TABAL BREAKS RECORD IN 21K
Cebuana Olympian Mary Joy Tabal wins 21K division in Ottawa Marathon Tabal also smashes the ‘official’ 21K record by almost two minutes Tabal set 21K record last year in Japan but it was not recognized by Patafa
Cebuana Mary Joy Tabal ran a personal best and a potential Philippine record for the half-marathon en route to becoming the first Filipina to stand on the top of the podium in the 43- year history of the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon in Canada Sunday night (PHL time).
When the diminutive runner from Guba, Cebu City finished the 21-kilometer race in 1 hour, 16 minutes and 27 seconds, the organizers repeatedly announced that a Filipina outlasted 6,000 other runners.
“It was my proudest moment when the organizers kept on announcing at the finish line that the winner is a Filipina. They also posted it on Twitter twice,” Tabal told SunStar Cebu in an online interview.
Tabal, 27, was more than two minutes faster than the current 21K female Philippine record held by Mercedita Fetalvero (1:18:45), set in 2008.
Tabal actually broke the record by one second after clocking 1:18:44 last year at the Adachi Goshikizakura Half-Marathon in Tokyo, Japan but it was not recognized by the Philippine Athletic Track and Field Association (Patafa), the governing body of track and field in the country.
It’s a different story this time as the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon is a Gold Label Marathon race.
“I think I don’t need to submit proof to make it official, since they (Patafa) can check the result online and also verify it. It’s also a Gold Label Marathon,” she said.
It was an overall impressive run for Tabal, who finished with almost a two-minute cushion from the closest pursuer Brittany Moran, who clocked 1:18:42. Lynda Gingras (1:22:58), Karoline Hoy (1:24:54) and Lindsay Kary (1:24:56) made up the women’s top five.
“I was leading from the start. At first, I thought I was maybe running too fast and maybe it was not the right pace but then I kept going at the same pace and pushed myself and overcame ev- erything that was going on in my mind, including fear,” said Tabal, who was ranked eighth overall of more than 14,000 runners, including male participants.
Tabal was coming off a monthlong training at the Tuscany Training Camp in Italy and was thankful for her stint as it helped her improve not just physically, but also mentally.
“I know I still have a lot of things to do and improve, but yes, my hard work paid off and the trust and support I am getting from MotorAce Kawasaki Team have paid off also. The patience and also the hard work of my coaches,” she said.
John Philip Dueñas, Tabal’s long-time coach, couldn’t be prouder with the recent feat of his ward.
“Our target was 1:17:00, which was based on the workouts she did in Italy, and she exceeded our target time. I’m very happy and proud of her,” said Dueñas, who has been coaching Tabal since the latter started long-distance running. /