Barefoot runner keeps Christmas Relay tradition alive

Solo barefoot runner “Mike” Chang Whan Jang kept his Northern Marianas Athletics Annual Island Relay Race streak alive in the 42nd edition last Saturday.

Even with a new course and with the participants getting younger and younger each year, the spirited 72-year-old ran the course barefoot from the Hyatt Regency Saipan to Marpi and back.

Donning a Santa hat, Jang had an hour head start before the teams and ran through the course alone for over two hours.

He said when he first joined the race in the 1980s, he was the fastest amongst the teams in the 13.1-mile course.

To those who don’t know him, he’d make you wonder if he really is in his 70s as he is fit, active, and stays in the best shape he possibly could through a wide variety of sports.

The physical education teacher at Hopwood Middle School said he has missed just two of the 42 races and prefers the old course from San Antonio to the Last Command Post.

He said he’s had a lot of “good memories” with the old course that he’s ran since he was 30 years old, as he gets to snap photos of the Christmas lights and decorations that don the buildings and the Christmas villages that line Beach Road.

Jang said he chooses to run barefoot and has done so for many years now because of the benefits and the better balance on the body than running wearing shoes.

He said of the annual event, “It’s a local tradition in the running community. They expect it—and see, there’s a lot of young kids. So, it is a tradition that’s why I couldn’t stop joining every year.” For next year’s race, he plans to race again—barefoot of course.

Last year, he was joined by fellow solo barefoot runner, “Charles” Chong Nam Lee, but he wasn’t in this year’s race.