Staggered start for Christmas Island Relay

Agape Christian School A runners do the celebratory jump to the finish line after topping last year’s Northern Marianas Athletics’ Annual Christmas Island Relay. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Northern Marianas Athletics’ Annual Christmas Island Relay will push through as scheduled tomorrow, Dec. 18, but organizers have opted for a staggered start for all participating teams and individual runners.

In addition to a staggered start of 2 minutes apart and 6 feet social distancing at the starting line, runners no longer need to physically tag off at designated exchange zones for the 13.7 mile-long race, as NMA is strictly enforcing protocols set by the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force following the recent surge in local coronavirus cases.

NMA also has established road-running specific social distancing meet protocols for the race, which starts bright and early at 6am at Pacific Islands Club Saipan in San Antonio and concludes at the Last Command Post in Marpi. These include the elimination of handshakes before and after the race. After the race, teams and individuals will also be asked not to congregate and immediately leave the finish line area at the Last Command Post. The Top 3 teams will be announced via social media.

NMA also reminded all participants to follow all COVID-19 social distancing rules and comply with all local, state, and federal mandates. All participants must stay home if they are sick, always wear face coverings, and frequently sanitize hands.

Race categories include open mixed teams, youth mixed teams, men’s and women’s solo virtual runners, and virtual 1-mile runners.

Open mixed teams must be composed of five runners who will individually alternate through 1-mile stages from start to finish. One of the members of each team must either be 16 years old or younger, a female, or 40 years of age and older.

The youth mixed teams should be made up of 16-and-under runners and must have at least one female or one 12-and-under participant. A maximum of 20 team slots are available and runners under 18 years old must obtain parental/guardian approval to participate.

Last year, Simon Shan, Ray Qi, Eason Tang, Peter Hu, and Samuel He of Agape Christian School’s Team A won the Annual Christmas Island Relay in a time of 1:25:38. It was the sixth straight year, ACS won NMA’s season-ending race.

For more information about NMA’s Christmas Island Relay, contact Robin Sapong at rsapong@gmail.com nmi@mf.worldathletics.com. Registration link is https://raceroster.com/events/2021/55739/annual-christmas-island-relay.