Tabal 90 percent ready for National Milo Marathon

CEBUANA Olympian Mary Joy Tabal said she’s almost done with her grueling training for the 40th National Milo Marathon Finals in Iloilo City slated Dec. 4.

Tabal, who is the first Filipino Olympic women’s marathoner, is eyeing her fourth straight title in the women’s 42-kilometer race of the prestigious event.

Tabal recently competed in the 21k race of the Great Eastern Half Marathon in Singapore, where she finished in 1:25.08, good for seventh place. It was her first race since competing in the Olympics last August in Brazil. It was also part of her preparation for the Milo event.

“We made the necessary adjustments based on my performance in Singapore. Although it was not my best time in a half marathon, it was still helpful to make necessary adjustments in my training,” Tabal said.

The 27-year-old Southeast Asian Games silver medalist said she is focusing on her physical conditioning and strategy for the Milo race.

Tabal is currently busy juggling her time between training and preparing for her first running event dubbed as “Chairs For Joy” slated on Nov. 20 at the Sumilon Road of the Cebu Business Park.

Tabal is well known in the Milo Marathon for breaking the 42k women’s race record in 2014. She logged a time of 2:48.00, erasing Jho-an Banayag’s 2:48.16 record.