Ethiopian Girma Tilahun and Davao del Norte's Maria Mae Ablando clinched the 21K titles of the AIA Vitality Kadayawan Run held in an out-and-back course at Azuela Cove in Lanang, Davao City Sunday, August 13.
Tilahun ruled the men's 21K event, clocking one hour, 13 minutes and 47.7 seconds, while Digos City bet Jeorge Andrade placed second with a time of 1:15:54.7. Joey Pacho (1:29:04) was third.
On his Facebook, Andrade expressed his gratitude, saying: "God has been good to me. Even on the worst days, I still see his blessings. Kadayawan Run 2023, thank you, my friend, Girma Tilahun, for pushing me to go beyond my limits."
Ablando, for her part, dominated the women's 21K race, crossing the finish line at 1:50:44.69. She bested veteran runner Andrea de Guia of Davao City (1:55:11.41) and April Morales (2:04:48), who secured the second and third positions.
De Guia, in an interview with SunStar Davao, said: "Feeling grateful kay maski'g wala pa ko ka recover sa akong lawas gikan ug trail run, naka second place gihapon ko (I feel thankful because even though I hadn't fully recovered from a previous trail run, I still managed to secure second place)."
She said that her primary goal for the Kadayawan run was to reach the podium, considering her body was not yet at its peak performance following a strenuous recent event.
"Gihatag gihapon nako akong best na maka-podium gyud (I still gave my all to secure a spot on the podium," she added.
Meanwhile, Fritz Clarence Lantaco (37:41.5) outran Kyle Levi Cayog (42:16.4) and Ronerick Busayo (44:46.6) for the men's 10K title. At the same time, Darie Mae Daban (50:29.75) raced past Ara Tang (57:08.80) and Nelsa Pilapil (58:09.19) to annex the women's 10K crown.
Kyle Vilchi Cayog and Ronalyn Marañon shared top honors in the 5K division of the run that drew 3,100 runners. It was organized as part of the 38th Kadayawan Sports Festival of the city government of Davao through the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor's Office (SDD-CMO). MLSA