RYAN Matienzo and Lily Muldoon ruled their respective divisions in this year’s Saipan Half Marathon on Saturday.
Matienzo, who finished first overall and in the men’s division, came in nearly 20 minutes ahead of the competition with a completion time of 01:19:01. He went full speed from start to finish with only one goal — to beat his personal best of 01:17:00.
From American Memorial Park in Garapan to the turning point at the Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio and back, the athlete from Guam controlled his pace well and maintained the lead.
“It is always a pleasure to finish first,” Matienzo said. As for the race course, he noted that “it was a little flat — I like more of the up and down kind of course.”
But Matienzo said he loves competing on Saipan. “I love the community here and the setup. It is a very welcoming race.”
This was also his chance to train for the upcoming 2022 Pacific Mini Games which the CNMI will host in June.
Matienzo topped the 2021 Oceania National Championship for cycling, and was supposed to compete in this year’s event, but with not enough time to prepare, he decided to compete in the Mini Games instead.
The Nissan Guam technician has participated in past Saipan events such as the PIC Half Marathon 2014, Saipan Marathon 2019, and Saipan Marathon 2020 in which he placed third.
Finishing second in the men’s division of this year’s Saipan Half Marathon was Kosuke Sato who completed the course with a time of 01:37:09. In third place was Daniel Stutzman who clocked 01:50:24.
An incredible race
Among the women runners, Dr. Lily Muldoon crossed the finish line with a time of 01:35:15 to top her division and notch second place overall.
“It was an incredible race today,” said the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s medical director of public health.
“It’s amazing how coordinated it was and the energy at the finish line was unbelievable,” she added.
“I like to run next to someone and chat a bit so I tried to keep up [with Matienzo], but he kept getting further and further away. If I try to keep up with him, I will be dead by the turnaround,” she said in jest.
This was her first half marathon in years, Muldoon said, adding that she was glad to see other people participating in the event.
“This is one sport that has endured throughout…Covid,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if there’s a pandemic happening — we can be safe, we can still run. Because Run Saipan has been able to keep up the momentum, we were able to have an event like this.”
Muldoon said she dedicated the race to the staff of CHCC. “I’ve been riding high this entire week when we dipped to 0 hospitalization in our hospital. I was thinking while on this run how proud I am of those staff who have went above and beyond to take care of patients and doing what they can to keep the CNMI safe. To see people taking off their masks [and to see their] smiles — I think we have a lot to celebrate.”
In second place in the women’s division and fourth overall was Akiko Miller with a time of 01:37:50 followed by Jenny Chhea, who clocked 01:58:45, in third place in her division.
Lily Muldoon and Ryan Matienzo pose after completing the Saipan Half Marathon at American Memorial Park on Saturday.
Ryan Matienzo celebrates after finishing first overall in the Saipan Half Marathon at American Memorial Park on Saturday.
