By REYNALD MAGALLON
James Kevin Cruz of Montalban, Rizal made sure to welcome the return of The National MILO Marathon in style after ruling the 42k race men’s category.
Cruz was one of over 12,000 runners who joined the 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K, and 42K race categories as the longest-running marathon in the country made its comeback after a three-year hiatus on Sunday, March 26.
He was a returning runner who previously joined three MILO® marathons in the past and decided to test his limits in the 44th iteration of the race.
“Tinest ko lang laruin itong 42[K] na ito kasi 10K lang pagitan kaya ginrab ko na din. Nagpatulong ako sa kaibigan ko na bigyan ako ng program training para makalaro ako sa MILO®,” said Cruz.
Aside from the elite runners who heated up the competition for the various race categories, the event was also filled with casual runners who shared the joy of running with their families and friends.
Joining the National MILO® Marathon for the third year, Kjerstin Janikka R. Schei shared that her running experience was “relaxing especially [since I trained] and I haven’t done it in a long time.”
The 10-year old runner finished the 5K run with her friends. When asked why she likes to run, she said that it’s productive and helps her train for her other sports like soccer.
The successful return of the staple marathon event also followed the brand’s MILO® ACTIVE PILIPINAS launch in January which was a call for the nation to go from couch to court with the help of MILO®’s energizing nutrition and sports programs.
“We started the year with a call to go from couch to court— to ease our way back into sports— and the return of the iconic National MILO® Marathon is one of the ways we’re doing that. Although it’s not on the scale that we’ve gotten used to, the MILO® Marathon continues to be a safe and trusted space where Filipinos can get together to start or strengthen their active lifestyles,” said MILO® Sports Head Carlo Sampan.
Aside from this MILO® also launched its first-ever Virtual MILO® Race where over 2,000 runners nationwide were also able to join the MILO® Marathon festivities despite not being physically present in the Manila leg.
