Salaño, Magtubo rule PUMA Philippine Half Marathon Series Manila leg

Handout photo.MANILA — National team members Richard Salaño and Edna Magtubo emerged victorious in the Manila leg of the PUMA Philippine Half Marathon Series 2026 at the SM Mall of Asia Complex on Sunday.

Salaño and Magtubo topped the 21-kilometer races in a field of 13,000 participants, capping the running series organized by RUNRIO with PUMA as title sponsor.

Salaño ruled the men’s 21K race in one hour, eight minutes, and 23 seconds, edging Kenyan rival Gilbert Muge by nine seconds. Muge finished in 1:08:32, while Ricky Organiza completed the podium in 1:10:04.

Magtubo, meanwhile, dominated the women’s 21K race in 1:26:05, finishing ahead of Purity Serem (1:29:06) and Maricar Camacho (1:33:08).

The Manila leg marked the culmination of the series, which also held races in Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, Clark, and Cagayan de Oro.

The competition was also intense in the 10K races, with Jeck Labrador claiming the men’s title in 31:31. He narrowly beat Fritz Angelo Operio (31:37) and Junel Gobotia (32:05).

Jessa Mae Roda topped the women’s 10K field in 36:43, followed by Maria Jonna Lina Abutas (44:17) and Carla Marie Navarro (47:09).

Dhem AJ Monton won the men’s 5K race in 15:35, holding off Stephine Delariarte (15:37) and Denver Sahagun (15:40).

Nicole Diloy led the women’s 5K field in 19:15, with Kaye Kayralyn Villanueva (19:56) and Mary Rose Frias (20:17) rounding out the top three.