MANILA—One relied on video training, the other ran her first half marathon.
Norlan Warizal and Jila de la Rosa stunned their more experienced rivals by topping the Puerto Princesa City 21K elimination leg of the 35th Milo National Marathon Sunday.
Warizal outkicked back-to-back Puerto Princesa regional champion Ruben Samuya in the last kilometer to top the men’s division in one hour, 14 and 22 seconds while first-time 21K runner De la Rosa clocked 1:36:53 in ruling the distaff side.
The 26-year-old Warizal said he relies on training videos of world-renowned Olympian and long-distance runner Ryan Hall.
“Last year, the only training I knew was to run long distances, but this year I wanted to try something different and to improve, so I watched Youtube videos of my running idol (Hall),” said Warizal, 28th placer in the National Milo Marathon Finals.
De la Rosa, an Education major at the University of Santo Tomas, used to run 10K races.
“During the race, I made sure I ran my own pace,” said Dela Rosa.
“I made sure I didn’t get pressured by the lead pack or other competitors so I won’t overexert myself.”
About 4,800 runners joined the Puerto Princesa race. Even the weather cooperated as the skies cleared in time for the race.
From Puerto Princesa, the 17-leg elimination will move to Naga on Sept. 4 and San Pablo on September 11.