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Victor Nash Santos reset the course record for Run Saipan’s 21-kilometer standard after topping the 4th Annual Half Marathon last Aug. 30.
The 17-year-old senior from Saipan International School ran the course from the parking lot of Marianas Beach Resort to Pacific Islands Club Saipan and back in 1:30:03 to eclipse the old record of 1:42:15 set by James Munnis last year.
“I didn't think of it more as a race; I thought more like a workout. I mean, of course, I still wanted to win to get the money, but I didn't really push myself 100%,” he told Marianas Press.
The reason Santos said he held back a bit was that the CNMI’s cross-country season will start next weekend.
“I really just wanted to conserve my energy as much as possible and to just also push myself, but not too hard where I might get injured or burn out.”
As for the hardest part of the half-marathon, Santos said it was certainly the last 4 miles, “It really challenges you mentally and to really, and it forces you to just keep going even when it's very uncomfortable. But I just pushed through, and I was able to finish.”
Lastly, he dedicated his record and win in the half-marathon to his coaches, family, and friends.
Finishing second to Santos was Landen Tafflinger in 1:40:29, while third place went to Jun Kawano in 1:44:44.
Akiko Miller, meanwhile, topped the women’s half-marathon in 1:45:05, despite not being able to train for the 21-kilometer run.
“I am happy that I was able to complete 21K and didn’t get injured. Because I did not train for the half-marathon. But I wanted to challenge myself.”
As for the course, the many time CNMI national runner said the weather was a perfect day for a long-distance run.
“Not raining much and not too humid. I like to run on Beach Road more than the northbound because the new road is flat and smooth.”
As for the most challenging part of the race, she said it was definitely the last 6 kilometers.
“The first 10K, I had a good pace as planned. After 15K, both my legs cramped up. But I had experience with it. So, I stretched, ran repeatedly, and just kept going,” she said, while thanking Run Saipan staff and all aid station volunteers, and sponsors.
Krista Hawley and Ann Bang came in second and third after Miller, clocking in at 1:56:36 and 2:08:16, respectively.
The age group winners were Pete Phair (men’s 13-18), Jordan Ruiz (men’s 19-33), Matthew Giovannoni (men’s 34-39), Matthew Furan (men’s 50-54), Raymond Tolentino (men’s 55-59), Antonio Mammoli (men’s 60-64), Paul Khang (men’s 60 and over), Hanoul Sky Lee (women’s 19-33), and Kathleen Tolentino (women’s 40-44)
In the side event 10K run, Sildrey Veloria was the fleetest afoot in 42:39, followed by Victor Neil Santos and Kevin Guerrero Jr. with times of 49:26 and 50:31, respectively.
In the women’s, Addalee Tafflinger was the first to cut the tape in 53:00.12, immediately followed by Heather Brook in 53:00.15. Dianna Zheng claimed this in 55:15.
Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. congratulated the winners and all participants of the 21K and 10K races.
“We really appreciate everyone who came out Labor Day weekend to run. Were there any issues with the course since we're the first ones to run south in about, I guess like four or five years, right? It's just motorists, you know, there are a lot of people who were speeding this morning. The police were out there doing the best they could, but there was just there. It was very obvious there were some intoxicated drivers out there this morning for a half-marathon race, but fortunately for us, nobody got injured,” he said.
Report by Mark Rabago
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