Buenavista, Tabal snare Paris berths

MARY Joy Tabal only targeted to go under the three-hour mark. But the elite Cebuana racer did that and more in the 37th Milo Marathon National Finals yesterday at SM Mall of Asia Seaside Boulevard.

Tabal shattered the race record by a fraction of a second with a time of two hours and 48 seconds in the the 42K women’s elite division to earn the P270,000 cash prize and an all-expense paid trip to the 2014 Paris Marathon.

The 24-year-old Tabal, who shattered Jho-An Banayag’s record by 16 milliseconds, emerged as the best local finisher and second overall behind Kenyan Margaret Njuguna (2:42:18).

“My initial target for this race is to hit below the three-hour mark,” said Tabal. “I was quite surprised to have finished much faster and to have broken a record in the process.”

Former local champions Mary Grace delos Santos (2:54:27) and Cristabel Martes (2:57:15) rounded out the top four finishers in the distaff side.

Eduardo Buenavista also earned a slot in the Paris Marathon after leading the local racers in the men’s division with a 2:27:14 clocking.

“I set the pace during the first few kilometers of the route,” said Buenavista, who won his second straight and fifth overall national title. “However, the Kenyans started to gain ground before we reached the halfway point.”

Josphat Chobei (2:18:23) bagged the overall men’s crown while fellow Kenyans King James Tallam (2:18:41), last year’s champion, and Alex Melly (2:22:30) also had podium finishes.

Buenavista, who won P150,000 cash prize, outclassed locals Rene Desuyo (2:32:34) and Irineo Raquin (2:32:57).

Both Tabal and Buenavista will join the Philippine delegation backed by Milo in the Paris Marathon next year.

“This is both my greatest accomplishment and my most ambitious goal so far,” added Buenavista.