After being absent from the local running scene for quite some time now, Cebuana Mary Joy Tabal returned with a bang, topping the 21-kilometer qualifying race of the National Milo Marathon General Santos Leg on Sunday.
The race was Tabal’s first since last June when she won a silver in the women’s 42-kilometer race at the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.
Mary Joy Tabal
For the 26-year-old Cebuana, the long hiatus from racing locally made her feel excited all over again.
“What makes this race beautiful is that I have a feeling of hunger to win, sort of excitement to get back on the winning track because I have not joined a single race after the SEA Games,” Tabal said.
The win meant Tabal qualified for the Nationals, where she is back-to-back 42k champion.
“I joined this race as part of my training for the finals, to test my progress. So far, I’m on track in my training, but I’m continuously working on my conditioning to have a better chance of retaining my crown.”
Tabal finished the GenSan race in one hour, 21 minutes and 22 seconds.