XTERRA Saipan already drawing interest

Just about a week has passed since the top off-road triathletes competed in the pinnacle of their sport, and already racers have shifted their focus from the Nissan XTERRA World Championship in Maui to the “Crown Jewel” of the World Tour here on Saipan.

The CNMI has already found benefits from the Marianas Visitors Authority’s timely decision to keep the race on Saipan as the folks at Team Unlimited have already changed the XTERRA website by taking down the information for the 2006 World Championship race and replacing it with a poster for the Saipan challenge.

The immediate promotion has sped the local race’s exposure to athletes and sponsors across the globe and much like they have for the past five years of the XTERRA Saipan Championships, triathletes are inquiring how to get to the CNMI for March’s race and where to stay when they get here.

Returning athletes are already reaching out to members of the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation for tips on room rates and car rentals for their stay as well as for information regarding the Tagaman Triathlon.

Babatunde Bukunola participated in her first triathlon on Saipan when she challenged Tagaman’s 2-kilometer swim, 60-km bike, and 15-km run in 2001, and she’s been looking to come back ever since.

“Despite not swimming more than 1 kilometer beforehand and carrying a calf injury I had a fascinating time. I’ve plodded along merrily triathloning since always yearning to go back but one thing or another has got in the way. Main problem now is distance because I’ve moved from Hong Kong to the (United Kingdom),” she said.

Bukunola said that since “surviving” her first XTERRA race in Maui she has developed a pair of reasons to come back to Saipan and plans to compete in the Pacific Islands Club Double.

The 2001 Tagaman race didn’t only touch Bukunola, as Ken DaVico explained to www.triathlonlive.com why the local race was his favorite.

“My favorite race has been the Saipan Tagaman Triathlon. It is a one-mile swim, 40-mile bike and 9.1-mile run. It is the spirit of the race that makes it the best. Wonderful volunteers, good director. People come out and sit by the roadside cheering. It has been a policy that the local contractors volunteer their services the evening before the race by bringing out their mobile air compressors and clearing off the road. It is just damn fun, in a fantastic setting with great people behind it,” he said.

Now all that the organizers have to do is continue making people leave Saipan with a smile and a pleasant race experience, but that doesn’t appear to be a problem so far.