LEAD designer Veronika Hipolito of SunStar Publishing Inc. came up with a perfect combination of speed and problem solving to win the overall title in the Press Freedom Trail Run 2019 on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.
Hipolito, 30, edged out not just her female counterparts but also the male participants in a fun run that featured interesting twists.
The runners started out with a sprint run and had to go through six obstacles—the Fake News, Chasing the News, Bashers, Freedom of Speech and Problem Solving.
The last obstacle, Problem Solving, proved to be the toughest one as most of the participants spent most of their time in solving the puzzle.
But for Hipolito, solving the puzzle was just a walk in the park and finished it in less than one minute.
She completed the course with a total time of 11 minutes and 20.5 seconds to win the overall crown and the P3,000 cash purse.
“I think my edge was in the problem solving obstacle. Solving puzzle was my hobby when I was a kid. I can recall that I had about 3,000 puzzles,” said Hipolito, who has been a graphic artist for SunStar Cebu since 2012.
Jeanneta Rose Tamesis of SunStar Cebu’s accounting department finished second with a time of 13:15.2 and was followed by CCTN’s cameraman Michael Alcoreza.
Hipolito actually prepared for this annual race after consecutive dismal finishes in the previous editions.
“Rolan and I started training last June. But I still can’t believe I won this. I guess it was all about mental conditioning,” she said.
The fourth to 10th placers were all from SunStar Publishing Inc.
Graphic artist Rolan John Alberto (14:36.6) finished fourth, Elisar Hayag (14:42.7) from credit and collection department came in fifth.
Completing the Top 10 were graphic artist Ariel Itumay (14:59.4), web tech support Frank Felipe (15:48.6), reporter Arvie Veloso (15:49.1), accounting department’s Mildred Buanghog (15:55.0) and web tech support Eric Areglado (16:30.6).
Cebu City Councilor and PBA legend Dondon Hontiveros graced the sporting event, which was one of the activities in line with the 27th Cebu Press Freedom.
The Cebu Press Freedom Run 2019 was sponsored by Cebu Holdings Inc., GCash, Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu Business Park with the support of the Cebu City Sports Club. (RSC)