MANILA, Philippines – The 34th National MILO Marathon will be holding 17 elimination races nationwide, with the first dash kicking off on Sunday in Manila.

The starting line is at Km. 0 Roxas Blvd. St., Rizal Park while the finish line is at Independence Road, in front of the Quirino Grandstand also in Rizal Park.

The chocolate drink and snacks company said that this year's Milo Marathon has additional innovations.

A more competitive qualifying time per age group category has been introduced for the 42K Manila eliminations and 21K Provincial eliminations.

State of the art timing chips, MyLaps, will also be introduced to to 10K, 21K and 42K marathoners.

Over P6 million in total cash prizes will be given away to individual race winners.

The fastest male and female champions, the Milo Marathon King and Queen, stand a chance to win P300,000.

Lastly, Milo launched a special advocacy to inspire underprivileged children to excel in sports by giving rubber shoes to public school students.

The inspiration behind the advocacy comes from previous Milo Marathon events wherein a number of children joined the marathon even without shoes. A portion of the registration fee of the National Milo Marathon participants will be allocated to the advocacy. Milo will then donate the equivalent amount raised to add to the production of the running shoes.

Milo aims to raise 4,000 pairs of rubber shoes which will be distributed by the Department of Education to student beneficiaries who excel in sports and have balanced academic standing.

“Milo is committed to helping more children realize their potential. It knows the importance of developing one’s talent and wishes to give these kids an opportunity to shine and achieve something for themselves,” Milo Sports Events Executive Pat Goc-ong said in a statement.

After the kickoff on Sunday, the Milo Marathon will go to Dagupan City (July 11), Baguio City (July 18), General Santos City (July 25), Davao City (August 29), Cebu City (September 5), Tagbilaran City (September 12), Dumaguete City (September 19), Iloilo City (September 26), Naga City (October 3), San Pablo City (October 10), Batangas City (October 17), Puerto Princesa (October 31), Tarlac City (November 7), Olongapo City (November 14), Butuan City (November 21) and Cagayan de Oro City (November 28).

The grand National Finals will be held in Manila on December 12.