RUN Saipan held its monthly 5k run during the second qualifier of the PSS-NMA Cross Country 2021-2022 while participating in the International Coastal Cleanup Day at Ladder Beach on Saturday.
Run Saipan usually hosts its monthly fun runs with no prizes but this time around, there was a sponsor: Joe Villacrusis of Salty Skin Pacific.
“Joe is one of my really good friends and we always wanted to collaborate, so on Saturday he provided incentives to runners who would help clean up on ICC Day,” Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. said.
With the help of Villacrusis and Salty Skin Pacific, raffle prizes were up for grabs. These included gift certificates from Current CNMI/Marpac, Latte Built and Inas Kitchen.
The cross country event on Saturday had its own race with three separate courses while Run Saipan’s adult-focused run included a cleanup: participants ran a straight route to the Obyan Beach entrance where they then took a break, put gloves on, grabbed a trash bag and picked up litter all the way back to Ladder Beach.
“We always wanted to do a race while doing our part to keep the environment clean,” Dela Cruz said.
“We believed that holding a run on International Coastal Cleanup Day was the best way to do it,” he added. “We are also planning on bringing back the Laolao race that will include a cleanup.”
Winners
Dela Cruz said 17 runners participated in Run Saipan’s event on Saturday with Marshall Hoskins topping the charts in the men’s division, clocking at 00:09:12.
Hoskins also pulled out an old TV and a refrigerator during the cleanup.
In second and third places were Wilson Gual and Chong Nam Lee.
In the women’s division Evelyn Pangelinan finished first with a time of 00:11:29 followed by Rosemarie F. Chisato and Ellie Roark.
“Shout out to Marshall Hoskins [who is leaving the island] for his final race with us,” Dela Cruz said. “Thank you so much to everyone out that helped. The public was invited to help clean up Ladder Beach after the race. Thank you to Saipan International School students for coming out to help clean out Ladder Beach as well! You guys rock! Thank you so much to Northern Marinas Athletics for the strong support for timing and course marshaling. Thank you to our volunteers who course-marshaled and timed as well. Thank you to Mr. Lao Zhang for taking photos. Thank you again to Salty Skin Pacific, Latte Built, Inas Kitchen, Marpac/Current CNMI, Saipan International School, Saipan Southern High School, Saipan Tribune, Marianas Variety, KSPN, and especially the Department of Public Safety for providing protection to our kids.”
Marshall Hoskins and Chong Nam Lee lead the Run Saipan International Coastal Cleanup event at Ladder Beach on Saturday.
