Former Southeast Asian Games champions Eduardo "Vertek" Buenavista and Christabel Martes are optimistic that the country's current campaigners can make it to the podium in the marathon in the 2025 edition of the event.
Buenavista and Martes are now calling the shots for the national marathon team that will see action in the 2025 SEA Games in Bangkok, Thailand this Sunday.
Representing the country in the lung-busting 42.195-kilometer event are 2019 Philippine SEA Games gold medalist Christine Hallasgo, 33; Artjoy Torregosa, 26; 2023 Phnom Penh SEA Games silver medalist Arlan Arbois Jr., 28; and Richard Salaño, 34.
The marathon will start at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.
"We have a chance for a medal, especially for the women, Christine. I'm not sure about the gold because the Indonesian (entry) is currently ranked number one," said Buenavista, the 2009 Vientiane SEA Games marathon king who is now the head coach of the squad.
Buenavista was referring to two-time SEA Games (2021, 2023) queen Odekta Elvina Naibaho Elvina, 31, who clocked a new Indonesian women's national record of 2:31:34 last July.
Hallasgo's best is 2:49:27 set at the Jiaxing Asian Marathon Championships last March, and Torregosa's best is 2:57:04 at the Manila Marathon last August.
In the men's division, he said the country's best hope is a bronze given the strength of Indonesian campaigners Robi Syianturi and Rikki Martin Simbolon.
Syianturi, 27, also recorded a new Indonesian men's mark of 2:15:04 last July, while Simbolon, 30, has a personal best of 2:15:48, compared to Arbois' 2:24:23 at the 2025 Tokyo Marathon last March, and Salaño's 2:26:51 at the Sydney Marathon last August.
Arbois is being trained by Martes, the silver medalist in the Pattaya 2000 Asian Marathon Championships and a two-time SEA Games gold medal winner, who is now the national team's assistant trainer.
"He's okay,” Martes said of Arbois. "I trained him based on his current aerobic capacity. God willing, we'll achieve a good result."
Buenavista and Hallasgo were the last to win gold medals for the country in the 42km race.