Marshall Hoskins flies in swan song

Marshall Hoskins won his final race on Saipan for the time being after topping Run Saipan’s International Coastal Cleanup Day 5K last Saturday on the road leading up to Ladder Beach.

While Run Saipan’s timer conked out, Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. said Hoskins finished with an unofficial time of 9.12. The time, however, is a bit skewed as runners only ran 2.5 kilometers with the other half dedicated to the cleanup. Wilson Gaul was second and coming in third in the men’s category was ageless wonder Chong Nam Lee.

The win in Run Saipan’s International Coastal Cleanup Day 5K is Hoskins’ fifth victory in the underground series as the 27-year-old from Pennsylvania previously triumphed in the April, June, July, and August editions of the race.

In the women’s category, Evelyn Pangelinan crossed the finish line in 11:29 seconds followed by Rosemarie Chisato and Ellie Roark. A total of 17 runners took up the challenge of the International Coastal Cleanup Day 5K.

Dela Cruz also paid tribute to Hoskins as Run Saipan’s winningest runner was set to leave the island the day after the race, Sept. 19.

“Marshall is an exceptional athlete and will be missed. I’m glad I ran with him one more time in today’s race. The man has so much character. On the route of the cleanup today, he managed to pull out one TV and an entire refrigerator from the tree line. Run Saipan wishes him the best and good luck out there.”

He added that aside from winning their races left and right, Hoskins has had a tremendous impact on their fledgling running community.

“When Run Saipan was at its infancy he was participating in our runs. He debuted in our Ekiden Relay last February in Brad Ruszala Team with Akiko Miller and Simon Necesito. He shocked everyone as the first leg runner for the relay and totally shredded with a sub-19-minute 5K split. He has pushed all our fastest runners in every race when he shows up which in turns pushes us to train harder. He has an amazing heart. He loves to help out wherever he can and also donate for whatever cause the races are for. We will surely miss him. I love how he can commit to not just running but paddling as well and is a strong team player by just hearing comments from his teammates about his sportsmanship and team ethics on the paddling side,” added Dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz said the second part of the run that involved picking up trash was also a complete success with the group collecting 30 trash bags totaling 50 lbs of rubbish.

“We do our part as a community to help clean up our environment. Everyone in Run Saipan knows how important ICC Day is and we’ve been wanting to be a part of it. I’m so happy we were able to do it in partnership with Salty Skin Pacific and their sponsors. Our next environmental-theme race in the near future will be to resurrect the Lao Lao Bay race that has been a dream of our Oceania Athletic Association president/Northern Marianas Athletics secretary general and Run Saipan board member Robin Sapong,” he said.

Run Saipan’s International Coastal Cleanup Day 5K was held in conjunction with the sports organization’s hosting of the second PSS Cross Country Qualifier results of which will be published in tomorrow’s issue of Saipan Tribune.