Kagas, Edas steal show in Saipan Marathon

Alum Kaga and daughters Conatsu and Coume as well as Sakiko Eda and son Seiya made it a family affair last Saturday after finishing in the Top 6 of their respective divisions in the 2015 Saipan Festival of Runs.

From left, Ayumi, Conatsu, and Coume Kaga pose with their medals after finishing in the Top 6 of the women’s 10-kilometer run of the 2015 Saipan Festival of Runs last Saturday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Kaga placed third behind daughter Conatsu while Coume came in fifth in the women’s 10-kilometer event. Sakiko, for her part, finished fourth in the women’s Half Marathon with Seiya choosing to run the 10K where he also placed fourth in the men’s class.

The elder Kaga clocked 50:20 or 3:30 behind 11-year-old Conatsu’s 46:50 time, while Coume, 10, reached the finish line in 53:08.

Japan’s Tomoe Yokoyama topped the women’s 10K with 42:18, while American Mary Dews was 4 seconds behind Ayumi at 50:24 to place fourth. Korean Im Bomi completed the finisher’s list with a time of 53:18.

Izuru Nakashima completed the 10K course in 40:17 to rule the men’s side followed by Jack Stewart (41:16) and Takeshi Uchida (41:28).

Seiya, a regular fixture in long-distance running events on Saipan, was the fourth best finisher with a time of 42:23. Japanese Yuichi Kobayashi (43:07) and Choong Hee Lee of Korea (43:48) complete the list of winners.

Sakiko, Seiya’s mother, opted to try the Half Marathon where her 1:51:53 record was the fourth best among female runners behind Yukie Nagata (1:37:05), Akiko Miller (1:47:02), and Claire Seelinger Devey (1:51:34).

Sayuri Yuyama and Amalia Harris came in fifth and sixth with times of 1:56:52 and 1:57:14, respectively.

Filipino Ronald Villafria, who works at Kanoa Resort, thwarted a 1-2 Korean finish when he placed second in the men’s Half Marathon. He logged 1:38:01 or 4:11 behind Jung Young Kim’s 1:33:50 and 5:46 ahead of Dong Hun Oh (1:43:47).

Katsumi Kikuma of Japan (1:44:07), China’s Chen Xi Zhao (1:45:07), and the CNMI’s Manny Aaron (1:46:28) round up the men’s Top 6.

Ten-year-old Rintaro Miyawaki (45:55) led the list of CNMI age group winners in the men’s Under-14 with Jinju Thompson, 12, (1:04:43) duplicating the feat in the girl’s division.

Kosuke Sato (men’s 40-49, 47:05); Steven Pixley (men’s over-60, 50:27); Victoria Chentsova (women’s 15-19, 56:56); and Suzy Kindel (women’s Over-60, 1:00:08) are the other CNMI age groupers.

Yishen Li of China (men’s 15-19, 52:46); Korean Young Eun Kim (men’s 20-29, 1:04:04); Alvin Yeong of Singapore (men’s 30-39, 49:26); Kenzo Hashizume (men’s 50-59, 48:23); Asami Kumagai (women’s 20-29, 59:18); Cindy Franz (women’s 30-39, 1:01:33); Chiaki Kawamoto (women’s 40-49, 53:48); and Kyoko Matsuda (women’s 50-59, 57:29) were the other age division finishers.

The men’s Half Marathon age winners were Sear Choj Osilek Jr. (15-19, 2:45:12), Tyler Collins (20-29, 1:58:28); Kyung Jun Lee (30-39, 1:51:34); Izumi Suzuki (40-49, 1:51:07); Tsutomo Sekiguchi (50-59, 1:52:53); and Paul Khang (Over-60, 1:57:45).

Pipit Ball (20-29, 1:57:44); Kyungok Choi (30-39, 2:04:59); Hiromi Suzuki (40-49, 2:08:04); Yoko Hashimoto (50-59, 2:26:16); and Eiko Ono (Over-60, 2:42:49) were the women’s Half Marathon age group finishers.