Mary Joy Tabal of Cebu shows off the trophies she won in the Standard Hong Kong Marathon yesterday. (CONTRIBUTED)
Tabal tops 21k race of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in second attempt
The country’s Marathon Queen Mary Joy Tabal of Cebu added another milestone after topping the 21-kilometer women’s open race of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon yesterday.
It was the first international race of Tabal this year but her second attempt in the same race. In last year’s try, Tabal placed second by finishing in one hour, 20 minutes and 37 seconds.
The reigning Milo National Marathon Queen of the MotorAce Racing Team made sure she did better this year as she clocked 1:21:41 to beat Taiwan’s You Ya Jyun (1:22.46) and Japan’s Asada Shiho (1:24.27), who finished second and third, respectively.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Tabal as she had to go through some minor problems before and during the race.
Tabal arrived in Hong Kong Friday with her coach John Philip Dueñas and a couple of supporters but inclement weather greeted them. According to Tabal, it rained the entire day, which meant they had to wait in line for hours to register for the race.
“It was freezing out there and we were all drenched by rain,” Tabal said. “What made things worse was that I had my period, which really bothered me a lot.”
Tabal also encountered another problem on race day as she was denied by race marshals to start in front of the pack along with the elite runners. Instead, she was asked to start with regular runners at the back of the pack.
“I started behind the elite runners so I knew in a wet track, I had to get to them quickly. Once I did that, I just told myself to run as fast as I can,” Tabal said.
But even during the race, Tabal continued to encounter difficulties. She mentioned that some parts of the route were slippery because of the rain and there were downhill portions which she had to carefully traverse. aside from that, she believed the route was more than 21 kilometers.
Still, Tabal kept her composure and went on to win her first international race of the year.
“I told myself that I shouldn’t be distracted by these problems,” Tabal said. “I think my prayers to the Santo Niño were answered because before I got here, I already offered this race to him,” added Tabal, referring to the Holy Child Jesus, whose feast was celebrated in Cebu over the weekend. “I am very thankful because all of my prayers were answered and I finished first,” Tabal added.
Tabal was supported by GGC, ASICS, CitiGym and JPD Coaching.
After this race, Tabal will shift her focus on the Boston Marathon slated April 18.
According to her, joining Boston Marathon will be her ticket to gain entry into the Rio Olympics later this year.
The Boston Marathon is one of the races accredited by the International Athletics Associations Federation.
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