Tania Tan smiles as she crosses the finish line of the 2nd Run Saipan Grotto 10K3 Saturday at the Grotto.
Sildrey Veloria makes his way to the finish line of the 2nd Run Saipan Grotto 10K3 Saturday at the Grotto.
TANIA Tan and Sildrey Veloria topped their respective divisions in Run Saipan’s Grotto 10K ‘23 on Saturday.
Tan and Veloria were well ahead of the competition throughout most of the race which started from the Grotto before heading to Bird Island, and back.
Tan was first overall, clocking 00:42:50 while Veloria ruled the men’s division with a time of 00:44:54.
“Halfway, I had to let her go,” Veloria said, referring to Tan. “I tried not to cramp but overall, it’s a great race and I’m looking forward to next year.”
“The hills were tough for me,” Tan said. “It was unexpected especially going out of the Grotto. But it was fun. It was tough because Saipan is so hot and humid but I’m slowly getting back into it.”
Tan set a new record and beat Lily Muldoon’s time of 00:44:57.
Aside from the punishing hills in the Grotto area, the dirt road was another challenge for the runners who said the ground was uneven and there was a lot of cow poop.
In the women’s division, Savannah Grant finished second with a time of 00:55:21 while Terra Allen came in third at 00:55:21.
As for the men’s division, Shigeki Tenorio came in second with a time of 00:46:11 followed by Chad Taflinger with a time of 00:49:24.
“Congratulations are in order for our fastest runners for this weekend’s race,” said Run Saipan President Edward Dela Cruz Jr. “Special congratulations to Tania Tan for setting the new course record of 42:50, shaving off from Dr Muldoon’s time of 44:57 in the inaugural race.”
Dela Cruz added, “Thank you to all our strong runners who tackled our 2nd Annual Grotto 10K…. Amazing job to each one of you for achieving personal bests as well as completing the course under full and grueling humidity and daylight. Thank you to our partners and sponsors for making this event special as well as successful. Thank you to the Division of Parks and Recreation, especially Director Michael Cruz for giving us access to the venue as well as restrooms available for our participants as early as 4:30 a.m. Thank you to One Time Sports for the timing system and results. Thank you to IT&E for providing the wireless network to power our timing system. Thank you to Northern Marianas Athletics and Saipan International School for providing the course safety systems and guidance ways. Thank you to the American Red Cross-NMI Chapter and Latte Built 24 for providing again this year’s refreshments for our runners. Special thank you to the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the Commonwealth Ports Authority-Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting unit, and the Department of Public Safety for providing first responders at our community event. They provided safety and medical assistance. These events are never possible without the partnership and full support from our government. A huge thank you to our volunteer corps. Runners, please thank them when you see them. Thank you to Run Saipan officials, Northern Marianas Athletics officials, the MHS Running Club and the Dandan Middle school students for volunteering and creating an exceptional event for our runners. Without you, there would be no Grotto 10K.”
Age division winners
Youth Division (Under 17)
Boys
1st Yung Jun Lin 52:17
2nd Landen Taflinger 57:40
3rd Kazuki Kamegai 1:00:29
Girls
1st Addalee Taflinger 1:00:15
Masters
35-39
Women
1st Fuli Ding 1:00:30
2nd Kerri Baur 1:02:08
3rd Prativa Pandey 01:46:14
40-44
Men
1st Rick Baur 00:51:26
2nd Travis Spaeth 00:58:11
3rd Joshua Castro 1:17:36
Women
1st Megan Dame 59:29
2nd Kathleen Tolentino 01:02:51
3rd Robyn Spaeth 01:04:34
45-49
Men
1st Isao Usui 1:00:24
2nd Jess Gariguez 01:13:14
3rd Paul Manglona 1:00:24
Women
1st Rosemarie Chisato 58:45
2nd Mei Hua Jin 01:11:20
50-54
Men
1st Raymund Tolentino 0:56:54
2nd Christopher King 01:06:32
Women
1st Jessica Ortizo 0:57:26
2nd Malou Carlos 01:06:53
3rd Elizabeth Church 01:08:57
55-59
Men
1st Stephen Dame 0:59:35
Women
1st Lydia Tan 0:58:44
60-64
Women
1st Marie Sablan 1:27:33
65+
Men
1st Chong Nam Lee 00:50:25
2nd Changchan Jang 01:34:05
3rd Gerald Alm 01:20:51
