ILOILO City’s Alfrence Braza and Carles, Iloilo Province-native Edna Magtubo stamped their class on the national running scene after ruling the elite divisions of the inaugural Speed Series powered by 2XU held at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City.
Braza captured the men’s elite 2-kilometer crown with a blistering time of 5 minutes and 48 seconds, while Magtubo topped the women’s elite category with a six-minute-plus finish, highlighting the strong presence of Ilonggo athletes in the opening leg of the three-stage competition.
Both runners are members of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws athletics squad and are also part of the Philippine national track and field pool.
“Challenging talaga ito kasi hindi mo ma-estimate dahil road yung tatakbuhan mo, not unlike kung sa oval ka,” said Braza, who previously won bronze in the 1,500-meter event during the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
More than 400 runners joined the opening race of the Speed Series, which features competitions “by the city, by the mountain, and by the sea.”
Braza and Magtubo later appeared at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum together with race official Worship Acosta and Allan Majadillas, chief operating officer of organizing group One Of A Kind Asia.
“Yung mga pumunta were cream of the crop athletes and were able to focus more on their performance,” said Majadillas.
Acosta said the second leg, dubbed “by the mountain,” is scheduled on July 26 in Baguio City.
“Itong leg will still have the 2km race for speed and endurance,” he said.
He added that a unique 21-kilometer relay race will also be staged, with 10 runners per team covering two kilometers each.
The final leg will be held in Boracay in September and will feature a 10-kilometer relay race by the sea, where five runners per team will each run two kilometers.
Organizers said cumulative points from all three legs will determine the overall champions of the series./PN
