The Cebu and Manila legs of the 33rd Milo Marathon kicks off simultaneously today bannering the tagline ?Kaya mo yan.?
The Cebu leg starts at 6 a.m. at the Cebu City Sports Center as Milo officials believe the tagline will encourage and inspire all participants of the elimination leg.
Already considered the country?s longest and most prestigious running event, the Milo Marathon will hold weekly simultaneous races in 26 key cities nationwide?a first in marathon history.
Madelyn Carter, who topped last year?s race with a time of 1:37.02, and Rogelio Reli, who posted 1:20.19 last year, will try to defend their respective crowns in the 21k open.
The two, however, need to improve their time to be able to qualify for the national finals, set in Manila this Oct. 11.
Starting this year, runners have to meet a qualifying time in order to make it to the national finals.
Organizers set a standard qualifying time of one hour and 15 minutes for men and one hour and 35 minutes for women in the 21K of the regional races.
"The qualifying time serves as a challenge for me. Unlike before, I see co-runners as my competitors but now, time is my opponent," Carter said.
Around 19,943 runners will be participating this morning in the 21, 10, 5 and 3 kilometer events.
