Olympian Mary Joy Tabal: Winning against herself

From her beginnings of running in a mountain barangay to being the first Filipina marathoner to qualify for the Olympics, Cebuana native Mary Joy “MJ” Tabal has a lot to thank for.

At 27, Tabal’s accomplishments are already aplenty, among them, being a three-time winner of the annual National MILO Marathon and representing the Philippines at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics last August. Although she didn’t get her dream podium finish in the biggest sporting event in the world—at least, not yet—Tabal is already out to give back to the running community.

Sharing the joy of running

Three months after running her biggest marathon yet, Tabal is back in the game—balancing time between training for the 40th MILO Marathon in December and guiding kids who want to follow her footsteps as a runner.

Mary Joy Tabal and her longtime coach Philip Duenas started the Grassroots Running Program in Cebu, which trains kids how to properly run in marathons. Photo provided by Tabal.

Tabal, along with her longtime coach Philip Duenas, is focused on helping children from her hometown of Barangay Guba with the basics and proper form of running. She does it through the Grassroots Running Program in Cebu, which she and Duenas started in summer of last year.

“Kung ano yung narating ko, gusto ko share sa mga bata,” the runner tells GMA News Online in a phone interview. “Kasi alam ko, as an athlete, kung ano yung pinagdadaanan at ano yung mga problema ng isang bata.”

Tabal recalls the time she first started running as a sport. She was in Grade 6 and only 12 years old, trying out different sporting events to get into Guba Elementary School’s intramurals, “Sumali ako sa lahat ng sports. Basketball, volleyball, kahit anong sport, sinalihan ko. Doon lang ako sa running nanalo.”

While the potential is there, Tabal knows her sport is more than just running—something that she wants to impart to her program’s beneficiaries. “Kulang lang talaga sa guidance, kulang lang sa coach, kulang lang ng push sa akin for this certain sport,” she explains. “So ngayon, kami na mismo yung lalapit sa mga bata.”

All about getting ready

With the 40th National MILO Marathon just weeks away, Tabal has her eyes set on a fourth consecutive win in the running event.

Mary Joy Tabal brings kids from her Grassroots Running Program to running events such as MILO Little Olympics. Photo provided by Tabal.

“[Running is] not an easy sport, kasi it’s more [of a] mental [process],” explains Tabal. “It’s more of beating yourself, challenging yourself on how you will improve more.”

The runner looks back at her previous MILO Marathon titles—even her Olympic stint—and thinks, those “peak” moments shouldn’t stop her from pushing herself further. “There’s a certain reason kung bakit ka tatakbo, kung bakit mo kailangan manalo,” Tabal says, “Kaya whatever it takes, ano man mangyari sa training ko, I have the motivation, I have that inspiration na ganito yung mangyayari sa takbo ko.”

A memorable event, Tabal says the National MILO Marathon will always be close to her heart because it was the first long distance running event that she conquered and won, paving the way to more marathons—both local and international.

With her strength and endurance training, she’s gunning for a 4-peat this year. But there’s one technique not a lot of people know about that has helped her win in previous marathons.

“Every time I join a MILO Marathon, ginagawa ko lang song yung MILO jingle,” Tabal says with a giggle. She’s pertaining to the song first featured in the 1986 TV commercial “MILO A Day” with Olympian and taekwondo jin Bea Lucero. “I’m getting ready, getting ready,” Tabal sings. “Yun yung nagmomotivate sa akin na meron [akong] target.”

Another chance at the Olympics

As for her Olympic dream, Tabal is determined to keep on running until she takes home a medal from the sporting event. “I’m giving myself another chance, a bigger challenge to give myself a better performance in the next Olympics,” Tabal, who placed 124th in Rio, explains. “Nakikita ko yung room for improvement. Ang dami ko pang gustong ipakita sa sarili ko.”

She’s more than willing to go through the whole qualifying process again to get into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. And as early as now, Tabal already has a game plan, “Every year, meron na kaming certain targets. Target namin na ganitong time, ganito yung performance ko dapat. Kailangan improve namin siya year by year before the next Olympics.”

With that kind of willpower and determination to achieve her goals, Tabal may just see herself running towards making more dreams come true—maybe even way sooner than she thinks.