Cebuana runner Mary Joy Tabal has set foot in Boston, Massachusetts, USA as she gears up for the most important race of her career.
The 26-year-old multi-titled runner, known as the country’s Marathon Queen, will be joining the prestigious Boston Marathon on April 18.
She is not only gunning for a decent finish but also looking to qualify to the Rio Olympics this August as the Boston Marathon is one of the few qualifiers for the quadrennial summer games.
For her to make it to Rio, she needs to shave off about two minutes and a half from her best time to qualify. Tabal’s best in a 42-kilometer run set during the Milo Marathon is at 2:48.22. The qualifying time for the Olympics is 2:45.00.
Tabal is coming off a 50-day training in Japan, which, for her, has really helped her prepare for the race. She said she is ready for the big race.
“I have improved a lot,” Tabal said. “I built self confidence. Never did I imagine myself training there. That experience was priceless.”
According to Tabal, the training in Japan helped her improve not just her skills in long-distance running but also her self esteem, which helps her build up that motivation she will be needing on race day.
“It helped me,” Tabal said of the training under renowned coach Akio Usami. She joined the training of other Japanese runners who are also preparing for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Tabal, a Southeast Asian Games silver medalist, arrived in Boston together with Milo Marathon race director Rio dela Cruz, Milo Sports Executive Andrew Neri and Milo Marathon finals co-champion Rafael Poliquit.
This will be the second time Tabal will compete in the US. Last year, she placed 12th in the 25-29 years old category in the L.A Marathon.
She was supposed to compete in the women’s elite category of that race but technical blunders forced her to join the age group category.
Tabal last year decided to drop out of the Philippine national team roster to train on her own. She was taken under the wings of Motor Ace Philippines, which has since bankrolled Tabal’s training such as the one in Japan.