Tagaman racers continue to prepare

Only five weeks separate Saipan’s top crop of multisport mavens from an international crowd of professional, amateur, and aspiring triathletes in search of the elusive wooden Tagaman trophy, and organizers are planning just as hard as the field is training.

As the Marianas braces the 17th running of the Tagaman Triathlon, the third annual Saipan Sports Fest, and the fifth XTERRA Saipan Championship, the public is being asked to come out to enjoy the three-sport spectacular like never before.

Hours spent in the water, on the roads, and in the gym will soon present their value to the more than 200 endurance aficionados expected to compete, and organizers are looking to record crowds lining the course and cheering the finishers at Micro Beach.

While the racers will be pushing their bodies to the limit on April 1 and 8 they have to act fast if they hope to keep their wallets from doing the same.

According to Taga Inc. vice president Wolf Mojica, racers entering the 17th Annual Tagaman Triathlon need to hurry in order to beat the progressively increasing late registration fees. Currently the cost to enter the race is $130, but it will jump to $140 after the end of the month, and will get higher soon thereafter.

Applications are available at the MVA headquarters in San Jose, and will soon be available to world via internet at www.tagaman.com. In the meantime, Team Unlimited, Taga Inc., and the Marianas Visitors Authority have been working round the clock to host the multisport enthusiasts from throughout the region for April’s XTERRA Saipan Championship and Tagaman Triathlon.

Calls and emails continue to filter in to the Marianas Visitors Authority, the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation, Taga Inc, and local hotels from interested racers in Japan, Korea, China, Russia, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Guam.

Local hotels have already taken reservations from Europe, and have coordinated equipment rental arrangements upon their arrival to Saipan to compete in either of the races or the extremely challenging PIC Double.

For more information about the Tagaman Triathlon, or to obtain an application form for this April’s race, contact Frank Tudela at the MVA by calling 664-3210.