Runners want Kenyans’ entry limited; Larrazabal says no

Monday, February 13, 2012

THE increasing number of Kenyan runners in Cebu is alarming male local runners who find it tougher to win the top prizes during weekend races.

In the SM2SM Run last Sunday, Kenyans dominated the top finishers in the men’s half-marathon and 12K categories.

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“Luoy kaayo sila kay ang mga Kenyan ang nakadaog sa top spots,” said female runner Madelyn Carter.

Kenyans swept the top six spots in the 21K, while another group took the top three in the 12K.

In the women’s division, Mary Grace delos Santos won, while Mary Joy Tabal got second,
while Kenyan Susan Chemutan was third.

Though most Kenyans who joined were from Manila, there are those who have made Cebu their home like Joshphat Kiptanui, Abraham Missos and Francis Kakui and the three regularly top the weekend races.

Some organizers have sided with the plight of the local runners by limiting the Kenyans’ participation in their races. During the Run for Integrity two weeks ago, the organizers stated in their registration form that foreigners were not allowed to register in the longest division.

“Pwede ra man gud na kay depende na sa organizers,” said Mendel Lopez, who like some of the top local elites have long wanted to limit the participation of the Kenyan runners. “Okay ra man muapil sila basta sa mga dagkong dagan lang dili sa kaning mga gagmay.”

However, veteran runner Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III, who has been organizing races in Cebu before running became a fad, said limiting the foreigners’ entry in
local races is a form of discrimination.

“Lisod man gud mudiscriminate against them. I’ve been to different races in the world and it’s all open to everyone,” said Larrazabal, who organized the SM2SM Run last Sunday.

Instead of barring the foreigner runners, Larrazabal suggested that the best possible solution for this is to put up more categories and more prizes or to give incentives to the best Filipino finisher.

“I think there can be ways where we can find a solution to the problem even without discriminating these foreign runners,” said Larrazabal. C