Snyder proud of Tania, Sildrey as NMI makes debut

Tan

The CNMI made its debut in the World Athletics Cross Country Championships when Tania Tan and Sildrey Veloria took part in a 10-kilometer run of the 2023 edition of the event in Bathurst, Australia last Saturday.

Tan, the Fordham University track team member, came out 82nd among 90 women participants, while Veloria wasn’t able to finish his own 10K race as a brewing storm forced organizers to pull runners midway into the event. 

In the end, Tania finished with a time of  44:41 with a mile pace of 7:12 in a race where six athletes collapsed and had to be taken off the court.

The 21-year-old CNMI national athletics team stalwart said the 10K cross country run in Bathurst was the toughest race she’s ever been a part of.

Veloria

“Apparently it was the hardest cross country course ever in history too. The course itself was the most challenging part. It had nearly 800 feet of elevation gain, ran through sand, mud, grass, vineyards, zigzagged through tires as obstacles, and ran in 93-degree heat. It was intense. All the other runners were super fast so this was a great learning experience and eye-opener into how the top elite runners of the world compete and train. This world championship has inspired me to keep training hard. If you want to be a top athlete, you have to believe in yourself and keep persevering.”

“Sildrey and Tania both performed well—especially considering the heat of the course,” said NMI national athletics coach Dr. Ron Snyder.

He said the 10K cross country race saw some major extremes, especially for the NMI runners.

“In Tania’s race, the heat was blistering and she suffered coming from winter in New York. But she ran it sensibly and came away with a very respectable time. Sildrey would have been much better prepared for the heat but in his race, an Aussie storm came in, dropping the temperature 20 degrees and soaking the course. Because of the severe lightning, they had to finish the race early and clear everyone from the course, rushing us to our cars or to shelter.”

Snyder said the race’s cancellation was a big disappointment to Veloria who really wanted to finish the race. 

“His splits were good and he was well-placed in the field. The heat had been killer so I wanted them both to take advantage of the water on the course. It costs time but is a necessary evil given the dry heat here in Bathurst. We had several days to train in Australia before the race and I was proud of how far they both had come since starting running.” 

Before his race was canceled, the Northern Marianas College student had a mile pace of 7:49.

“I am proud of them both. This is the first time the CNMI has ever competed in the World Cross Country Championships and the director of competitions from Oceania Athletics told me he was proud of the amount of ex-stadia events we do and we should definitely come back for the next world championships in 2024. Croatia, get ready for the NMI!” said Snyder.

Veloria, for his part, said his storm-shortened race wouldn’t take away from the overall great experience he had in Bathurst.

“The course was quite enjoyable. I could not continue because a storm was approaching. I had one more circuit to complete when I was pulled from the race due to the storm. The most difficult aspect of the race is the slope that follows the mud hole since it slows me down significantly,” he said, adding that swapping his Run Saipan singlet with a member of the U.S. team was the highlight of his cross country world championship stint.

Results of Snyder’s 6K cross country run in the masters division will be published in tomorrow’s issue of Saipan Tribune.