Abois overcomes Tokyo Marathon with career-best finish despite short preparation

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March 2, 2025 | 2:09pm

TOKYO, Japan — Filipino runner Arlan Abois Jr. always had a knack of turning something out of nothing.

With little time to prepare after juggling national team duties and his responsibility as a newly enlisted Army personnel, the 24-year-old 2023 Phnom Penh Southeast Asian Games silver medalist came through with his best effort to date in the Tokyo Marathon on a windy, cold Sunday morning here.

Armed with nothing less but an iron will, the proud son of San Rafael, Davao City, who is an ASICS ambassador, clocked two hours, 24 minutes and 23 seconds in this 42.195-kilometer race that started in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and ended between the Imperial Palace and the Tokyo train station.

He surpassed his previous best time of 2:26.38 in December a year ago in a race back home.

Forget about finishing 125th out over 38,000 in this annual race considered as one of the seven “majors” of the sport.What mattered was Arbois accomplished what he had set out for.

“I didn’t expect it because I had little preparation because I was just recently accepted in the Army,” said Arbois, who wore ASICS’ newly released Meta Speed Edge, in Filipino.

“But every time I race, I always try to improve on my time. And I’m happy I did here,” he added.

Veteran Richard Salano, in contrast, had a strong start but the chilly weather caught up on him and struggled in the end, finishing at 174th in 2:28.40, or less than four minutes off his target.

“I was doing okay in the first 32 minutes and I thought I was on course of reaching my target and even touching the national record,” said the 33-year-old Army Corporal from Bulacan, whose trip was funded by ASICS.

“But I felt the chills in the 34th minute and I was just never the same. The cold weather got into me. Maybe because I stopped training for a week last month because I got sick,” he added.

It was the second time Arbois got the better of Salano, after the former bested the latter in Cambodia two years ago in snatching the silver when not many even considered him a medal contender.

But Arbois came through.

And here in the land of the rising sun, he did it again.