MILO 3K CHAMP: A diamond in the rough

The country’s marathon queen, Mary Joy Tabal (right) proudly poses with her ward Jessel Ochia who captured the girls 3-kilometer crown in last Sunday’s Cebu leg of the 39th National Milo Marathon at the Cebu City Sports Center.
cdn photo/glendale rosal

Standing barely four feet, with a toothy smile and waif-like bearing, nine-year-old Jessel Ochia simply cannot command a second look especially in the midst of a colossal sea of green made up of close to 24,000 runners.
In fact, it’s easy to dismiss her as just a mere speck  in the massive statistics that swarmed last Sunday’s Cebu Leg of the 39th National Milo Marathon.
But don’t be deceived by her innocent smile and sweet demeanor, because chances are, you’ll be in for a very huge surprise.
And last Sunday, Ochia served the biggest shocker  of the event  when she humbled bigger, older and more experienced rivals to rule the three-kilometer category of the country’s oldest and most prestigious running event. She bested 1,071 other runners despite being the youngest participant in her division.
Four months ago, Jessel was just an ordinary fourth grader in Guba Elementary School, a mountain barangay in Cebu City, until she joined the grassroots running program of her idol and the country’s undisputed marathon queen, Mary Joy Tabal who is also from Guba.
Running is second nature to Jessel, who has to run from home to school and vice versa  almost every day. It’s a routine that would one day put her in good stead.
Tabal saw the enormous promise of the youngster that she and running coach John Philip Dueñas immediately took her under their wings.
“It was like finding a diamond in the rough,” Tabal, the SEA Games silver medalist in women’s marathon, said. Both student and mentor started running at a very young age, not necessarily by choice, but by circumstance.
And the defending Milo National Marathon champion minced no words in declaring that Jessel would be the next big thing in Philippine long distance running, short of anointing the youngster as her heir apparent.
“She really has the potential. She’s only nine years old but the massive talent is already there,” Tabal gushed. “She topped the most-attended division in the race, and it’s not just any other race, it’s Milo. She started running just last May but she already has a title, I am really proud of her.”
Ochia said she was able to compete in legitimate races through the kindness of local race organizers who would exempt her and her friends from paying the oftentimes prohibitive registration fee as a way of supporting the Cebu City Sports Commission’s grassroots development program.
But while others are still struggling with baby steps, Ochia was already making huge strides by snatching podium finishes in several races like the Alaska World Milk Day Run (3rd), Flame It! Burger Run (2nd) up to her first ever title in the inaugural Justice League Run.
“I really wanted to be like Ate Joy (Tabal),” said Jessel. “Everyday I wake up early to train then go to school. I enjoy running that’s why I never hesitated to join Ate Joy’s program last summer,” Ochia said in Cebuano. “I am very thankful for Ate Joy and Kuya Philip because they taught me everything,” the daughter of a barangay worker and construction foreman revealed.
Ochia finished the Milo 3k race in 12 minutes flat followed by pre-race favorite Michelle Beboso (12:07) and Catherine Angeline Yu (12:23).
Tabal and Dueñas regularly visit Guba Elementary School to monitor the kids’ training which is being handled by their P.E teachers pro bono.
They train in a small oval that the school built especially for them and on weekends, the youngsters traverse the Transcentral Highway for their weekly fix of long distance running.
Last Saturday, 47 pupils from Guba ES received brand new running shoes from Milo, a big inspiration for the kids whose families could hardly afford a decent meal.
And Tabal is optimistic that with Jessel’s inspiring feat last Sunday, more help are on the way for her wards.
Help that she hopes, would enable her to mine more diamonds in the rough, in hilly Guba.