Kenyan bet tops Milo S. Pablo run

Another Kenyan made his mark on the local running scene Sunday with a runaway victory in the 21K elimination leg of the 34th Milo Marathon in San Pablo City.   William Kipyego crossed the finish line in one hour, 10 minutes and 53 seconds to top the men’s race, way ahead of the veteran Bernardo Desamito Jr. (1:14:08) and hitherto unknown Wenly Maulas (1:14:44).   In the women’s race, national team member Mirasol Abad was one of two female qualifiers to the Manila grand finals on Dec. 12 after a solid victory.   The event was only the second Philippine race for the 26-year-old Kipyego, who admitted to liking the country’s “excellent race weather.”   His fellow Kenyans Abraham Missos and Willy Tanui finished 1-2 in the National Capital Region elimination, the kickoff leg of the 34th Milo Marathon season, last July 4.   Missos and Tanui towed compatriots Willy Rotich and Susan Chepkwony to the grand finals during the NCR qualifier.   The 25-year-old Abad, a duathlete, clocked 1:31:41 to easily rule the ladies race. She was followed at the finish by Divine Tapit, whose time of 1:40:04 also went under the qualifying standard for the season-ending finale.   Third placer Melanie Malihan clocked 1:50:37 and failed to qualify.   Abad was coming off a runner-up finish in the 21K overall category of the inaugural CamSur International Marathon two Sundays ago.   In all, 39 qualifiers moved on to the grand finals from yesterday’s races that lured 5,190 entries. They join 271 other runners who have already qualified from the earlier legs of the nationwide series.   Milo donated 120 pairs of shoes to Col. Lauro Dizon Memorial High School.  With still six legs to go before the finals, the number of shoe donated has reached 2,640. Milo is targetting a donation of 4,000 pairs.   The regional elimination next visits Batangas City on Oct. 17, Puerto Princesa on Oct. 31, Tarlac on Nov. 7, Olongapo on Nov. 14, Butuan on Nov. 21 and Cagayan de Oro on Nov. 28.