Sato, Miller rule 10K of TRAC event

Kosuke Sato, center, is all smiles after finishing first among the men in the run portion of the 7th Saipan Aquathlon & 10K Pathway Run.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Kosuke Sato and Akiko Miller were supposed to be teammates in the Inaugural Marianas Ekiden last Feb. 19, but the latter had to pull out after contracting COVID-19.

With Miller sidelined Sato and company were relegated to the non-competitive division of the half marathon relay. Sato and Miller were finally winners last Saturday, albeit separately when the Japanese duo won the run segment of the 7th Saipan Aquathlon & 10K Pathway Run.

Sato, the 50-year-old general manager of Kingfisher Golf Links in Talafofo, topped the men’s division of the 10-kilometer run from the Kilili Beach Pavilion to the Garapan Basketball Court and back in 42:04. He was followed by Sildrey Veloria in 43:53 with Daniel Stutzman completing the Top 3 in 48:36.

The Triathlon Association of the CNMI-organized event handed out medals to the Top 3 men and women and Sato was quite impressed how the group conducted the aqualthlon and the 10K run.

“This event was well organized. It was a little bit windy going north was against the wind. It got hot after the sun came out when I was at the 7-kilometer mark,” he said.

Sato added although he didn’t have much practice recently, he did expect to win the race all along. He, however, added that winning is not really his goal when he races.

Akiko Miller, center, smiles to the camera after topping the women’s division run event of the 7th Saipan Aquathlon & 10K Pathway Run.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

“I do not really care whether I win or not. I just want to run faster than last year,” he said.

Despite 50 years old, Sato is determined to improve his time in every race.

“Age is just a number. Age has nothing to do with running,” he said.

Miller, meanwhile, is just glad to be back in the saddle again following his bout with COVID-19 that left her with a little sore throat. She topped the women’s division in a time of 43:58, followed by Evelyn Pangelinan in 52:21 and Rosemarie Chisato in 54:26.

“I was happy to have joined the race today. Last week at the Ekiden my teammates did a great run. It made me want to run also,” he said.

The Saitama, Japan native said she had some trouble running near the Garapan Basketball Court with the pedestrian traffic at the Sabalu Market.

“We have to run at the pathway and it was up and down at Garapan. It was little frustrating,” said the 52-year-old longtime Saipan resident.

Results of the aquathlon side of the 7th Saipan Aquathlon & 10K Pathway Run, which was sponsored by IT&E and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, will be published in tomorrow’s edition of the Saipan Tribune.