Marathon champ Sabal tops Wawa adventure trail run

Long-distance specialist Crescenciano Sabal showed on Saturday why he is among the country’s elite runners. The 32-year-old Sabal, known for his exploits as a marathon champion, topped the inaugural Merrell Adventure Run at Wawa in Rodriguez, Rizal. Sabal bested another top runner, Bernardino Desamito, in he 15-kilometer off-road race that took runners around the hills surrounding the Wawa Dam, passed through the rocky river bed that snaked down the now almost dried water reservoir and a kilometer of boulder-crossing before reaching the finish line. Sabal, who used the event as a practice race, finished the distance in one hour, 14 minutes and four seconds to relegate Desamito to second place. Sabal took home the P15,000 top purse. "Dapat kasi hindi puro road, kung talagang seryoso ka dapat sumasali ka rin sa mga ganito. Lumalakas kasi ang dibdib mo sa ganitong karera (If you are a serious runner you should not be contented with road races but also join this kind of events. You will have stronger lungs with this type of event)," said Sabal, who also topped the 4th All Terra King of the Mountain in Timberland located at San Mateo, Rizal last March 28, in Filipino. "Parang cross training ko ito. Hindi lang dibdib ang lumalakas, lumalakas din ang mga legs dahil nga maraming akyatan. Alert ka palagi, mahalaga ang concentration para ma-maintain mo ang balance (This is my cross-training. You will not only get stronger lungs but you’ll also strengthen your legs since you’ll be doing of a lot of climbing. It will also make you alert, concentration is important to maintain balance)," added Sabal, a many-time Milo Marathon winner. Desamito bagged the P10,000 second place cash prize while third place finisher Jessie Ano (1:22:22) pocketed P5,000 in the tournament that saw 5-kilometer participants losing their way in the treacherous and dangerous trail because marshals, who were supposed to give runners directions, abandoned their posts. Without the marshals, stationed around the course, 90 percent of the runners failed to beat meet the 70-minute cut off time. The absence of the marshals and visible trail marks confused women’s division winner Genevieve Dela Peña. She negotiated the uphill route twice before passing Marissa Portugao in the last kilometer of the event to bag the title. "Walang marshals, ang mga markings hindi maayos at ang mga directional markings hindi rin maayos ang pagkakalagay (There are no marshals and the markings are in disarray)," said Dela Peña who finished the race after 1:25:16. Portugao finished second (1:30:39) while Richie Tendo placed third (1:30:59). It was not the end of Dela Peña's mishaps as she was given a winner’s check worth P5,000, instead of the P10,000 top prize. Organizers later gave Dela Peña the correct winner’s check. Ronald Sagado won the men's 5k (1:00:49), while Roger Denolo (1:00:56) and Marayan Ladyong (1:05:45) finished second and third. In the women's 5k race, Luisa Raterta took the top spot with a 1:39:00 clocking, which was a minute better to the Ailene Tolentino’s time. Marisol Abad finished third (1:44:00). Topping the 3K men's event were Larry Blanca (22:40) while Rommel Eusebio (22:42) and Mark Cunanan (25.55) settled for second and third. The women’s top three finishers were Joba Botana (25.57), Marnelli Jacosalem (26.59) and Janice Baraga (28.17). Because of the dangerous trail, organizers limited the number of participants to just 700 but only 684 joined the race that started when the sun was rising over the hills of Wawa. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV