INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - Former two-time champion Jhoan Banayag eyes a national finals slot and the chance to reclaim her crown when the 33rd National Milo Marathon resumes Sunday with the Metro Manila qualifying race at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

The men’s side is expected to be a close fight between Allan Ballester, also a two-time champion, and Alley Quisay.

Banayag topped the 42.195-kilometer race in 2005 and 2006 but a nagging left thigh injury forced her to abandon last year’s finals event after only 20 kilometers.

Mercedita Manipol-Fetalvero, the undisputed 10K queen since 1998, topped the 32nd Milo Marathon in only her first full 42K race.

The 27-year-old Banayag did not compete in 2007 to prepare for the Thailand Southeast Asian Games, where she won a bronze. In topping the 2006 race, she set the new RP record of 2 hours, 48 minutes and 16 seconds.

Baguio native Cristabel Martes, the youngest women’s champion at 21 in 1999, when she put away the first of her three consecutive Milo titles, held the old record of 2:53:58 which she set in 2000.

Ailene Tolentino is another favorite to challenge Fetalvero, Banayag and Martes.

The champions in the men’s and women’s 42K races get P30,000. The 42K run starts at 4:30 a.m. at the Rizal Monument, to be followed by the 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K races.

Cebu is also holding an elimination race, albeit at a shorter distance of 21K.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and MMDA chair Bayani Fernando have been invited to fire the starting gun at the NCR leg.