Queen Mary keeps throne

CEBU, Philippines - It's going to be a very "Mary" Christmas for Cebuana long distance running star Mary Joy Tabal as she remained as the country's marathon queen after emerging as the fastest Filipina in the 38th Milo National Marathon yesterday at the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

Tabal had earlier expressed her disappointment over the ‘last minute' postponement of the national finals last week due to typhoon Ruby as she was already on the peak of her condition and was ready to break her record.

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Tabal as all other seasoned footracers also had a tough time in adjusting on what to do since they were already in top form after a rigorous training and diet.

"I believe kaming tanan naglisod mi og unsaon pag-train after the race was postponed. Usually, one to two weeks gyud dapat taper down na mi ana, tapos na postpone og kalit, wa na mi kabalo unsay buhaton," said Tabal.

Though she failed to break her record, Tabal was still an object of joy as she successfully defended her crown with the time of two hours, 51 minutes and 55 seconds, merely two minutes short of the national mark she set last year.

Overall, Tabal placed second in the open division to Kenyan Rose Nyangacha, who clocked in 2:47:33, while Uganda’s Immaculate Chemutai wound up third in 2:52:49.

"Medyo dissappointed ko kay nag-expect ko na ma-break nako ako record. Pero tungod pud siguro sa pagka-postpone sa race and the route is slightly different compared to, mao wa nako makuha akong goal," said Tabal. Pero nalipay gihapon ko nga na defend nako akong title. Grabe ang pressure of defending it because tanan, akoy gi-target nila.

With his recent triumphed, Tabal became the only third Pinay runner to win two national crowns after Jhoan Banayag and De los Santos.

On the other hand, Christabel Martes topped the women’s local class with the time of 3:03:49 followed by Mary Grace de los Santos in 3:05:34. Jhoan Banayag settled for third in 3:07:59. Another Cebuana marathoner Miscelle Gilbuena timed 3:08.27, good for a fourth place finish.

Meanwhile, Cebuano Noel Tillor landed at fifth in the local open with the time of 2:37:24. Davao’s Rafael Poliquit clocked in 2:32:29, enough to dethrone Eduardo Buenavista, who came in at 2:33:56. Erinio Raquin was third in 2:35:56.

In the men’s open, Kenyans James Tallam (2:21:08), Josphat Kiptanui (2:21:31) and Joel Kiplimo Kemboi (2:21:31) completed a clean sweep.

Aside from being the fastest Filipino runners, Tabal and Poliquit will also have a chance in representing the country in major international marathons next year.

Nestle Philippines first announced that the fastest Pinoy runners will be sent to the Tokyo Marathon, but they failed to beat the deadline in submitting country’s official list of entries, forcing them to opt for the Los Angeles Marathon slated in March.

In the 21K action, Kenyans John Samoei and Susan Chepwony topped the open division with 1:09:39 and 1:29:50 clockings, respectively, while the  local side had Limuel Camino ( 1:16:05) and Ellen Tolentino (1:36:39) stamping their respective classes.

Aburaham Cheruyot (31:54) and Patroba Kembol (44:25) ruled the 10K open, while Christopher Ulboc (16:03) and Mary Anne Crishelle Perez (19:20) topped the 5K action. Nodrick Cuyom (10:52) and Tara Borlain (10:54) were the fastest in the 3K run. (FREEMAN)