Yong and Donna finished the 10K race together in 54 minutes and 11 seconds to top a field of about a dozen couples who joined the run. The Escasinas couple finished second with a time of 57:28. Noy and Amale Jopson were third with a time of 58:06.

Yong said it was the “best birthday gift” for Donna, who celebrates her birthday today, Valentine’s Day.

Those who joined the couples run were required to be no more than 5 meters of each other throughout the race and finish it holding hands.

There were no surprises in the other categories of the race.

Kenyan Simon Losiaboi finished his 10K run in 32:23 to claim first place. Elmer Bartolo finished second with a time of 33:41 while Ian Bernido was third with a time of 33:56.

In the women’s division, top runner Mary Grace delos Santos did not let a medical layoff get in the way by topping her division with a 10K run of 39:59. Mary Joy Tabal finished second with a time of 40:43 while Marlyn Alin finished third with a time of 40:43.

In the 5K race, Roland Batiancila topped the men’s division with a time of 17:30; Jobert Carolino was second with his time of 17:34, while Rolan Onrada finished third at 17:48. Rose Angele Amores topped the women’s division with her time of 22:92; Lennie Caduada was second at 26:47; while Diodel Moralla was third with her time of 27:23.

Ramon Carsido topped the 3K men’s division with a time of 13:49. Rafael Tan finished in second place with his time of 17:39 while Euegene Esteban was third with a time of 17:40. Mizraim Capangpangan, meanwhile, topped the women’s 3K division with her time of 19:16; Camille Flor and Cecilia May Uy were listed as being second and third, respectively, with identical times of 19:52.

Although relatively well-run, yesterday’s race had some complaints of lack of water in some stations and a shorter than advertised 10K distance. My GPS reading indicated the route distance to be 9.87KM.