Tang, Chavez top 5.5K Fun Run

Chavez

Pony Tang and Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez—both high school student-athletes—dominated 290 other runners in the 5.5K Fun Run presented by Atkins Kroll and Run Saipan in celebration of AK’s 55 years of service last Saturday at Banzai Cliff in Marpi.

Tang, a 16-year-old from Marianas High School and member of the MHS Run Club, raced through the finish line first overall with a time of 23:03, while Chavez from Saipan International School clocked in first in the women’s division with a time of 25:09.

Right behind Tang is MHS’ Cody Shimizu with a time of 24:42, followed by David Zhao with a time of 24:30.

Second to Chavez in the women’s division is Noriko Jim with a time of 25:27 and third is Addalee Taflinger with a time of 26:12.

Tang said that the course was “good. It was just really hilly and the wind was really strong.” He then thanked his friends, his teachers, and coaches and hopes to “encourage running in MHS and hopefully I get more people to join next time.”

Tang

Chavez, whose father raced in the Holiday Half Marathon, said that she didn’t join the half marathon race because she is “not that fit.” Even with that, she topped the women’s category in the 5.5K race. She recounted that she wasn’t leading in the race the whole time as she had to catch up with some runners throughout the race. 

“It was a good course. I had to stop because the tracker was falling down… I had to stop, then run, and the girl would beat me and I had to sprint to her.” Chavez also said that she was running alongside her schoolmate, Tiana Cabrera, but decided to just make a run for it in the end.

The school participation first place winner is Saipan International School with 123 votes; second place is Marianas High School with 35 votes; and Grace Christian Academy is third with 17 votes.

For the Half Marathon, Run Saipan also recognized the club members’ Top 3 men’s finishers: Sildrey Veloria, Matthew Furan, and Travis Spaeth. The Top 3 women’s members went to Rosemarie Chisato, An Bang, and Jessica Ortizo. 

Additionally, a special “Run Saipan President’s Inspiration Award” went to Simon Necesito, as he crawled to the finish line after his legs gave out in the Half Marathon. Run Saipan emphasized that this is a one-time award only in the event that someone does something inspirational or noteworthy in their runs.

The “Oldest Participant Award” went to Gerald Alm, who is 74 years old and finished the half marathon with a time of 2:58:20.
Overall, a total of 363 participated in the two simultaneous events held by Run Saipan, with 71 runners for the Half Marathon and 292 for the 5.5K Fun Run.

Alex Yap, president of Atkins Kroll, said after the event, “We are most grateful to Run Saipan and our race participants for making the Holiday Half Marathon and 5.5K Fun Run majorly successful.This occasion is especially meaningful as we commemorate 55 years of service in Saipan. We could not have hoped for a better way to celebrate than to gather with our island residents in the spirit of health, wellness, and the longevity of life. After all, AK is ‘Here for Saipan. Here for Life.’ Thank you to all our volunteers and supporting organizations who helped make this a successful event.” 

Kevin Barnes, Atkins Kroll Saipan sales manager, said during the event, “Run Saipan works very hard. They’re very good at what they do. We expected to have in the 200s but they by far exceeded our expectations… we’re completely happy with the turnout, with everybody’s support, and with Run Saipan and their effort on this. This is just the first year, and every year we hope to grow and grow… so if anybody missed it this year, we hope to see them next year.”

Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr, said, “The Run Saipan Holiday Half Marathon and 5.5K Fun Run was an amazing event that couldn’t have happened without the partnership and fellowship between Run Saipan and Atkins Kroll. It was a successful event because of the teamwork between both companies and it would not have happened without the volunteers and support of the entire community. It really goes to show how much Atkins Kroll provides service to Run Saipan and the CNMI.”

Additionally, Run Saipan posted on their Facebook page, “Thank you to everyone who participated in our  Inaugural Run Saipan Holiday Half Marathon and AK 5.5K community fun run presented by Atkins Kroll Saipan. Thank you to Atkins Kroll and their president Alex Yap for partnering with us to bring a new explosive and fun race to the CNMI. We thank all our partners who made this event possible. Congratulations and strong work to all the runners and hard working volunteers and people who made this event possible.”

Thank you also to the outstanding organizations who made this life-changing experience for people possible: Northern Marianas Athletics, HongYe Hardware, IT&E CNMI, DTE Endurance, ONETIME.sport, Aqua Resort Club Saipan, The Marianas, Northern Marianas College, American Red Cross-Northern Mariana Islands Chapter, NMI Triathlon Federation, CNMI Department of Public Safety, Saipan Mayor’s Office, Marianas High School Dolphin Battalion, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., CNMI Department of Fire And Emergency Medical Services, Commonwealth Ports Authority Aircraft Rescue Firefighting, Saipan International School, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, 9th Mission Support Command, Saipan Paddling Club, Marianas Rugby Club, Saipan Community School, and the “Finasisu Mistisu” L.J. Castro.