3rd Annual Women’s 10K Run on March 11

Women competitors of the 2nd Annual Women’s 10K race last year pose for a photo. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

In celebration of Women’s Month in the Marianas and International Women’s Day 2023, the Northern Marianas Athletics 3rd Annual Women’s 10K Run 2023 is set for Saturday, March 11, 2023.

The course will run through the Saipan Marathon Course along the Beach Road Pathway. 

What’s different this year is more inclusiveness with the community, which, with all women invited to join, men are also invited to the new mixed female/male 5K Fun Run/Walk, along with a new distance of a women’s only 5K.

For males, according to Robin Sapong, NMA secretary general, “they will be allowed to join in 5K mix fun run/walk but must use a PRAM/Stroller to run or walk, strictly for fun and support but not as competitors.”

Finisher medals will be given to participants of the 10K run and the age divisions are U18 to 65 and older.

The OneTime chip timing system will be used for this event. 

“With the assistance of our partners once again, we will use the Onetime chip timing system for results, in which we were able to purchase two race mats with the support of World Athletics. We will also seek Run Saipan support to utilize their shoe tags to reduce impact on our environment as it can be reset and reused for a span of two years,” he said. “With a local timing team, it gives us an opportunity to train new people and provide opportunities for them to learn new skills.” 

In an effort to go green and reduce negative impact on the environment from travel, Sapong said that by using OneTime, it has reduced their carbon footprint by saving an estimate of 2.7 tonnes of CO2e by not flying in a timer for the event, which is “a huge win for our partners and us,” said Sapong.

As for what he expects the turnout to be this year, Sapong said “For the past two years, in-person events we have had over 100 participants. So for sure, we’re expecting a bigger turnout this year.”

“We hope to retain some of our previous sponsors and donors for the past two years. We also welcome volunteers, donors and sponsors for this year’s edition. As a non-profit organization we are very thankful for the members of the community for supporting our events,” said Sapong.

Dr. Lily Muldoon, medical director of the Division of Public Health at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., won gold in both the inaugural and 2nd Annual NMI Women’s 10K Run. In the first year, she crossed the finish line with a time of 43:42 and in the second year, crossed it at 43:49. Second to her in the 2022 race was Akiko Miller with 45:03 and Dixie Mendenhall with 48:33 finishing third.

For more information and to sign up for the event, go to https://raceroster.com/events/2023/69846/nmi-10km-womens-run/.