Tinian triathlete to make XTERRA Saipan debut

After the Tinian Triathlon, the 20-year-old participated in other sports events, including the Rota Blue Triathlon in November and the recent Saipan Marathon. But Manglona was never new to staying in top physical form. As a high school student he played football in the Commonwealth Football League for the Tinian Typhoons. Manglona was also a cadet in the Junior ROTC program and in his senior year at Tinian High School and held the rank of Battalion Commander.

But competing in the 9th Annual XTERRA Saipan Championship this weekend makes him feel like a small fish swimming in a large pond. Professional atheletes from the international and national scene will converge on Saipan in the days before April 18, the date of the local XTERRA event this year.

According to www.saipansports.com, the website featuring up-to-date information on the XTERRA Saipan World Championship, Mike Vine, winner of the first XTERRA Saipan Championship will return to Saipan to compete. Current USA Champion and seven-time NORBA winner Shonny Vanlandingham will also be competing on Saipan for the first time.

Of course, Saipan’s top athlete Mieko Carey will be competing. Carey competed in the XTERRA World Championships in Maui, Hawaii, and won third place in her age division. Other competitors include Eli Torgeson who also participated in the World Championships in a slot he won at the XTERRA Saipan Championship.

“I’m excited to be compete with so many fine athletes,” Manglona said. “It’s a bigger challenge for me. But I am going to be a threat, a competitor, an athlete, too,” he said with a smile.

XTERRA is considered the leading form of off-road triathlon, and the XTERRA Saipan Championship will feature a 1.5-kilometer swim, 20-km bike a bike on coral roads and single-track, and 12-km trail run through jungle and caves.

The event will serve as a qualifier for the Nissan XTERRA World Championship held in Maui, Hawaii on Oct. 25, 2009. Forty-one slots will be offered to top age group finishers at the Saipan event.

Asked how he prepared himself for the event, Manglona said, “I set my mind and body to endure a more complex challenge.” His workouts consists of hour-long swims at Tachogna Beach followed by either a run with both road and ragged trail routes, or a bike ride to the northern part of Tinian where the WWII atomic bomb pits are located.

Manglona’s training is usually a solitary endeavor. Most of the island residents pass by him on his bike or on his run, or they spy him on the beach during their barbecues, a look of friendly curiosity on their faces.

“I know I work alone most of the time, but I don’t think of myself as training alone. I set my mind to think I’m working against other competitors. But I believe the biggest competitor is yourself; you always have to try to beat yourself,” said Manglona.

Asked if he thought himself as the “best,” Manglona without hesitation simply said, “No.” He described himself not as the best, but as “competitive,” “motivated,” “determined,” and, with a laugh, as an “adrenaline junkie.”

While most CNMI athletes in the event hail from Saipan, Manglona is the lone athlete training on Tinian, but he doesn’t mind. “Tinian has tough terrains here, and I can train in almost the same conditions as XTERRA on Saipan—trails, biking on rugged terrain, heat and wind, the water.”

He added with a smile, “Sometimes I don’t think I am going to make it.”

“I want more people from Tinian to get involved in triathlons or marathons or XTERRA,” said Manglona. “It doesn’t matter what your environment is, because it all falls on you. You’ve got yourself to support your own goals and dreams.” For Manglona, his dream is to win a qualifying spot to Maui and compete in the XTERRA World Championship. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]