligan-native Jeffrey Sotto vying for the top honor in the highlight 21k elimination race. Unabia edged Sotto by 10 seconds to rule last year's race with a time of one hour, 13 minutes and six seconds. Both Unabia and Sotto, however, will expect tougher competition as 21k runners from nearby provinces of Zamboanga, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon will join the field. Local race organizers are targeting at least 12,000 runners to participate in the CDO race, which is the first of four elimination legs to be held in Mindanao. Registration for the half-marathon and 10k races doubled this year, an indication of the growing popularity of running in the region. The CDO leg age group qualifiers will join more than 300 runners who have already earned slots to the National Finals from previous nationwide races and will vie for the P300,000 top prize in the premier 42.195-km in the National Finals in Manila on December 11. After this Sunday's race, the National Milo Marathon heads to Butuan City on October 23, General Santos City on October 30 and Davao City on November 6. As part of Milo's sports advocacy program, some 500 pairs of shoes will also be given to the selected students of different public schools in the city. — JVP, GMA News