Prominent Kenyan runner Nelson Kirwa Rotich is coming back to defend his crown in the second Smart-Subic International marathon scheduled on October 24 in Subic, Pampanga.

A veteran of several tough races including the Boston Marathon, Rotich bested a field of more than 7,000 to top last year’s 42-kilometer event in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 11 seconds.

Eduardo ‘Vertek’Buenavista, the country’s top long distance runner for almost a decade now, came in second in the race that started and ended inside the vast former American airbase.

This time, the event will take off at the Floridablanca, Pampanga toll of the newly-built SCTEX, snaking through a scenic route before climaxing at the Remy Field in Subic.

Competitions in half-marathon, 10-k, 5-k, 3-k humanitarian and fun runs will be held simultaneously on the second day of this event presented by Smart and co-presented Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, PNP, SBMA, MNTC, Maynilad, Toby’s, Burlington BioFresh, Sports Armour, Chris Sports, Tsoko Nut Batirol, Timex, Pocari Sweat, Lighthouse Marina Isuzu, Second Wind, Dusit Thani Hotel, and TRX.

The media partners are ABS-CBN, Business Mirror, Manila Bulletin, UNTV, Action and Fitness Mag, Wave 89.1, Jam 88.3, RT 99.5, and K-Lite 103.5.

Some P1.6 million in prizes will be up for grabs in the two-day running festival, the biggest to be staged in the country this year. It is expected to draw close to 10,000 foreign and local participants.

“We expect a much-bigger turnout this year,” said Adi delos Reyes, president of E-ventologists Co., event manager of the marathon.

Buenavista, who is expected to carry the national colors again in the Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December, gave the Kenyan national a tough, spirited battle three - fourths of the way before eventually fading out and settling for runner-up honors last year.

Organizers said they’ve also invited several foreign participants.