What began with a collapse at the finish line in her first 10K back in 2009 turned into a historic run to the Olympics for marathoner Mary Joy Tabal.
On September 9, 2009, Mary Joy Tabal lined up for her very first 10-kilometer road race with the heart of a sprinter and the spirit of a dreamer.
She pushed herself to the limit, clocking 45 minutes to finish fifth overall but just moments later, she collapsed at the finish line.
The then-young Cebuana runner woke up in the emergency room, diagnosed with hypoglycemia.
That painful moment could have been the end of her running story.
Instead, it became the beginning.“That race broke me. But it also built me,” Tabal recalled. “From that day forward, I was never the same athlete again. That pain, that hardship, it became my fuel.”
Fuel it did.
From that harrowing setback, Tabal blazed a path no Filipina had run before.
She rose to become a SEA Games gold medalist, a perennial champion in the Milo Marathon, and most notably, the first Filipina to qualify for the Olympic marathon at Rio 2016.
Her journey was never smooth, filled with sacrifices, tough training days, and the weight of expectations.
But at every stride, she carried the memory of her father, her lifelong inspiration, and leaned on the support of her coach, family, and friends.
Now, years after making history, Tabal reflects on that fateful day, 09-09-09, as the race that transformed her. What once felt like defeat became the spark for triumph.
And today, beyond medals and finish lines, she’s embracing a new role: that of a loving mom, still running life’s marathons with heart, grit, and grace.
“We all go through setbacks in life. Some breaks will leave you down, some battles will leave you hurting. But if you keep moving forward, you’ll find that every fall can be the start of something greater,” she wrote.
For Mary Joy Tabal, the true finish line is not where she falls but where she chooses to rise again.
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Inna Mina is a sportswriter with a passion for telling stories that go beyond the scoreboard.
She covers running, athletics, and other major Philippine sporting events, while also following grassroots sports, athlete journeys, and women in sports. Her work also includes lifestyle stories on health, fitness, and community.