Simon completes 1-year running streak

Run Saipan joins Simon Necesito, front left, on his 365-day running streak at the Beach Road Pathway in front of the Oleai Beach Bar. and Grill on Tuesday. (Leigh Gases)

Simon Necesito has finally seized the day—or in his case, seized the year—as he completed his 365-day running streak on a rainy Tuesday evening.

Necesito, a Dandan Middle School teacher, is the latest to join the ranks of streak runners alongside Dr. Galvin Guerrero, who recently completed his first year.

Since 2017, the 28-year-old has made many attempts to run everyday, but only last Jan. 1, 2022, has he fully and seriously committed to it.

He said that he acknowledged the failures of his previous streak attempts and then just one day decided to make a run for it—literally.

And with the support of Run Saipan, finished his 365th consecutive run on the Beach Road Pathway.

Simon Necesito, along with members of Run Saipan, puts up the No. 1 in homage to his 1-year running streak on Tuesday. (Leigh Gases)

Along with joining the exclusive numbers of streak runners in the CNMI, running has helped Necesito shed weight. When he started, he was 225 lbs and has lost 30 lbs since then. Combining running and strength training at Latte Built Gym for the past year “have helped me with my performance during my runs.”

Running one mile is the minimum requirement to do the challenge and Necesito varies the distances of his daily runs.

After his 365th straight run, he thanked his friend, Vince, who first convinced him to get up and start running. Then, he thanked Run Saipan for “continuing to push me harder each day. I want to thank the [Northern Marianas Athletics] team for helping me throughout my running journey, especially coach Robin Sapong who’s helped me to see my true potential. And most importantly, I want to dedicate this to [Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr.]. Ed has seen my running journey throughout the years, and words cannot sum up how I feel to this day, because he still has put a lot of faith in me, even at times when I wanted to quit—and so for that, I am more than grateful for everyone who has been a part of my running journey.”

He also dedicates his accomplishment to his students. “As a coach, and as a teacher, I want to show them that anything is possible as long as you set your mind to it. Not to just be physically fit, but also for them to understand that whatever challenges you may face in life, whether it be through trying to get a good grade or trying to get better at something, that it’s possible, and that as long as you put the effort into doing what you do, you got what it takes.”

As to what’s next, the Run Saipan member said that his two goals this year are to continue his run streak and to complete a full marathon.

Necesito then recalled when he joined the recent Run Saipan Half Marathon in December and how he crawled to the finish line in dramatic fashion. He said that he decided to sprint the last 50 meters downhill and “by the time I was inches away from the finish line, my right leg cramped and then my left leg cramped. So at that point, I couldn’t pick myself up and so I did what I had to do to finish, so I crawled.”

Dela Cruz said of his padawan’s accomplishment, “I’m proud of Simon. He did so much this year for Run Saipan and still did his running streak. He came from such a long road. He was injured and had to work his way back up and this year the results speak for themselves with how much weight he lost and how much faster his race times were compared to where he first started. Everyone at Run Saipan couldn’t be more proud of him.”