By Jonathan V. Perez
Variety News Staff

(Second part)

LOCAL and Japanese runners emerged as the top winners in the 26th Annual Half Marathon and 21st Annual 10-kilometer Fun Run which were simultaneously held last Saturday with the 2nd Saipan Marathon at American Memorial Park.
Japan’s Tetsuyuk Ishikawa and Junko Ishikawa topped the men’s and women’s Half Marathon while Nate Mateo and Noriko Jim carried the fight for the local runners by winning the 10K event.
Though Tetsuyuk failed to break the record set by countryman Hisayoshi Tanabe last year, it was enough to ward off a late charge made by veteran runner Stuart Smith.
Tetsuyuk posted a time of one hour, 26 minutes and 44 seconds to beat Smith, 1:26.53, by nine seconds in one of the closest contests in the annual race. Hisayoshi recorded a time of 1:23.00 last year.
Akihisa Otani of Japan came in third completing the race in 1:33.44.
In the women’s half marathon, Junko Ishikawa and Sayuri Yuyama completed a 1-2 finish for Japan.
Junko crossed the finish line in 1:32.19 while Yuyama followed afterwards with a time of 1:38.02.
Mieko Carey placed third as the Pacific Islands Club Clubmate and triathlon enthusiast touched the tape in 1:47.32.
Mateo topped the 10K Fun Run with compatriots Champ Untalan and James Narita completing the sweep for the hometown runners.
The 16-year old Mateo recorded the fastest time of 41:27 to break the 43:14 record set by Akihisa Otani in last year’s race.
Untalan came in second, 45:27, while Narita finished third recording a time of 50:15.
In the women’s division, Jim and Akiko Hagiwara prevented a Japanese win by ending up 1-2 in the 10K run.
Jim, who won the 5,000-m run gold in last year’s 6th Micronesian Games, also had a record-breaking finish.
She eclipsed her own record of 47:01 last year by recording a 42:26 finish in this year’s edition. Hagiwara came in second, 42:56, while Japan’s Kayo Osa placed third, 52:39.
Fifty-one runners braved the half marathon course while 60 joined in the 10k Fun Run.
Japan’s Hisayoshi Tanabe and Miyo Tanabe topped the 2nd Annual Saipan Marathon breaking the times set by Smith and Yamaguchi.
The 34-year old Hisayoshi finished the course in 2:57.05 to break the 3:09.28 record set by Smith while 32-year old Miyo eclipsed Yamaguchi’s time finishing with 3:23.25 against the 4:10:.9 set by Yamaguchi.
Jack Kabriel, 3:21.49, and Tatsuo Nakamura, 3:22.42, completed the male finishers while Rebecca Read, 4:21.05, and Yamaguchi, 4:32.43, round out the female winners.
Thirty seven runners joined the full marathon with one failing to finish the race. The full marathon coincided with the 26th Annual Half Marathon and 21st Annual 10K Fun Run.
The top three winners in the three running events received cash prizes and trophies, while winners in the various age groups were given medals.
The event is organized in cooperation with the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Northern Marianas Athletics.