Mamiko fails to beat time but rules Saipan Marathon

A day before the 2015 Saipan Festival of Runs, Mamiko Berger was suffering from stomach flu and was feeling a bit dehydrated heading into the 42-kilometer race last Saturday.

Berger failed to beat her 2012 record but still came out on top of the women’s division in the full marathon event that started and finished at the American Memorial Park near Micro Beach.

The 45-year-old clocked in at 3:28:19, which was slower compared to her 2012 best time of 3:09:49 in the annual race that had runners navigating from AMP to Banzai Cliff then to the stoplight before Chalan Kanoa and back to the finish line at Micro Beach.

Mamiko Berger celebrates as she crosses the finish line in last Saturday’s Saipan Festival of Runs at the American Memorial Park. Berger was the top female finisher in the 42-kilometer full marathon. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

“It wasn’t a good race for me. Not a good day since I was too slow since I was suffering from stomach flu a day before,” said Berger in an interview with Saipan Tribune.

The veteran long-distance runner added that she still wasn’t feeling well prior to the start of the race.

“Halfway through the race, I thought that I would not be able to finish it. I was lucky that I did finish it but was a bit sad with my time.”

Berger’s efforts earned her a spot on the 2015 Mt. Fuji Marathon set in Nov. 29. She will compete with the CNMI’s Steven Johnson, who placed sixth in the men’s division with a time of 3:50:12.

“A lot of people think that the Mt. Fuji marathon is all uphill. It is basically flat and it has only one big hill. I’m just going to train here, running up Mt. Tapochao and at Banzai Cliff,” said Berger, who holds the fastest record time in last year’s 50K race.

Berger logged in 4:04:14 in the 2014 50K race to beat her own 2013 record of 4:11:02. Her 2013 time shaved off more than eight minutes on the 4:19:21 registered by Yoko Yamazawa in 2012.

American Lorie Hutchison finished second behind Berger in the full marathon completing the course in 3:48:04, while lawyer Kimberlyn King-Hinds placed third with a time of 4:03:38.

Mariko Mori (4:15:42), Jennifer Cui (4:18:21), and Mamiko Takahashi (4:20:53) completed the Top 6 female runners.

Akiyoshi Kamijo led a 1-2 finish for Japan in the men’s division with a blistering pace of 2:39:38 while 33-year-old Genkies crossed the finish line in 2:58:16. Korean Minghul Koh came in at third (3:21:49).

Tamotsu Kimura (3:30:24), Kei Hayashida (3:47:34), and Johnson (3:50:32) were the other runners in the men’s Top 6.

Seventeen-year-old En Feng Wang led the men’s age division winners (15-19, 4:15:07), while four other Japanese topped their respective group. Barefoot runner Chang Whan Jang, 62, was the fastest Over-60 runner with a time of 4:13:35.

Taiyo Nagashima (20-29, 4:12:36); Masaharu Mori (30-39, 3:54:14); Kozo Yamada (40-49, 3:53:17); and Ichiro Kubo (50-59, 4:01:23) were the other male age group winners.

Miho Hayashi (20-29, 6:15:17); Tomoko Sugimoto (30-39, 4:27:24); Kimiko McKagan of Saipan (40-49, 4:28:06); Yukiko Fukui (50-59, 6:05:12); and Hirayama Etsuko (Over-60, 4:22:49) were the female age groupers.