RUNNING enthusiasts came out Sunday to support the inaugural May the 4th Be With You, CNMI at American Memorial Park even without dressing up as Star Wars characters. In the live 5k distance event, Michiteru Mita and Lily Muldoon topped their respective divisions.
Michiteru Mita smiles as he crosses the finish line of the May the 4th Be With You, CNMI Run at American Memorial Park on Sunday.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Mita was the first to cross the finish line, clocking in at 19:41 to top the men’s division while Lily Muldoon completed the course with a finish time of 22:17 to claim the women’s division title.
Joining the top finishers were Marques Dame who crossed the finish line with a time of 24:17 followed by Michael Mancao (25:11) and Ayano Braxton (25:10).
All runners received a unique Star Wars-themed medal for completing the race.
The race organizers were the Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools Association, Northern Marianas Athletics and Run Saipan’s Edward Dela Cruz.
The route started at American Memorial Park near the Hyatt Regency Saipan, then proceeded to the tennis courts and to the Inos Peace Park and back to American Memorial Park.
For the 1k distance, cones separated the route with a shorter distance looping back to the finish line.
“We are going to do this next year — this will be an annual event,” Dela Cruz said.
CCOPSA’s Dr. Ron Snyder, who is also Saipan International School’s headmaster, said: “We’re looking to put on a year-long race calendar together and tie everything into a race series called the Fun Run Cup where runners earn points throughout the year.”
He said they have already asked the E-Land Group to host a running event and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation to include its annual JP Hero Fun Run to the race calendar.
As for May the 4th Be With You event, it’s not over yet as there are virtual categories that run from April 30 to May 9. These include the U16 1 mile Youngling distance, 5k Padawan, 10k Jedi Knight, 21k Jedi Master and 42k Jedi Grand Master runs. A Rebel Alliance Team category is also included.
For more details, go to https://www.raceentry.com/may-the-4th-be-with-you-cnmi/race-information
