Ex-running queen beats odds, wins 10K

BEFORE Mary Grace delos Santos stamped her mark in the local scene by dominating each race, there was Christy Sevilleno-Tutor, Cebu’s undisputed running queen.

Now a mother of two, Cebu’s former track darling made a bold statement in her return to the running scene with a top finish in the 10K division of the 34th Milo Marathon yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

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She finished the 10K in 46:55, beating second placer Celestina Lim (55:13) by almost 10 minutes.

However, despite the margin, she acknowledges she still has a long way to go.

“I am still overweight and I still need to train more,” said Tutor.

She won the Milo Marathon Cebu Leg in 1:36:49 in 2006 but four years later she almost wasn’t able to join the 10K.

She was the last to sign up for the 10K and was only able to because friends helped pay for her registration fee.

The mother of two had set aside an amount but needed to use it on something more important. It was then that her coaches and former teammates contributed to lend her money just so she could sign up for the race.

“We believe she has a good chance of getting her throne back. We have known her to be a fighter in anything she does and in no time, she will be back to her old form,” said coach Babeth Capampangan.

Tutor said reclaiming the crown from delos Santos may be far-fetched for now and it is not her priority.

Though she acknowledges yesterday’s win marks her comeback into the running scene, she is downplaying the victory.

“Mostly mga joggers ra ang nidagan sa 10K. I did not set any goals for me for this race. But I am definitely getting back into my old shape because I will be joining more runs soon,” said Tutor.

“It will take time before I could be of the same level with Mary Grace but I look forward to racing her and other strong Cebu runners in the future.”

Tutor ruled Cebu’s streets from 2004 to 2006 and was the undisputed Cebu’s running queen.

But she decided to start a family, forcing her to running after she got pregnant.

And in her absence, a certain lass from Zamboanga took her place.

“It will be a slow process but I am back,” said Tutor.