Cebu’s Tabal is Milo Marathon Queen for third straight year
Cebu’s Mary Joy Tabal made history in the National Milo Marathon Finals after winning her third straight 42k women’s crown yesterday in the 39th edition of the annual race in Angeles, Pampanga.
The 26-year-old petite runner from barangay Guba, Cebu City, bucked the strong rain and clocked two hours, 48 minutes and 24 seconds to once again take home the crown and book a slot to next year’s Boston Marathon, one of the six major marathons in the world. She also won P150,000.
“My training really paid off. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices during my training but we all know that Boston Marathon is everyone’s dream,” said Tabal, who is the first Filipina to win three straight national crowns in the Milo running event.
Mary Joy Tabal breathes a sigh of relief upon reaching the finish line in yesterday’s National Milo Marathon Finals in Angeles, Pampanga.
Tabal of the MotorAce Racing Team was actually six minutes shy from the Boston Marathon qualifying time but she still qualified for winning the race.
“I could have made the qualifying time if not for the rain. The rain was so strong and the route had uphill and downhill portions,” Tabal said.
Also winning a spot to the Boston race was Rafael Poliquit of Tagum City, who won back-to-back men’s title with a time of 2:36.12.
Tabal said she is aiming to qualify for the Rio Olympics should she meet the qualifying time of 2:42:00 in the Boston race.
Zamboanga’s Mary Grace delos Santos again fell short, finishing second with a time of 3:02.21 while Christabel Martes placed third, clocking 3:02.29.
“I couldn’t help but cry when I crossed the finish line. I was so happy and relieved because there was pressure on my side for being back-to-back champion,” Tabal said.
Still, it was her poise, together with some help from her coach and sponsors, that led her to the podium. “I really thank coach Philip (Dueñas) for helping me in this race. He came up with a great plot for my training. I also thank my sponsors and supporters who trusted me.”
Aside from winning the Filipino category, Tabal also placed second in the open division. Ahead of her was former Kenyan national team member Elizabeth Rumokol (2:43.45) while another Kenyan, Margaret Wangui Njuguna, finished third (2:49:32). For this, Tabal won an extra P250,000.
Meanwhile, there was some confusion early yesterday regarding the results of the race when around 8 a.m., a breaking story came out in the web, saying Tabal placed second to a veteran runner from Laguna. Tabal denied the said story, which and was later removed from Milo Marathon’s official website.
Bogo City’s Noel Tillor, who also represented Cebu in the race, placed fifth place with a time of 2:39:01. Bryan Quiamco placed fourth (2:38:01), Maclin Sadia settled for third (2:37:43) while Juneil Languido placed second (2:36:21).
Ruffa Sorongon, who, along with Tillor, topped the Cebu qualifying race, placed ninth in the women’s race with a time of 3:25.27.
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