Ricky Ballesteros is all smiles after receiving his “Best Organizer” awards in the Milo Annual Recognition Night last Friday night in Mandaluyong City.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
For spearheading the seamless execution of last year’s Milo Marathon-Cebu leg and Milo Little Olympics-Visayas, Ricky Ballesteros once again copped the “Best Organizer” awards in the Milo Annual Recognition Night on Friday night at the Legend Villa Hotel in Mandaluyong City.
It was the third straight year that Ballesteros won the two awards for the Milo Marathon and the multi-sporting Milo Little Olympics.
“They usually give awards to the partners and the best performing organizers. We are judged through our execution, from opening to closing, managing the different events, cleanliness and sanitation, peace and order, security, support, social media and media. We topped the scorecards, through concerted efforts of the Cebuanos and the people behind the projects,” said Ballesteros.
After receiving the award, Ballesteros also accepted the daunting task of spearheading this year’s Milo Marathon National Finals, which will be held in Cebu City for the first time.
The gigantic event will be held on December 3 at the Cebu City Sports Center.
The Milo Little Olympics-Visayas was held in September last year and drew around 4,000 student-athletes coming from 250 schools from and outside Cebu.
The Cebu leg of the Milo Marathon drew a total of 17,400 runners.
Last year, Iloilo City hosted the National Finals of the Milo Marathon where Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal completed a historic feat as the first marathoner to win the women’s 42-kilometer title for four straight years.
“They were really determined that the national finals of Milo Marathon will be held in Cebu City. I declined their previous offers because of the traffic situation but Atty. (Rafael) Yap told me that there would be no problem with regards to handling traffic,” said Ballesteros.
Yap is the executive director of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management .
Ballesteros is confident that with the help of several sectors such as the city government of Cebu, medical teams, volunteers and his organizing team, this year’s Cebu leg of the Milo Marathon and the Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals will remain as the best organized events in the country.
“The locals here are more involved, there’s voluntarism. So I am confident that we can meet or even exceed their expectations for the national finals of the Milo Marathon,” added Ballesteros.
He stressed that without the help of the volunteers, medical teams, marshals and the security, Cebu won’t win the two awards for three straight years.
“I would like to thank all the Cebuanos, especially the volunteers, the Cebu City LGU and all those who were involved in the race for a job well done and I hope that the National Finals of the Milo Marathon will be successful,” said Ballesteros.
Officials of the Association of International Marathons and Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association will be in Cebu later this year to inspect the route of the national finals.