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SAN MATEO, Rizal--Three newcomers in the trail-running scene stamped their class last Sunday in the Pang Rave Run, the first leg of the Vaseline Men Xterra Off-road Triathlon Series.

Twenty nine-year-old Carlito Pantillaga, showing how well he has adjusted from running a footrace on a well-paved roads to negotiating a rocky and uneven terrain, won his second race in three weeks by topping the premier 22-kilometer men’s division.

Joyette Jopson, the daughter of a renowned political activist, the late Edgar Jopson, took the women’s honors, while her boyfriend, Canadian triathlete Matt O’Halloran also claimed a top podium finish in the 10-kilometer men’s action.

Pantillaga, an airport employee, was alone when he ran some 500-meters downhill to the finish line inside the Timberland Heights in one hour, 40 minutes and 56 seconds.

Nobody chased him after Pantillaga took a steady pace up the starting line, with Australian diplomat William Robinson ending up almost 30 minutes behind him in second spot in 2:10.35. Felix Abuel placed third in 2:12.15.

“Mula sa start, wala na akong kasabay. Ang ruta ay palitan lang ng pataas at pababa kaya maintain lang ako ng pace ko,” said Pantillaga, who took the local honors in the 42-kilometer course of the 2012 Condura Skyway Marathon last Feb. 4.

The 33-year-old Jopson, an executive of a chain of dental clinics, overtook ultramarathon specialist Olive Cortez in the last seven kilometers to dominate the women’s side in 2:28.55. Peter Atencio

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(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/february/28.)

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Monday February 27 2012