Marshall, Noriko speediest in Mangrove Run

Marshall Hoskins

Marshall Hoskins made it back-to-back, while Noriko Jim won her first in Saturday morning’s Run Saipan Underground 5K 21.6 Mangrove Run that meandered around American Memorial Park.

Hoskins, who also topped the so-called Banzai Cliff Run in June and Mt. Tapochau run last April, completed the 5K run in under 20 minutes or 19.28 to be exact.

This time around, the 27-year-old from Pennsylvania encountered stiff competition as the elite of short-distance races showed up bright and early for the July race.

A few ticks of the clock behind Hoskins was Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Michiteru Mita, who crossed the finish line in 19:35, while Grandvrio Resort Saipan assistant F&B manager Shuji Kuroda completed the Top 3 among the men at 19:43.

“They were with me for majority of the race which put a lot of pressure on me to go faster. I didn’t know I was gonna be able to keep it up. I was pleasantly surprised at the end that I had enough energy to keep going and open my stride a bit,” said Hoskins after the race.

He added that the Mangrove Run, which started across the U.S. Army base/troop store in Puerto Rico with a turnaround at the Micro Beach pavilion and with turns to the Outer Cove Marina, was a welcome change from the usual running events Run Saipan did in the past.

“It’s not just turns, man, the people…I ran back through a lot of people repin’ Run Saipan so that was fun. Also there were a lot of people cheering for us or I hope they were cheering for us. They were clapping,” he said.

Noriko Jim

Jim, meanwhile, topped the women’s division after the veteran CNMI runner completed the course in 22.20.

“Good I feel good. This is actually my usual running route. That’s why I just enjoyed it,” the Saitama, Japan native said after the race.

The many-time CNMI national runner added that she appreciated that the Mangrove Run coincided with the 37th Annual Saipan International Fishing Derby and she saw many people she knew along the race’s route. “I knew some people and they said ‘hi.’”

Audrey Christley finished second to Jim with a time of 23:43, while Rosemarie Fontanilla Chisato came third with a time of 26:50.

Run Saipan’s Edward Dela Cruz congratulated all the winners and thanked all the participants of the Mangrove Run, named after the shrubs that line up the pathway along the run route past the Boating Safety Office toward the Gov. Eloy S. Inos Peace Park.

“Big shout out to everyone that came out this morning congratulations to all runners for not only completing it but safely making it through our very first park run 5K!”

He also thanked Saipan International School head master Ron Snyder for lending Run Saipan the school’s start/finisher arc as well as Northern Marianas Athletics secretary general Robin Sapong for serving as the one-man starter. He also extended his kudos to volunteer photographers on site, John Chloel Delos Reyes and Lao Zhang, media that covered the event, and the Marianas Visitors Authority for letting them borrow their timing system.

Run Saipan’s next 5K series—the Underground 5K 21.7—will be in late August.