WITH a 75-kilometer Jakarta international skyrunning championship and two Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge titles to his name, Davao del Norte-based Elias Tabac will try to scale new heights in Hong Kong on December 2.
The 24-year-old native of Agusan del Sur, however, said he could not predict how he would fare in the 50K race since he failed to finish in the last skyrunning event he joined in Baili, Indonesia last month.
“Nasaag ko, wala ko ka finish. Sa last 20K wala man gud niabot nga marshal (I got lost, I didn’t finish. No marshal arrived in the last 20K),” he told SunStar Davao in an interview at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex in Tagum City on November 12.
He said that his failure in Bali did not dampen his spirits at all.
Tabac went to Butuan City recently and competed in the 2018 National Milo Marathon regional leg and finished second in men’s 5K.
He said, “First time nako mag 5K sa Milo run. Best time pud nako to. Dili man ko pwede mag long run kay mag skyrunning man ko sa December. Murag tune-up nalang nako tong sa Butuan (It was my first time to run 5K in Milo. It was also my best time in the category. I could not run long distance since I’ll skyrun again in December. The Butuan race just serves as tune-up).”
Tabac, an employee of the provincial government of Davao del Norte, timed 15 minutes and 22 seconds in the Milo run, trailing behind champion Rico Jay Patanao who clocked 15:15.
The young father of a three-year-old only targets a top three finish in Hong Kong. Yet, he could not predict how much time it would take him to complete the 50K course.
It took him 14 hours to finish the 75K event in Jakarta in July this year.
He ruled the Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge first in 2016 then in 2018.
Running on elevated areas used to be a daily grind for him. “Bukid man gyud dapit tong among gipuy-an sa Agusan. Nagdako ko nga daganon nako ang eskwelahan, three kilometer padulong og three kilometers pauli. Pataas gyud ang among eskwelahan (We lived in a far-flung area in Agusan and I used to run going to school for three kilometers and returning back home for another three kilometers everyday),” he reminisced.
The farmer’s son then pursued competitive running when he was eight years old.
In college, he competed in five National Prisaa Games held in Iloilo City, Pangasinan, Cebu City, Koronadal City and Tagum City. He only salvaged a men’s 5k bronze medal in Pangasinan.
Tabac, who trains three hours daily, hopes skyrunning becomes an Olympic event so he could represent flag and country in the world’s sports spectacle.