Completing the longest run—the full marathon—was all it takes to achieve a goal of a life time Babauta said after sports event participated in by more than 100 men and women from Saipan, Guam and Japan.
Babauta said it is his first time to ever run a marathon which is something he always wanted to do, that’s why he has been preparing for it in seven years.
“My goal was to finish the run and not to compete with anyone,” he said.
And now that he completed the 26.6 mile run, “I’m very pleased that I achieve a goal of lifetime,”
In a given day, the former governor normally ran eight miles from his residence all the way to Marpi where he challenged the uphill road.
There were two reasons he made it, he said. First, he has been training so hard for months prior to the event. Second, he got a good coaching from his personal trainer, Jang-Chang Whan.
Having achieved something the he prepared for in seven years, Babauta said he never felt physically fit than anytime in his lifetime.
Babauta who ran in his college years looked forward to joining a marathon partly because he wants to put an emphasis on achieving a goal, besides physical fitness and health.
“It is something that if you put your mind to anything, you will endure a lot of pain and remained focused what you do in life,” he said.
Babauta finished the full marathon in 5 hours, 20 minutes and 44 seconds.
Another runner who proved something last Saturday, was a 79-year-old participant who placed third in the over-all men’s division.
Ryuichi Yoshida, settled was just eight minutes behind the fastest Japanese runner, 28-year-old Izuru Nakashima who almost his grandson.
Yoshida, the oldest marathon participant finished the longest run in three hours, 12 minutes and seven minutes.
On the other hand, 17-year-old Matthew Mancao was the youngest winner in the 10-kilometer men finishing the shortest run in 40 minutes and 36 seconds.
In women’s division, Noriko Jim won the title as she completed the run in 41 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of 106 other runners.
Mamiko Berger was the leader in the full marathon women’s division with three hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds.
Mieko Carey won the half marathon women’s division title with one hour, 34 minutes and 54 seconds.
Japan’s Masami Iwamoto led the half marathon for men, completing the course in one hour, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
