PHILIPPINES’ PRIDE. With a finish time of 3:04:29, Tabal (center) brings home the Silver medal for the 42k Women’s Marathon in the 28th SEA Games in Singapore in June 2015. With her in this photo are Natthaya Thanaronnawat of Thailand (center, Gold medalist) and Hoang Thi Thanh of Vietnam (right, Bronze medalist) DAILY GRIND. The Marathon Queen trains from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. every day. A regular afternoon recovery run is a must if a big race is coming up.
TEAM PH REPRESENT! Milo Marathon 2014 King and Queen Eduardo Buenavista (left) and Mary Joy Tabal (center) competed against over 50,000 runners. Joining them in this photo is race organizer and marathon master Rio dela Cruz
WINNING DUO. Mary Joy Tabal and her coach John Philip Dueñas were both triumphant at the Singapore Sundown Marathon 2012. Both placed 1st in the 21Km division in (1:25:28) and (1:14:28) respectively
lang ’yung na-proud sa sarili ko na makita ko ’yun sa newspaper,” she says. Her classmates felt otherwise, considering the headline was accompanied by a photo of her at the finish with the university’s logo clearly seen on her running jersey. But Tabal was undeterred. “Sabi ko sa sarili ko, mababawi ko ito. Pagkatapos nu’n, nag-ensayo talaga ako,” she says. In 2010, Tabal won first place in the half-marathon category of the Cebu leg of the Milo Marathon, clocking in at 1:27:13. This qualified her for the Milo Marathon Finals. She then again made it to the local newspaper’s headline but this time, it read “Collapse No More.” Her coach, Dueñas, mindful of not exerting too much pressure, encouraged Tabal to start training for the marathon distance (42-km). So she did. But in her mind, she set her goal further: to finish in
the Top 10 in the women’s category. On race day, Tabal ran non-stop. At the 25-km mark, Dueñas told her that at the pace she ran, she was among the Top 5. “Sabi ko sa sarili ko, baka kayanin ko pa mag-Top 3,” says Tabal. She dashed to the finish line and landed third place in her first full marathon with a time of 3:06:19. In 2011 and 2012, she retained her 3rd place mark with finish times of 3:01:06 and 3:05:17. But 3rd place wasn’t good enough. Tabal had her eyes on an even bigger prize: the Milo Marathon Queen crown. In 2013, she finally succeeded, shaving an astounding 17 minutes off her finish time a year ago and breaking the seven-year old record of Jho– Ann Banayag. Tabal set the new women’s record in the Milo Marathon at 2:48:00, 16 seconds faster than Banayag’s time. The year 2013 was lucky for Tabal because it was also the first time that Milo sent the
TRAINING IS FUN. Tabal enjoys using the 3D foot ID machine at ASICS Bonifacio High Street
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