CEBUANO and Cebu-based runners are all set to represent the country in the 23rd Jeju International Tourism Marathon Festival at the Gujwa Life Sports Park in Jeju Island, South Korea today.

The 11-member team representing the Philippines is composed of four runners from Cebu: Mary Joy Tabal, Prince Joey Lee, Rafael Pescos, and Ruffa Sorongon.

Pescos will compete in the men’s Open 42-kilometer, Lee in the men’s 21K Open while Tabal and Sorongon will join the 21K women’s open. The four runners were selected after the 7-Eleven Run Series last February.

Olympian Mary Joy Tabal will try to beat her personal best in this race. Tabal is currently based in Italy, training for the 2018 Asian Games set on Aug. 18 to Sept. 2 in Indonesia.

“My goal is to beat my personal best. I have been training in Italy for two months and it’s a great test on my performance,” said the pride of Brgy.Guba who holds a 21K best time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 29 seconds.

Lee, meanwhile, is coming off from a successful stint at the 2018 Philippine National Games (PNG) in Cebu, where he won two gold medals. (RSC)