Zombie run’s fastest runners get medals

Participants of Run Saipan’s staggered Beach Road 5K that turned into an impromptu zombie run show off their medals during the awards ceremony along the Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio Beach Pathway in Oleai last Monday. Rightmost is Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. and his son Sasha. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Run Saipan gave the top runners of its staggered Beach Road 5K and impromptu zombie run their medals last Monday near the start line of last Friday’s race.

Division 1 winners were led by Paul Khang, who finished the race in 25:51. CNMI national triathlete Leo Wania and Kamron Pangelinan came second in third after crossing the finish line in 26:41 and 28:47, respectively. 

For the women in the group, Lovel Spaeth and Leilani Ruszala finished in a dead heat (26:42) with Kathy Ruszala coming in third (27:05). 

Caleb Cui paced Division 2 winners with his time of 21:44 followed by Adam Walsh’s 24:26 and Frank “The Crank” Camacho’s 24:33. 

Rosemarie Chisato topped the women in the group with a time of 25:05, followed by Terra Allen (25:38) and Ann Bang (26:44).

Division 3 winner was Samuel Zhu who clocked in at 19:35 with Pony Tang and Rex Pixley in his coattails with times of 19:37 and 19:39, respectively.

Division 1 runners were those with a 5K time of 27 minutes and higher. Division 2 runners are those with a 5K time between 22 minutes and 26:59, while runners in Division 3 are runners with a 5K time between 17 minutes and 21:59.

Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Frank “The Crank” Camacho said he got a kick out of the surprise zombie run.

“The zombie run was a crazy concept. Absolutely loved it. I’ve never had to run a 5K with that much urgency. Right before the finish line I heard one of the zombies right behind me. They are super freakin’ fast!”

The Fit To Lead ambassador also joked that he initially had thoughts of making his best Rick Grimes impersonation to fight back against the zombies. 

“I asked Ed (Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr.) if I can ‘defend myself’ from the zombies with some UFC techniques. It was so fun! I need to do more of these…” he said.

Kathy Ruszala, who like Wania represented the CNMI in triathlon in the 2022 Pacific Mini Games, said all she could think of during the run was a scene from the Hollywood blockbuster World War Z.

“I was trying to keep pace with little fast legs (Leilani and Lovel) as well as ensure that we didn’t get infected. I love theme runs but all I could think of was the scene in World War Z where the zombie stampede took over the city while they avoided an ‘unhealthy’ host body. I figured if they caught up, I’d play dead,” she said. 

Dan Dan Middle School teacher Simon Necesito felt glad to be part of the club’s first-ever zombie run.

“The zombie run was a new concept that we tried for the first time. I’ve never felt like I wanted to run for my life ever. Whenever I did my 5K runs, this year I usually hit 31:00 or 35:00. With this year’s PR, I swear I wanted to cry. I’ve made it a goal this year to finish under 30 minutes. Seeing my time now has shocked me because I never thought I would get to this point. I’m glad we got to do this event because it’s a new spin off of our usual 5K runs!” he said.