Jenny Oo: Loser who never quits

The last but not the least.

This best describes Jenny Oo, a 29-year-old optometrist, who will go down in the record books of yesterday’s 26th National Milo Marathon as the last runner to cross the finish line of the lung-busting 42.195-km race at the historic Quirino Grandstand.

Some of the participants, including those in the shorter fun runs, had already gone home or were resting their weary legs at the Luneta grounds and Jennifer was still nowhere in sight. Eduardo Buenavista, the men’s champion, was all set to receive his award when Jenny suddenly popped out from near the Manila Hotel and jogged toward the finish, being trailed by an ambulance, its sirens on.

The crowd cheered her on as she crossed the finish line.

"Yes, I’m the last one. But I’m glad to finish the race," said Jenny, seated under the medical tent although she didn’t need any attention. In fact, she looked fresh despite needing all of four hours and 23 minutes to finish the race (Buenavista won in a record time of 2:22.52 or one full-length movie ahead of Jenny).

"I thought I wasn’t going to be able to finish. I thought I had to ride in the ambulance. But the moment I saw the huge Milo balloon (pegged in front of the grandstand), I knew I could make it. And a lot of people were cheering me on. Masaya," said Jenny who turns a year older in five days.

Another reason for her to be happy was that she submitted a new personal best.

"I run regularly around the Greenhills area. Pero sa full marathon, my previous time was four minutes 53 seconds and that was during the NCR qualifying race this year. So, this is a new personal best for me," she added.

"A friend of mine just taught me the proper way of breathing while running. So, hopefully, this won’t be my last here," added Jenny, who was left to run a solo race along Buendia, just a few kilometers to the finish, after she heeded the call of nature.

"Probably I took in so much water during the race. That’s why along Buendia, I had to use the comfort room of a gasoline station. Then when I came out, mag-isa na ako. Nauna na lahat. Pero okay lang, masaya pa din," she added.

For Jenny, winning isn’t everything. Running is.