Rex Pixley and Pony Tang cross the finish line together during the Rotaract Club of Saipan 5K Fun Run at the Garapan Fishing Base on Saturday.
Akiko Miller pushes through the final leg of the Rotaract Club of Saipan 5K Fun Run at the Garapan Fishing Base on Saturday.
THE Rotaract Club of Saipan commemorated its 10 years of service on Saturday morning by holding a 5K Fun Run, which had a unique ending as Pony Tang and Rex Pixley shared a first-place photo-finish at the Garapan Fishing Base.
The pair alternated leads throughout the race, but crossed the finish line with a time of 18:39.22.
“It’s just a fun run so we run for fun,” Pixley said, adding, “I always liked the pathway runs.”
“This is mostly a training run to see where we are,” Tang said, adding that they are preparing for the upcoming PSS track season.
In second place was veteran runner Kosuke Sato with a time of 18:59.91 followed by Jordan Ruiz in third with a time of 19:57.17.
Women’s division
In the women’s division, Akiko Miller ruled the race with a finish time of 18:59.33. Rosemarie Chisato came in second at 24:25.30 while Kriselle Tuazon was third at 25:31.52.
TurnKey Solution’s Billy Grow, a Rotarian, said “it was a really good turnout.” “We had over 100 participants,” he added.
An athlete himself, Grow joined the 5K run. “The course was fun…it’s something different,” he said, adding that he is preparing for the Saipan Marathon.
As for TurnKey’s sponsorship of the fun run, Grow said, “It sounded like a great idea to support the community this way.”
Rotaract President Richard Balaeres, for his part, said this year’s turnout was “three times bigger than our previous fun run events. I believe that a big part of the success is our partnership and sponsorship with TurnKey Solutions and Run Saipan.”
The fundraising event is his “swan song” as Rotaract president. He intends to step down “because just like the Rotaract wheel, it keeps on moving. I want someone to come in with new and fresh ideas, but that does not mean that this is the end of me — I do think of becoming an officer again maybe after two years,” he said.
The other sponsors of this year’s Rotaract 5K Fun Run are:
Bronze
D&Q Saipan
Latte Built
Crowne Plaza
Coral Ocean Golf Resort
Yaong Corporation
Tan Siu Lin Foundation
Gold’s Gym Saipan
D&W Corporation dba Highway Express
McDonald’s of Saipan
Spicy Thai Saipan
MEGAbyte of Saipan
Silver
Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell/ Marianas Fast Food Inc.
Docomo Pacific
Micronesian Brokers Inc.
Northern Marianas College
Gold
Marianas Variety
Paradise Dental Spa
IT&E
Bridge Capital
JVR Media
The participants of the Rotaract Club of Saipan 5K Fun Run pose for a photo at the Garapan Fishing Base on Saturday.
