Ketola, Tan keep 1-mile run supremacy

Tan

Keith Ketola and Tania Tan ended the year with a bang as they ran the fastest mile in their respective divisions on New Year’s Eve last Saturday from the Buddhist Temple in Marpi to the former Marianas Resort & Spa.

Run Saipan’s second 1-mile race, dubbed Run from ‘22 Mile Race, saw not only the course record broken, but also many personal bests.

Ketola dashed through the finish line with an almost 4-minute mile—4:14—and shaving off 31 seconds from his 2021 course time of 4:45.

Tan clocked in at 5:06, 43 seconds faster than her 2021 time of 5:59.

Behind Ketola was Dev Bachani with a 4:53 mile, with Heimanarii Lai San just two seconds after with a 4:55 mile to complete the Top 3.

Tan, meanwhile, finished sixth overall and top among the women and was followed by Guam’s Sharon Hawley with a time of 5:24 and Tiana Cabrera completing the women’s Top 3 with a time of 6:03.

Ketola

Ketola said that he loved the slight downhill course up north, which was different from the course in 2021 which snaked through Beach Road.

For this race, he said “I feel good. It was a lot of fun. They set up a downhill course for it so that definitely takes probably at least 10 seconds off your time. So, I know everyone pretty much ran their PRs today. So it was a great race, a great event.”

While this was not Ketola’s 1-mile personal best, he did say that “it’s definitely the fastest time I’ve run in probably five years,” attributing his speed to the help of the downhill course.

He said that this race was “challenging just because it’s faster than most. So, like if you’re used to running a 5K or 10K and then all of a sudden you have to run a mile downhill, it might be faster than you’re used to, but if you train for it, it’s actually easier than most other races.” 

Meanwhile, even though Tan bagged the top runner award in the women’s category again this year, she said she just came out to run for fun and support Run Saipan.

“I thought it was interesting because the whole course was downhill which I’d never run a whole course downhill before, so it was fast. And luckily, the wind was pushing us from behind so that also made you go faster. But overall, I liked it.” 

She said it also her 1-mile personal best and that it was surprising considering that she hasn’t done much speed workouts lately, as since she’s been back, she’s just been spending time with family, but that “It’s good to have a PR.”

With this race, she said “it’s a tougher challenge for me because I’m more of a distance runner, so this is like a really small portion of what I usually run, but then it’s also good to work on speed once in a while.”

Edward Dela Cruz Jr., Run Saipan president who also ran the race, said that “It was a great race. We promised people a fast course with optimal settings to run into the new year strong and our race results speak for themselves. I couldn’t be more proud of all our runners this year. Everyone was happy and started the day with a high note and positive vibes to usher in the New Year. Thank you to our runners and our hard working volunteers of Northern Marianas Athletics and Run Saipan. Thank you to DTE Endurance, OneTime Sports, MHS Dolphin Running Club, and especially the Department of Public Safety. We wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year.”

Results of the other age categories will come out in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.