Warizal, De la Rosa Milo Palawan champs again

SHOWING inspired forms, Norlan Warizal and Jila dela Rosa retained their 21K titles yesterday in the Puerto Princesa leg of the 26th National Milo Marathon.

Under difficult conditions, Warizal clocked one hour, 19:39 minutes to cross the finish line exactly a minute ahead of second placer Marco Laipan.

The clocking was slower than Warizal’s time last year by more than five minutes, but it was enough to repulse the rest of the field and bring him the P10,000 purse.

The victory also gave Warizal a ticket to the national finals in Manila in December, where he will join the likes of three-time champion Eduardo Buenavista, the Tarlac leg winner, and Manila leg champion Jeson Agravante.

“I would like to continue running high level competitions and fulfill my dream to compete internationally,” said Warizal.

Dela Rosa made sure flying to Puerto Princesa all the way from Manila was all worth it with a dominant performance in the women’s side.

The 18-year-old University of Santo Tomas student clocked 1:35:59.

Marichel Maestro came in second at 1:47:00, followed by Rowena Quipquip (1:56:05.)

“I will double my time in training for the finals,” said Dela Rosa. Cedelf P. Tupas