Cebuana Olympian Tabal shoots for new 21k personal best

ROUGHLY two months after she started her grueling training in Tuscany, Italy, Marathon Queen Mary Joy Tabal targets to break her 21-kilometer personal record as she and other Filipino long distance runners compete in the 23rd Jeju International Tourism Marathon Festival in South Korea today.

Tabal gained a free slot to this race for winning the 21-kilometer title of the 7-Eleven Run Cebu leg last February.

According to Tabal, this race will serve as her benchmark before she embarks on a tougher chapter of training in Italy after this race.

“As what my coaches told me, coach Giambrone (Giuseppe) and coach JPD (John Philip Dueñas), this half marathon will be my baseline for another three months of training because my marathon-specific training program for the Asian Games will start next month,” said Tabal.

Tabal’s 21k personal record is one hour 16 minutes and 29 seconds, which she logged in the Scotia Bank Ottawa Marathon in Canada last year.

This time broke the Philippine 21k women’s record of Mercedita Manipol-Fetalvero. But according to Tabal, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) hasn’t recognized her time yet.

“My ultimate goal here in Jeju Marathon is to break my half marathon personal record,” said the 28-year-old Tabal of Barangay Guba, Cebu City.

After Jeju Marathon, Tabal will start her high-altitude training in Monte Amiata in the southern region of Tuscany, Italy. This has an elevation of 1,738 meters.

“My first two months of training in Tuscany, Italy, went very good and our training is continuing to level up and my coaches told me that I am ready for a marathon specific training that is why this race tomorrow (today) will be my evaluation and baseline so that they can determine which aspect of my skills needs more improvement,” said the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) women’s marathon gold medalist.

Tabal is set to compete in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, this August.

Joining Tabal is Spectrum Runners Club’s Rafael Pescos, who emerged 42k champion of the 7-Eleven Run, Prince Joey Lee and other winning runners from the Cebu, Manila and Davao legs.