Run Saipan shoe drive nets 32 pairs

From left, CNMI national coach Dr. Snyder, Northern Marianas College President Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero, and Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. pose with the shoes donated to the club’s shoe drive. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Run Saipan’s mission to deliver soles to the feet of Rota runners was accomplished after Saipan’s running community donated 32 pairs of shoes for the recent Northern Marianas College Couch to 5K Run.

“I didn’t expect us to have this many shoes donated, especially with how hard our current state is in the CNMI with rising gas prices and [Commonwealth Utilities Corp.] surcharge rates. It’s really great to see the running community come together to donate these. Running shoes are not cheap. We even had some $200 shoes donated in the lot. Thank you so much to the running community for your beautiful heart,” said Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr.

Just some of the high-performance running shoes donated were pairs of Hoka One, Saucony, and New Balance shoes.

NMC president Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero also thanked Saipan’s running community for coming to the aid of their brothers to the south.

“All around the CNMI, we are seeing more of an effort to live healthy lives, whether it be the growth of Saipan runs, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ Fit to Lead initiative, this past weekend’s Kulot Acha’Ikak 5K run, or NMC’s Health Squad. That is why we appreciate partnerships and support that helped our community on Rota with their recent Couch to 5K Run event held last Sunday, July 10. The event helped dozens of people from Rota over the past two months to train up toward running a full 5K. That was made possible, in part, by this generous donation,” he said.

CNMI national coach Dr. Snyder also thanked community members who donated their pre-loved shoes to the shoe drive.

“As Run Saipan grows in both membership and outreach, we are very happy to be able to form partnerships in the community. Thank you to all of our members who donated high quality shoes and thank you to NMC for putting this together.”

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Staffler kudos
Rep. Leila Staffler (D-Saipan), meanwhile, thanked everyone who made the first-ever Acha’ikak Kulot 5K last Saturday at LauLau Bay a success. 

“I am so proud of how the event turned out. There was months of planning that went into it and lots of collaboration among different government agencies and partners. All of the time spent in preparation was well worth it because the event went very, very smoothly.”

The lawmaker said she was especially impressed with the shuttle service that ferried runners from San Vicente Elementary School to the drop-off point for the run at the bottom of the San Vicente Laulau Bay entrance.

“That was something that had not yet been done by the Run Saipan group, but they had been interested in seeing how it works because they have future runs where they will provide shuttle services for the runners. So our event was a great trial run for them to experience. As for next year, I definitely hope to host this event again, and will always encourage more participation from the community to join in,” she added.

Staffler went on to enumerate the various agencies and companies that helped make the Acha’ikak Kulot 5K a success. They are the following: Marianas Visitors Authority, Saipan Mayor’s Office, Department of Public Works, Run Saipan, Northern Marianas Athletics, Department of Public Safety, Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, NMTech, San Vicente Elementary School, Marianas High School JROTC, Kagman High School JRTOC, NMC Health Squad, Saipan International School, Rep. Richard Lizama and his staff, Rep. Leila Staffler’s staff, MidPac Micronesia, and Marianas Pacific Distributors, Inc.