Kenya's Rotich out to defend Subic Int'l Marathon crown

Kenya’s Nelson Kirwa Rotich is out to defend his title in next month’s 2nd Smart Subic International Marathon, which fires off on October 24 and 25 at the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway that connects the provinces of Tarlac and Zambales. SMART Sports head Patrick Gregorio and (Ret.) Gen. Sam Tucay led the formal launching of the two-day running event on Wednesday at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City. Rotich clocked in two hours and 16 minutes to top last year’s 42K run and win the $5,000 top prize. He failed to beat the 2:04:55 world record held by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie at the Berlin marathon last year. He is once again expected to breeze past the opposition especially with last year’s runner-up Eduardo Buenavista deciding to skip the event. Kirwa belonged to the powerhouse Kenya team that has been dominating numerous running events in the world. Their closest rivals are the runners from Ethiopia. Out to carry the Philippine colors and hope for a local finisher in the two-day running event that offers more than P1.60 million in cash prizes are Allan Ballester, Alquin Bolivar, Bernardito Desamito, Alley Quisay and Elmer Sabal. The first edition of the race was held inside the former US military air base in Subic where close to 7,000 runners from Australia, Canada, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States joined Filipino runners. Organizers said they chose the SCTEx as the race’s venue this year due to the scenic route and friendly course of the newly-built four-lane expressway. The course begins in Florida Blanca, Pampanga and ends at the Remy Field in Subic Bay, Olongapo City. – GMANews.TV