Salaño wins by three seconds in Sante Barley Trilogy Run Asia Manila Leg 2

MANILA, Philippines — Richard Salaño nosed out Eduard Flores by a close margin as he ruled the 21K race in Leg 2 of the Sante Barley Trilogy Run Asia presented by HOKA and GoMo on Sunday at SM Mall of Asia Complex.

Salaño finished his run in one hour, nine minutes, and 44 seconds, just three seconds ahead of Flores who clocked in at 1:09:47. Edsel Moral completed the podium for the men with his 1:10:29 in this continuing 15th year celebration of RUNRIO.

Erika Nicole Burgos topped the women in the same distance with her 1:28:45 time, besting Maricar Camacho (1:30:20) and April Rose Diaz (1:35:11).

It’s all part of a fantastic turnout as over 11,000 runners participated in the second leg of the famed running series, 5,000 of which joined the 21K race.

“One of the best runs ito. Nakikita natin yung progression ng runners natin at dumadami na yung sumasali sa longer distances natin,” remarked RUNRIO president and CEO Rio de la Cruz.

James Darrel Orduña also got first place in the 10K race by a hair, edging Ricky Organiza by milliseconds as both completed the course in 32 minutes and eight seconds. Junel Gobotia was third among males with 32:29.

In the women’s division, Edna Magtubo had the best time with her 38:18, followed by Kim Mangrobang (39:03) and Jessa Mae Roda (40:27) in this race which has Gatorade as official sports drink, Le Minerale as official hydration partner, Seiko Prospex as official timing partner, Nyxsys as official media partner, SM Mall of Asia Complex as venue partner, and PAGCOR as gold sponsor.

Noli Torre (15:42) and Shaira Mae Fantilaga (21:04) had the best times in the 5K race, with Vincent Arvin Avestruz (16:11) and Alfrence Braza (16:24) following suit in the men’s division; and Jo Punay (21:45) and Joneza Mie Sustiuedo (22:47) making the podium in the women’s division.

This strong turnout is proving to be a good setup for Leg 3 in Manila, which is set for July 13. Other cities namely Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao, are set to hold their remaining legs in the buildup for the National Finals which will be on November 9.

The famed running series also has Lanson Place, TRYP by Wyndham, Hop Inn and Nichols Airport Hotel as hotel partners, and Century Tuna, Salonpas, Milcu, Singlife, Unilab, Enervon, Alaxan, Maxvit, Diatabs, Kremil S, Ponds, Vaseline and Neozep as sponsors.