Force is strong with Jordan, Kaithlyn

The Force was strong with Jordan Ruiz and Andrei Kaithyln Chavez as they topped their respective divisions in the 4th Annual Star Wars Day Run/Walk, hosted by Run Saipan last Saturday at the American Memorial Park.

In the “5K NMI Jedi Open” men’s division, Ruiz came in first with a time of 19:26 from the course that started at AMP to the not so far away Gov. Eloy Inos Peace Park. A close second went to Joel Phair just two seconds behind, 19:28, and third place went to Landen Taflinger at 19:44.03.

Chavez, in the female division, was first with a sub-21 minute 5K time at 20:45; second went to Addalee Taflinger with a time of 23:37; and third was An Bang who clocked in at 24:19.

There was also a Padawan 1 Mile fun run/walk for children 18 and under, and a costume contest after the race.

Cortland Winkfield won first place and $100 for his Mandalorian costume made out of cardboard; tied for second place and $50 was Scott Smith as Princess Leia Organa from Star Wars: A New Hope, and Tammy Ackerman as Han Solo. Third place and $25 went to John Moreno as Count Dooku.

Ruiz ran into first place overall sans costume because he said he’s never dressed up even for Halloween in years. He is also not a big Star Wars fan but said the event was “awesome.”

“I really enjoyed going up Peace Park because I’ve never been up there. So, it was a nice course, a change of environment. It was pretty cool.”

For Chavez, she said that the race was fun, “considering we barely have races going up Peace Park. The hill was a bit hard but it was a great way to push yourself. I was leading the whole time so I decided to try and finish in a fast time.”

She ran into first place also sans costume because she’s not a Star Wars fan, but she’s heard great things about it. “Maybe I’ll use a costume next year, we’ll see,” she said.

Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. said they partnered with the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Public Health Department in honor of Adolescent Health Month. They sponsored 100 adolescent entries aged 12-18.

“Thank you to Heather Pangelinan and Tony Yarobwemal for partnering with us. This is one of the great ways organizations can help donate. Instead of donating directly they can sponsor entries like CHCC did. Thank you CHCC. We hope they run it again next year with us,” said Dela Cruz.

Run Saipan’s Dr. Ron Snyder then said that the event was a success with a great turnout. “Even though we conflicted with the elementary track and field event, we had 192 registered runners, and a lot of people came and ran with their families, so it was well over 200 people,” he said.

For Pangelinan, she said one of their initiatives is to work to improve adolescents’ health so they can grow to be healthy adults.

“Physical health is linked to mental health and there are a lot of mental health benefits around being physically active. So, it’s one of the reasons why we decided to partner with Run Saipan to promote physical activity amongst our CNMI population—most especially our youth who are vulnerable and are transitioning into adulthood. So, we want to set them up for successful futures,” said Pangelinan.