Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal may not be able to go for a sixth straight title in the upcoming SM2SM run on February 18 at SM City Cebu.
The 28-year-old Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in women’s marathon said she may skip this year’s race since she is busy training and preparing for her trip to Tuscany, Italy.
The trip to Italy for another set of training is vital for her preparation for this year’s Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, this October where she is aiming for no less than a gold medal in women’s marathon.
“I am not sure and I am not committed as of the moment because I am very busy training right now and also I am very busy processing my visa [for Italy],” said Tabal, a five-time champion in the 21-kilometer distance of the SM2SM Run.
During the launching of the annual footrace that offers about a million worth of prizes last Monday, race director Joel Baring said Tabal will be able to compete to defend her title.
But the multi-titled runner from Barangay Guba, Cebu City, said that there is still much to do with regard to the processing of her visa for Italy that might eat up some time.
“As of now I’m training regularly [and] I am ready for the tougher training that I will be having in Italy. My visa arrived in Manila recently upon my request for a one-year stay in Italy, but there are a lot of things that I still have to do that is why it’s really hard to decide if I will compete in SM2SM Run,” Tabal said.
Tabal said she is looking to leave for Italy either in the second or third week of February.
Aside from the Italy trip, Tabal is also expected to compete in an international race that is part of her prize for winning in the National Milo Marathon Grand Finals late last year. She said Milo is looking to send her to an international marathon in South Korea possibly in March.