Just For Fun returns on New Year’s Eve eve

Last year endurance enthusiasts faced a new type of challenge on the multi-sport scene and the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation is bringing back the five-stage Just For Fun-Pre New Year’s Eve Triathlon for the second round of racing in Marpi.

Rather than just offering a traditional Olympic-distance triathlon, the NMITF put together an event on Dec. 29 that requires more than one type of athlete to finish as teams of five racers will compete on land and sea.

Organizers have parted with the norm as no one person can do it alone. According to race director Sue Knecht, each co-ed team can have no more than five participants and must be composed of at least two females to handle the roles of the swimmer, the road cyclist, the mountain biker, the trail runner, and the mountain biker.

The fun gets underway at 4:30pm when the swimmers take to the water of Tanapag Harbor for a 1.5-kilometer swim. In order to stay ahead of the sunset, the first riders will leave simultaneously as the road bikers head north along Chalan Pale Arnold to Bird Island, where they will turn around and finish at the Banzai Cliff parking lot.
The excitement continues from there as the third member of the team will take the torch via mountain bike down the trail that leads to Cowtown Raceway Park, turn right on to the dirt road, and proceed toward the Marpi landfill. After staying to the right on the pavement the rider will pedal straight past Last Command Post to the coral FEBC Road, turn left and climb to the very top of Suicide Cliff.

At that point it’s over for the biker, as the first runner takes the team torch down the Banyandero Trail from the cliff to the parking lot of the Last Japanese Command Post. The run continues across the street as the trail bandit proceeds down the road to the Banzai parking area and along the trail to Cowtown to tag the fifth and final teammate.
If the mountain biker hasn’t reached the top of the hill by 5:40pm organizers will send the trail runner on his or her way to take advantage of the remaining daylight.

The final runner will take the dirt road straight out past the aesthetic landfill to the main road, turn left at the intersection, and will follow it up all the way to Suicide Cliff for the finish where cold drinks and their teammates await.

There will also be prizes awarded to the team that completes the journey the fastest.

As a matter of safety, mountain bikers and runners will likely need reflective gear and a light of some kind as the race will end after the sun dips below the horizon. It’s also bound to be a bit chilly at the top of the cliff so participants are urged to bring a change of clothes, blankets, and chairs for the post-race party.

The cost to enter is $25 per team and the only way to take part in the Just For Fun-Pre New Year’s Eve Triathlon is to register at 4pm on race day.

Eight teams turned out for the race last year but none were faster than Team Zen as Sybilla LeonGuerrero (swimmer), Joshua Berger (cyclist), Butch Sublemente (mountain biker), Chris Fryling (trail runner), and Monica Yamaguchi (road runner) took first place in a total time of 2:57:00.

For more information about the Just For Fun-Pre New Year’s Eve Triathlon, contact Knecht via email at sueknechet1@yahoo.com.