MANILA – It's all systems go for the 2025 Manila Marathon on Aug. 10 at the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

With 19,000 participants, including national athletes and foreign runners, the race is one of the biggest in the country this year.

The event featuring 42km, 21km, 10km, and 5km categories offers a total of PHP700,000 in cash prizes. The male and female champions in the premier 42km category will receive PHP100,000 each.

"Our 42k category has 3,000 (participants), and this is surprising. Our 21k category has 7,000 runners, making it one of the biggest 21k that we have organized. The 10k category is within 5,200, and the 3k category almost 4,000 runners," Run Rio Inc. president Rio Dela Cruz said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) forum at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila Tuesday.

National athletes Christine Hallasgo, Artjoy Torregosa, Richard Salano, and Arlan Arbois, and entries from Japan, USA, Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Kenya, France, Poland, and Switzerland, among others, vie for glory in the race sanctioned by the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) and recognized as part of the World Athletics’ rankings competition.

"This race is not only important for me but also for our country because it is a qualifier for the national team going to the Southeast Asian Games which will be held in Thailand this December. So, most of them will run to see their performance. And if they reach the standard of the SEA Games, they can be included," dela Cruz said in the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart/PLDT, MILO, and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

Also present was Run Rio Inc. managing director Andrew Neri, who stressed that as organizers of the race, their main concern is the safety and security of the runners.

"It's like two events in terms of numbers because our average is around 8,000 to 10,000. And now, we have 19,000. So we doubled our security, our doctors, our ambulances, since for us, safety and security are top priorities," he said.

The Manila Marathon will run through the cities of Manila, Makati, Paranaque, and Pasay, taking the runners through some of the country's iconic landmarks such as Rizal Park, Intramuros, Roxas Boulevard, and the CCP Complex.

Participants for the 42km will be flagged off at 12 midnight, followed by the 21km at 4 a.m., 10km at 5 a.m., and the 3km at 5:30 a.m. (PNA)