Akiko Miller and Victor Santos are the top finishers of this year’s Mt. Tapochau Turkey Trot.
Participants in the Mt. Tapochau Turkey Trot 2024 pose for a group photo early Thursday morning at the mountain’s peak.
VICTOR Nash Santos and Akiko Miller went home with a turkey for Thanksgiving after finishing first in their respective divisions of the Mt. Tapochau Turkey Trot 2024, which was hosted by Northern Marianas Athletics.
The finish line was at the top of Mount Tapochau, the island’s highest peak.
Santos successfully defended his title on early Thursday morning, finishing first overall and topping the men’s division with a time of 00:40:19.
“It was actually a lot harder this year,” said Santos, adding that his ankle was in pain as he had recently started playing soccer. “So just being able to push through this — it’s a blessing,” he added.
Santos is often seen on the pathway along Beach Road, clocking in the miles to maintain his fitness and health. He believes that “if you stop running, you will eventually start to slow down.
Last year, he finished first in the Turkey Trot that was also the first NMA/Run Saipan collaboration.
Santos said he made sure he would defend his title. “I love this uphill environment. It’s challenging and it helps you mentally and physically — it was just a good challenge, and I enjoyed it,” Santos said.
Coming in second was Landen Taflinger with a time of 00:42:37 followed by Jireh Wang, who clocked 00:43:03.
Women’s division
This year, the women’s division title was claimed by Akiko Miller with a time of 00:45:00.
Miller said this was only her second time winning a Turkey Trot race in the past 27 years.
“It’s just fun to join and I want to eat a lot of turkey tonight, so I needed this to exercise,” she said. “[The course] was so tough. Usually, I run only on flat terrain, and I never train for uphill races; it’s so hard. The Capital Hill road and the 4K point are so hard and endless.”
When asked if she will defend her title next year, she said, “I don’t know if I can make it.”
Miller said she was thankful to every family in the community, and was looking forward to eating a lot of turkey and pumpkin pie, and having her legs massaged.
Finishing second and third in the women’s division were Krista Hawley at 00:51:16 and Addalee Taflinger at 00:51:18.
The rest of the race results will be featured in the next editions of Variety.
