Plenty of fun runs for the money

With less than two months remaining before some of the top runners in the region are joined by scores of athletes on Saipan for the 6th Micronesian Games, local leggers have ample opportunity to stretch the gams with four events in May.

This past Saturday 44 locals joined the Club Elan 5km Fun Run, and this week there are four more runs on the horizon as local organizations look to raise funs and promote healthy living.

The next jaunt on the docket is just two days away as the Seventh Day Adventists are hosting a 5km Fun Run at the American Memorial Park this Thursday, May 4, at 5pm to help send their talented troupe of thespians to Palau.

The SDA’s Real Christian Theater Club will be putting on a host of shows in Palau, but in order to get there they will have to raise the needed funds. This Thursday’s run costs $10, and all participants will get a sneak preview of their Palauan performance this Saturday night.

Thursday night is not the only chance for the joggers to get their jollies as the Marianas Visitors Authority is hosting the first of two Ayuda Fun Runs this Saturday, May 6, on Saipan.

As they have in years past, the MVA will host two runs in the CNMI with the first on Saipan on Saturday, May 6. Runners will head north from Kilili Beach to Triple J Motors and back for a 5km journey along the Beach Pathway

The cost to participate is $10 if registration is completed by tomorrow, but those waiting until race day will have to pay an additional $5. This year all of the proceeds from the twin races will be donated to the hosting of the Micronesian Games on Saipan later this summer from June 23 to July 2. Organizers are expecting anywhere from 30 to 100 participants and all of them have the opportunity to take advantage of the early bird discount.

Two weeks later the organizers of the Micro Games will be hosting an off-road 5km Fun Run that will take participants down the fairways of the Laolao Bay Golf Resort on May 20.

The cost to forego the golf cart for a run along some of the most beautiful stretches of grass is a mere $10, and proceeds will also go directly to the Micronsian Games Organizing Committee’s efforts to host the best event possible on Saipan.

The fourth fun run of the month is the second MVA Ayuda Fun Run and will take place across the channel on Tinian the following week on May 27. Tinian runners will start at Taga Beach, head over to M&F Corporation, and return to the beach for their three-mile trek.

As with the Saipan Ayuda Fun Run, the top three overall males and females will have a little something more than a medal and a runner’s high to take with them after the race as first place winners earn $75, the second placers earn $50, and the third place finishers take home $25.

While only the supreme six get the cash and medals, all participants receive a commemorative T-shirt, and all children under 12 will receive a Saipanda water bottle back pack.

The racers looking to take part in the Tinian race have until May 24 to take advantage of the $10 entry fee, as the cost increases to $15 for those who sign up on May 25 and beyond.

For more information about the Ayuda Fun Run, contact the MVA by calling 664-3200 or by stopping down to their headquarters on Beach Road in San Jose.