Milo sports champion at heart, and in life: Tabal joyful in rise from humble beginnings to sports greatness

CEBU, Philippines — From small beginnings come great things.

This timeless saying proved true for the legendary Cebuana marathoner Mary Joy Tabal, who walked down such kind of path in her meandering but inspiring champion journey with Milo Sports as her guiding light.

From a runner who collapsed at the finish line during her first ever 10-kilometer race, the 31-year-old Tabal has really gone a long, long way.

She may be a petite 4-foot-11 figure to some but she is a giant in the eyes of many for what she has accomplished in the athletic field.

Tabal first etched her name in stone for winning an unprecedented six straight championships in the National Milo Marathon (2013-2018). That monumental feat catapulted her to international stints at the 2014 Paris, 2015 Los Angeles, and 2016 Boston marathons. She also saw action in Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, Canada, and Italy among her countless stints on foreign shores.

The women’s national record-holder both in the 21km (1:16:29) and 42km (2:43:31), Tabal wrote another history as the first Filipina Olympic marathoner at the 2016 Rio Games in Brazil. A year later, she galvanized her status as the country’s marathon queen after bagging gold medal for Team Philippines at the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia.

Walking down memory lane, the pride of Cebu City’s mountain barangay of Guba where she emerged as salutatorian in elementary and high school couldn’t help but look back with a grateful heart to the comprehensive Milo sports program that greatly helped shape her career and eventually reach her aspirations in the sporting arena.

“Since I started running at the age of 12, I represented my school in various inter-school competitions such as the Milo Little Olympics, which I thought the real Olympics at that time,” shared the many-time Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) awardee in slight jest.

Out of that moment, little did Tabal know that one day in her life she would be able to compete in the prestigious sports conclave that happens only once every four years. She did it in style with her history-making appearance donning the Phl’s tri-colors in Rio de Janiero five years ago.

Tabal, a Commerce graduate major in Management Accounting with a Masters degree in Public Administration at her beloved alma mater Southwestern University (SWU)-Phinma, said joining Milo’s sports programs at a young age has taught her to have a champion mindset.

“That’s why it’s also important to find the champion partner for your sports journey so you can can stay on track,” said Tabal, who helps train young aspiring runners in their place for free before the pandemic as payback to the sport that made her what she is now today. “And I’m thankful to be a proud product of Milo sports program through the Milo Little Olympics to the National Milo Marathon.”

“Milo taught me to dream big. Their support has always inspired me to keep pursuing my dreams and make our country proud. And I know that the same goes for the rest of other young Filipino athletes who are just starting their champion journeys,” she added.

Just like any other athlete, Tabal had her own fair share of trials and tribulations before attaining a certain measure of success.

But she persevered.

She courageously warded off all the slings and arrows that came her way because of her strong desire to fulfill her goals.

“Just like running a marathon, life is also a process. I’ve had my fair share of challenges and struggles as much as achievements and victories,” said Tabal, who is now happily engaged to his navy officer boyfriend

Hector Dan Jimenez. “But what keeps me going is my dream, my dream to run for the country, represent our flag in the world’s biggest sporting stage like the Olympics.”

“I was able to overcome these challenges because I was not alone during these battles. The overwhelming support and trust from people, which started from a small circle to a bigger circle, helped me reach this far and also because I let my goals and dreams to heart to fuel me on my journey.”

And Tabal praised Milo Sports to high heavens for being her source of inspiration and pillar of strength through thick and thin all these years.

“My dream, started with Milo. And Milo has been with me in my battles, not only to races but in life for it has shaped the champion within me,” Tabal said. “And the support I have received is truly incomparable. Milo has fuel and will continue to fuel my day to day to keep me going and that is invaluable especially during this time we are all going through right now.”

 “I know that Milo is and will always be a a big part of the Filipino athletes’ champion dreams. Thank you so much for the continued support. I will continue to make an impact, to inspire change, to leave everything better than I found it, to keep inspiring the nation, and to our future generation of champions,” Tabal ended.