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Army Reserves joins Christmas Relay race
The U.S. Army Reserves unit is seen crossing the finish line with the CNMI, U.S., and 9th Mission Support Command flags after they ran the 13.7-mile 41st Christmas Island Relay for the first time from the Pacific Islands Club Saipan to the Last Command Post last Dec. 24. (LAO ZHANG)
It is no easy feat to run a race, especially while carrying something the length of it without putting it down.
Members of the U.S. Army Reserve of the 9th Mission Support Command did just that when they ran through the entire Northern Marianas Athletics 41st Christmas Island Relay course carrying the weight of the flags of the U.S., the CNMI, and the 9th Mission Support Command last Dec. 24.
It was the first time that an Army Reserves unit has ever joined the relay race.
The US Army Reserves of the 9th Mission Support Command joined the Northern Marianas Athletics 41st Christmas Island Relay last Dec. 24, which is a first for any Army unit to join the race.(LEIGH GASES)
In a collaborative effort, the 302nd and 100th Battalion banded together from the starting line at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan and ran 1-mile increments each while carrying their designated flags, all the way through the 13.7-mile stretch to the Last Command Post in Marpi.
The U.S. Flag team consisted of team captain ST Atalig Aloysius, along with team members SPC Ricky Santiago, SPC Jimmy Demapan, PFC Mcrey Miranda, and PVT Earl Salamat.
Team CNMI Flag was upheld by team captain ST Charles Nicholas, SGT Francis Estrada, SGT Magic Cabrera, SGT Gerald Galang, and CPL Earl Benedicto.
While the 9th Mission Support Command Flag team included team captain SGT Sablan Kelly, SSG Terence Leung, SGT Robert Mojica, SGT Kevin Adams, and SPC Gelomenermiko Narciso.
As a unit, they reached the finish line with a time of 2:15.20.
Robert Mojica, who has been in the Army Reserves for 10 years and is a firefighter at the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said that it was a good run. Though they could not put the flags down at any point and had to hold them at a certain angle while running, they all managed to finish strong.
During the race, Mojica said that “once the team that was done running goes to the next waiting point, we’d rest, drink water, and then once the guys came to us, then we’d run again. So there were times where we’d have a break in the race.”
He added, “good run everybody. We enjoyed it, it was a lot of fun… Some of the guys had their significant others come out, they were also supporting us and they were either driving vehicles and bringing us to our stations… Hopefully we get a bigger group to join us for the next race.”
