Sagada native marathoner James Tellias raised the Philippine colors in France as the only Filipino finisher of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) 2019.
James Tellias finished the Ultra Trail, widely-considered the most difficult mountain trail-running race in the world, after going through the Alps passing through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Tellias finished with one-and-a-half-hour to spare before the cut-off, reports Wow Cordillera.
The Filipino marathoner wearing race bib #2847 finished in the upper half at 1,249th place out of a total of 2543 elite marathoners representing different countries who joined the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc last August 26 to September 1, 2019.
The Baguio City-based Tellias, who is not new in these kinds of events, is also the first Filipino to place 3rd on the Borneo Ultra Trail Marathon International Event held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia in 2016.
The Cordilleras has brought forth champion athletes from Team Lakay such as MMA Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Joshua Pacio, Geje Eustaquio, and Stephen Loman, among many others.
Triathlete Romeo Puncia achieved a similar feat as the first Filipino to finish the Ultraman Florida race.
WATCH the highlights of the UTMB and SEND James Tellias your congratulations in the comments below!
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