RICHARD Salaño and Edna Magtubo emerged victorious in the Manila leg of the PUMA Philippine Half Marathon Series 2026 on Sunday at SM Mall of Asia Complex.
The national team members stamped their class in a loaded field that drew 13,000 participants, capping off the successful running series that had Puma as title sponsor.
Salaño won the flagship 21K race in one hour, eight minutes, and 23 seconds, just nine seconds ahead of fierce Kenyan rival Gilbert Muge who finished at 1:08:32. Ricky Organiza completed the men's podium at 1:10:04.
Magtubo, meanwhile, was in her dominant form, timing at 1:26:05, well ahead of Purity Serem (1:29:06) and Maricar Camacho (1:33:08) in the women's division.
It was a banner crowd in the culmination of this series organized by RUNRIO which saw stops in Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, Clark, and Cagayan de Oro, that likewise had Nature’s Spring as hydration partner, Pocari Sweat as official electrolyte partner, Anytime Fitness as official gym partner, and Lanson Place Hotel, Hop Inn Hotel, Red Planet Hotel and Hotel Sogo as hotel partners in partnership with the Department of Tourism.
The competition was equally intense in the 10K category, where Jeck Labrador ruled the men’s race in 31:31, narrowly beating Fritz Angelo Operio (31:37) and Junel Gobotia (32:05); while Jessa Mae Roda claimed the women’s title in 36:43, followed by Maria Jonna Lina Abutas (44:17) and Carla Marie Navarro (47:09).
Dhem AJ Monton secured the win in the men's 5K race at 15:35, holding off Stephine Delariarte (15:37) and Denver Sahagun (15:40); as Nicole Diloy led the women’s 5K field at 19:15, with Kaye Kayralyn Villanueva (19:56) and Mary Rose Frias (20:17) completing the top three.
The PUMA Philippine Half Series - Manila Leg 2026 also had B/yond, Veega, Gardenia, Mogu Mogu, Virginia Food, Fitbar, Cignal, The Matcha Tokyo, Torani, San Miguel Beer, Grab, GU Energy Gel, Salonpas, Universal Robina Corporation (URC), Great Taste, Piattos, Goodday, C2, DOOH, NYXSYS, Pond’s, Rexona, and Quaker as sponsors.
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