Progressive athletes David Kipsang and Nhea Ann Barcena ruled their respective divisions for the 32-kilometer category of Unilab Active Health’s Run United 2 (RU2) held last Sunday at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
Kipsang timed 2:03:33 to top the men’s division, beating Argel Joseph Mendoza (2:11:17) and Andrico Mahilum (2:19:16). Barcena, on the other hand, conquered the women’s category with a time of 2:32:43, followed by Melinda delos Reyes (2:56:36) and Victorina Calma (2:57:48).
Close to 12,000 progressive runners participated in this year’s RU2 staging—with the 21k and 32k categories having the biggest pool of runners with 5,000 and 4,149 racers, respectively.
This year’s RU2 series is set to wrap up with two more events later this year.
Winners in the other categories:
21k men’s – Cipriane John Topia, Dante Cagas, and Michael Concorde Ordonez
21k women’s – Shirley Ordonez, Emilaine Balatibat, and Helen Joy Saguid
10k men’s – Joey delos Reyes, Jean-Michael Berille, and Gerald Miguel Mombay
10k women’s – Michelle Anne Tibagacay, Olivia Llanillo, and Myzel Alcala
5k men’s – Jonas Joson, Julian Patrick Joson, and Yechiel David Hipol
5k women’s – Nikka Reyes, Joy Anne Mariz Tajo, and Cherries Zhang
RU2 also feted a few special participants—PWID (persons with intellectual disabilities) and senior citizen runners—for their inspiring individual achievements.
Among the PWID top finishers who competed in their own 5k runs were Michael Jordan (00:26:20), Ryan Ilaya (00:26:25), and Arjay Galang (00:27:17).
‘‘It has always been our goal to help progressive athletes hit their targets and exceed their performances, and we’re very happy to have done just that, once again, this year,’’ said Lester Castillo, sports and PR executive of Unilab Active Health.
Winners received their own pieces of the 2015 United Hexagonal Medal—a symbol of the progressive athlete’s pursuit to become a better version of himself.
Its connectivity to one another takes inspiration from the athletes’ ability to continuously exceed themselves; thus if a competitor successfully conquers all three RUPM legs, he or she will be able to form a united hexagonal medal of his or her own.