Carruth wins in Rota

ROTA—In perhaps his swan song on the CNMI’s long distance running circuit, Saipan’s own Rob Carruth emerged from a pack of 21 racers on Saturday to win the 9th Annual Rota Fiesta Half Marathon when he crossed the finish line at the Rota Roundhouse in 1:47:43.

“It feels good now, really good. We had really good conditions today. It wasn’t as hot as it’s been in past years. There was nice cloud cover and a little bit of a breeze so it was good today,” said Carruth.

While his next major running event will be an ultra marathon in Arizona next March, Carruth was at the head of the pack for the annual affair right from the start joined by eventual second-place finisher Chris Fryling, who finished the 13.1 mile course just over four minutes later at 1:51:45.

Saipan’s sage of multisport also joined the action as Fred Camacho cruised to a third-place finish for the men when he returned to the Roundhouse at the 1:57:43 mark.

On the women’s side, Guam’s Vicky Daniel took the tape with a zephyr-like time of 1:55:09 that was good for third overall. Saipan resident Monica Yamaguchi was the second female finisher to run beneath the archway at 2:03:45, followed by Sidney Marathon finisher Irma Halaby at 2:14:49.

Local multisport enthusiast Joshua Berger was one of the organizers of the event in the absence of Ed Barcinas and Joe Santos who are currently serving their country in Iraq, and he ran the race as well in a time of 2:21:53.

“It’s probably my fifth or sixth, but it was my very first half-marathon in 1998. I haven’t done it every year, but most years. I love Rota; I love all of the Rota races. This is the prettiest of all of the half-marathons I’ve done and all of the triathlons Slow, but it’s a hot race. This race I always take it easy—it’s a tough hot race. That’s why I try to start it at 5:30. Two years ago we started at 6:30 and some people didn’t make it down the hill. It is a hot run, but if you can get up and down the hill by 6:30pm you’re in good shape.” He said.

As a seasoned runner, Berger could appreciate the support provided by the MVA’s Rota Office, the Department of Public Safety, and the volunteers like mountain biker Ted Parker who circled the course offering refreshments to ensure the runners would have a safe and enjoyable race.

“I thought it was fine. It was well organized, there were a lot of water stops—probably the most water stops we’ve ever had. I was hoping for a few more people, but otherwise it was a fun group and a great race,” said Berger.

First-timer Catherine Chapman was joined by a number of rookies on the course, and was thrilled to finish the race when she crossed the line with Dana McMahn at 2:36:43—saying that her plans include more of the same next month.

“I feel great now. My legs are about to seize up, but I finished and that was my goal. I’m going to do the half marathon in Guam in about a month and maybe the triathlon in Rota. It’s a little ambitious, but we’ll take it,” she said.

Chapman said that she got the idea to tackle the lengthy event from her friend Kanae Quinn.

“She told me that I could do it so I said ‘Okay’ and she helped me train,” she said.