Local long distance running’s dynamic tandem of multi-awarded triathlete John Philip Dueñas and reigning 37th National Milo Marathon queen Mary Joy Tabal will be competing in the 21-kilometer category of the Annual Cebu City Marathon to be held on January 12, 2014 starting at the Cebu IT Park.
Tabal, who dominated the 42k local division of the prestigious 37th National Milo Marathon finals in Manila earlier this month, bared that she and her coach Dueñas will be joining the 21k not to compete but to relax and have fun.
“I’m on the stage of recovering after the Milo Marathon so I’ll just be having easy runs in the Cebu City Marathon,” Tabal told Cebu Daily News (CDN) yesterday.
Tabal shattered the 2002 record of Jho-an Banayag in the grueling 42-kilometer full marathon in the 37th National Milo Marathon in Manila last December 9 with her time of 2:48.00 over the former’s 2:48.16.
The record-breaking feat earned for the Cebuana P270,000 in cash plus the chance to represent the Philippines in the 2014 Paris Marathon in April along with Eduardo Buenavista who topped the 42k men’s side.
“I’ll slowly resume my training next week but for now I’ll be doing transition activities to prevent injuries and exhaustion,” disclosed Tabal.
The Dueñas-Tabal tandem proved to be a force to be reckoned with after they dominated the 37th National Milo Marathon Cebu Leg last September as well as several past local marathon races.
Meanwhile, a total of 3,179 long distance runners have already enlisted for Cebu’s premier running event that has recently gained accreditation by the Association of International Marathons (AIMS).
The race, which has already attracted a huge number of foreign runners, is part of the month-long celebration of the Sinulog festival.
The Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) with the help of the Cebu City Government will be giving out a total of P649,000 in cash prizes to the winners in the different categories of the 42k and 21k races.