Mami gets 5th Saipan Marathon win

A smiling Mamiko Berger is about to cross the finish line of the 2016 Saipan Marathon held last Saturday. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Mamiko Berger battled back problems to rule last Saturday’s 2016 Saipan Marathon.

The long-time runner completed the race from the American Memorial Park to Mariana Resort, Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio, and back to the starting line in 3:15:19, eclipsing her 3:28:19 time last year when she won the same event against several Japanese bets.

“I was aiming to beat my personal best (3:09:49 during the 2012 Saipan Marathon), but I don’t want to push myself too hard after I hurt my back about a week ago. However, I am still happy that I was able to finish and win this race again,” said Berger.

It was Berger’s second back-to-back first place finish in the 42.195-kilometer race of the annual event. She had her first two straight triumph in the Saipan Marathon in 2008 and 2009 for a total of five, adding her 2012 win. Berger also topped the 50K course of the event in 2013 and 2014.

Of those victories, this year’s is special as her parents—Satoru and Fusae—saw her crossed the finish line of Saipan Marathon for the first time.

“This win is for them and to those who have been supporting me since I started joining Saipan Marathon in 2006,” said Berger, who initially considered quitting running once she is done with last Saturday’s race as she has logged a lot of miles in more than a decade of hitting the road.

“I was thinking to quit because I feel like I am tired, but after doing this race, I changed my mind. I will continue to run,” the 46-year-old runner said.

Berger was never threatened in the women’s division race, making it to the finish line nearly 10 minutes ahead of runner-up and Japan’s Satomi Oka (3:24:56). Another Saipan-based runner, Sakiko Eda, came in at third in her first marathon after submitting 3:53:28, while Japan’s Mariko Mori (4:07:49), Miyuki Kudo (5:34:10), and Kanako Hirata (5:37:17) rounded out the Top 6 in the women’s ranking.

Berger placed second overall behind men’s division champion Haruki Okayama, who was the only runner to complete the marathon in under three hours with his 2:42:12. Okayama won against fellow Japanese Hiroaki Sano by a big margin, as the latter clocked in at 3:24:55. Three more Japanese runners and one Chinese bet made it to the Top 6 with Shinobu Sueyoshi coming in at third (3:38:02), followed by Chung Hua Huang (3:31:25), Goshi Sato (3:41:00), and Hisashi Matsuura (3:42:06).

Meanwhile, Saipan’s Lorie Hutchinson topped the women’s 50K after logging 4:28:26. She prevailed against Japan’s Juri Tajima (4:50:04), Nozomi Yatabe (4:54:27), Sachi Nohara (6:01:52), and Masako Duko (6:27:42), and China’s Hongtao Zhang (5:41:27).

In the men’s division, Masayaku Abe broke the four-hour barrier (3:39:22) to finish on top of the entire field. He defeated fellow Japanese runners Masato Ueda (4:48:26), Takashi Kano (5:03:25), Toru Aizawa (5:05:20), Tsuyoshi Asada (5:10:31), and Shinya Yura (5:19:42).