Kenyans rule 42K of Condura Skyway Marathon

Four Kenyans led a multitude of 13,000 in the Condura Skyway Marathon held in southern Metro Manila over the weekend. All finishers in all the races went home with medals as proof of their toil and triumph. The cause that partly motivated the runners to keep moving forward this time around was helping fund the renewal of mangroves in Zamboanga Sibugay in Western Mindanao. Organizers of the marathon committed to plant 39,000 mangrove tree seedlings. Among the men, Chirchir Jackson ruled the 42-kilometer race with a chip time of 2:33:27. Just 12 seconds behind him was James Mibei while Albert Ombaga clocked in at 2:33:54. The 42K race had its gun start at 12 a.m., making it the country's first midnight race. Kenyan Irine Kipchumba was first among the women in the 42k with a chip time of 3:16:10. Two Filipinas came in second and third — Cindy Lorenzo moved across the finish line with 3:20:07 and Geralden Sealza was a little over seven minutes behind at 3:27:36. Elmer Sabal, Darwin Lim, Jofill Sabado were lords of the 21K race. Nhea Ann Barcena, Meshelle Villanueva and Kriska Domingo were top placers in the women's division. Top placers in the men's 10K were Patrick Gongob, Aver Sister and Abundio Corral and their counterparts in the women's class were Christabel Martes, Merlyn Lumagbas and Ginalyn Tamayo. 5K top finishers among the gents were Jujet de Asis, Eligiran Nelson, and Regie Lumauag while among the ladies Michelle Anne Tibagacay, Genevieve Delapena, and Maria Kristine Cosio were the lead three. Speedsters in the 3K race were Michael Bacon, Michael Lim, Enrique Sandiang, Adjennie Rose De los Santos, Hannah Angelika de Guzman and Theresa Marie Bonite.

“My vision is to put the Philippines on the map as a sports tourism destination. What better way to spend a vacation than to run a world class marathon and then go to the place that you ran for,” said Condura president Ton Concepcion. The first Condura marathon in 2008 drew 2,000 participants. This fifth race had runners from 18 countries and thousands of Filipino running addicts nationwide. “Our vision is to grow the race to 30 thousand runners in 5 years time and establish the Condura Skyway Marathon as the premier running event in the Asia-Pacific region.” Concepcion said. — KBK, GMA News