How John Philip Dueñas transformed from being an athlete to being a respected coach

Coach John Philip Dueñas receiving his certificate upon completing his IAAF CECS Level II license course in Singapore early this month./ CONTRIBUTED

Not all athletes can excel and become a successful coach in their chosen sport.

But John Philip Dueñas did.

Proof of this is that Dueñas, who turned 32 last December 21, managed to groom Cebuana Mary Joy Tabal to be a multi-titled runner, the country’s first female Olympian marathoner, a Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, and a six-time National Milo Marathon women’s champion even before he got his International Association of Athletics Federation Coaches Education and Certification System (IAAF CECS) Level II license.

Dueñas, who hails from the northern Cebu town of Carmen, is the long-time coach of Tabal, whom he coached during her college days as a sprinter for Southwestern University (SWU). He also convinced Tabal to middle and long distance running when they were about to finish their college education.

Tabal credits Dueñas not only for being her running coach but also for being her life coach. She credits him for seeing the potential in her and making her believe in herself.

Dueñas said he fell in love with running for practical reasons.

“When I started, I saw that running is the only sport wherein height is not required. You don’t need to form a team for training and it was also where I saw the direction in my life. Running changed my entire life from the start, regarding food, time and self management,” Dueñas said.

Dueñas’ career started when he saw a Milo Marathon for the first time when he was 16 years old and in first year college back in 2003. Having tried being a sprinter in his elementary years and reaching as far as district meets, the running coach always liked the sport but had no idea that athletics also has disciplines such as marathons.

“I really liked running before but I had no idea what it really was, I thought it was only done in the oval. Then I was in first year college, my friend told me there is a run and that I might want to join because it will get us an exemption from P.E., so I immediately went to the teacher,” Dueñas said.

He trained non-stop under his teacher, Mendrica Bismasos, and he slowly climbed up the ranks in the Milo Marathon from an 11th place finish in his first Milo 5K to eventually winning the Milo 21-kilometer title three times.

He fell in love with running so much that he defied his parents wishes and took up another course at the SWU.

Discovering talent

It was while he was running that he realized the lack of coaches with good programs for the sport. This encouraged him to try his hand at coaching, starting with himself and Tabal.

“I can relate it with how I started, that I had no idea what running really was. Then I saw that if only someone had started a program, then I could have gone a long way,” he said.

This is why he started the Grassroots Running Advocacy of the Philippines (GRAP) and using his achievement with Tabal as a motivation for the kids under the program.

“This is my way of paying back as well as to discover the talents of the kids. The main goal is giving them an opportunity to discover their talents.”

Currently, GRAP is training young runners from Liloan, a northern town of Cebu, Tabal’s hometown in Guba, a mountain barangay in Cebu City and the Boystown and Girlstown campuses of the Sisters of Mary Schools in Minglanilla and Talisay.

Though Dueñas has really not made a name for himself as an athlete, he is making up by being one of the most successful running coaches in Cebu.

And with the success he has achieved with Tabal and the program he is running to produce more champions, the Cebuano can well be considered as a champion coach.