Osmeña Blvd to turn green Sunday with over 24K MILO Marathon runners

The organizers of the 2019 National MILO Marathon pose with representatives of the schools, who are beneficiaries of the MILO’s Help Give Shoes advocacy, during the press launch of the event on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019. |CDND Photo/ Mars G. Alison

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Tomorrow, Sunday, thousands of runners will turn the stretch of Osmeña Boulevard, fronting the Cebu Normal University, green.

The area is the starting line for the 2019 National MILO Marathon that has so far attracted 24,000 running enthusiasts even as registration has still to come to a close today, September 28, 2019.

The number was revealed by Nestle Philippines Sports Executive Lester Castillo during the press briefing for the MILO Marathon held Friday, September 27, at the Cebu Grand Hotel. Castillo was joined by Nestle Philippines VP and Business Executive Officer Willy De Ocampo and Cebu leg race organizer Ricky Ballesteros.

This will be the third biggest number of participants that the Cebu leg of the MILO Marathon has attracted, according to Ballesteros.

He added that the biggest number of runners that they have gathered was 27,000 back in 2002 when the race was held at the back of the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion in Gorordo Avenue.

The second biggest number of participants was 25,000 while last year, the race, considered as one of the oldest and longest running road race in the Philippines, attracted about 20,000 participants.

“This is because we opened registration early and had better promotion of the event in schools,” said Ballesteros.

Ballesteros said that for this year, they have targeted 15,000 participants then extended it to 18,000 but running enthusiasts continue to sign up for the event so registration continued until today. Thus, the total number of participants may still go up to more than 24,000.

Good grassroots activity

Of the 24,000 runner, 85 to 90 percent are students coming from the various universities and colleges in Cebu City, which, Castillo said, makes the event a good grassroots activity as they will get to learn character forming values.

“They get to learn character forming values such as discipline, confidence and teamwork, the same values that will enable them to be successful later on in life,” said Castillo.

The students will make up the about 20,000 who will be running the 5-kilometer distance of the race. Close to 600 will be running in the premier 21k category, close to 700 registered for the 10k and more than a thousand in the 3k.

According to Castillo, the MILO marathon has already attracted 3.5 million runners since it started in 1974 to date, and has produced the Philippines’ world calibre running stars such as Cebuana Mary Joy Tabal, who is not only the first female to represent the Philippines in the Olympics marathon but is also a gold and silver medalist in the Southeast Asian Games. 

“Very special sa amin ang Milo Marathon because we see that during the marathon. We feel that the community comes together. It’s not just a pure running event, it’s a time we reach families and communities run together to say that we want to build a healthy nation of Filipino champions,” said De Ocampo.

Tabal will once again be representing the country in the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA) Games which the Philippines will be hosting from November 30 to December 11.

One Team, One Nation, Go Philippines

This is the reason why this year’s National MILO Marathon is having the theme “One Team, One Nation, Go Philippines” because the country is hosting the SEA Games, a biennial meet attended by athletes from the Southeast Asian countries.

“We need to show the entire Southeast Asian countries  how united Team Philippines is for the upcoming Sea Games,” said Castillo.

To continue exciting the running community, Castillo said this year’s finishers’ shirts are inspired by the colors of the Philippine flag, including the race singlets and the medals.  

Castillo added that continuing the Cebu leg is also Nestle Philippines and MILO’s commitment to giving Cebuanos an active and healthy lifestyle.

“An active and healthy lifestyle for Filipinos, for Cebuanos here because we believe that it’s only through a healthy Filipino family can we have a healthy Filipino nation,” Castillo said.

This is why MILO is encouraging families to put their children into sports by providing several sports programs to nourish their dreams. 

“The role of MILO within Nestle Philippines is to give nutritious energy to the family, to the children who are here and also to nourish ambitions,” said De Ocampo.

He added partly in Filipino: “(It is in our) values (to) nourish (the) ambitions (of the youth) through sports. And, that’s why we have programs, we have many, many programs with MILO that includes summer sports clinics, we have the national barangay liga program, we have MILO Little Olympics, and of course our flagship program that has been our longest standing program is the Milo Marathon.” 

The goal, De Ocampo said, is to have a total nation building.

“Naniniwala kami (We believe) that  by getting children into sports young and early, we’re able to teach them a lot of character forming values like teamwork, discipline and determination. That is something that will help them, our children and the families, grow up with values that can also make them become champions in life,” said De Ocampo./elb