Elmer Bartolo was looking forward to another race he had in mind and Judelyn Miranda was all focused on winning. The two were the big winners on Sunday in the Vantage-Castrol Run With The Masters.
The gutsy Bartolo used the rolling terrain as his tune-up for an international race late this month and proved he is the master of this type of course in winning the premier 21-kilometer men’s title in a relatively paced 1 hour 17 minutes and 18 seconds.
Bartolo, gearing up for the Mt. Apo International Boulder Face Challenge where he will carry the colors of Vantage Sports, took over with five kilometres left and barely breasted ahead of Gilbert Maluyo who shadowed him all throughout in finishing second in 1:17:21. Ronald Dagaang finished third in 1:25:13.
The race went through the rolling highway at Diversion Road Maa to Buhangin and Dacudao. The sloping course made the race extra challenging for the 1,300 runners who answered the gun start at the Davao Crocodile Park inside the vast Riverfront Corporate City.
In the distaff side, the veteran Miranda rekindled the old firepower she is known for to win the 21-k women’s title by the skin of her teeth. Miranda strode with favoured Cynthia Jaro and Estela Mamac-Diaz before making her move in the final 100 meters. She sprinted home a breath ahead of Diaz and Jaro in one hour, 48 minutes and 40 seconds.
Jaro, the recent winner of the Araw ng Davao Phoenix Marathon, finished third in 1:48:44 while Diaz was second with 1:48:43 although the latter was officially declared winner of her age category (30-39). Jaro would be officially second in the women’s 18-29.
James Castillo and Monalisa Ambasa ruled the men’s and women’s 15-kilometer division while Sonny Wagdos and Criselyn Jaro topped the men’s and women’s 10-kilometer division.
Organized by Vantage Sports in celebration of its fourth anniversary, the Run With The Masters was presented by Castrol Philippines with support from Ceelin, Unilab, and Adidas.
“We are happy with the turnout. This is the first race we solely organize and we are glad we made it with the help of our friends, sponsors and the running community of Davao,” said Vantage president Kenneth Sai.
The race was also dedicated to the late sportsman Vic Sai, Kenneth’s father who was known in the sports community as an organizer, sports journalist and leader.
