Jireh, Akiko fastest in Grotto 10K

Run Saipan’s grueling 10K course—the Grotto 10K—was topped by student-athlete Jireh Wang and veteran runner Akiko Miller last Saturday.

The third edition had 78 registered participants in the course that snaked through Saipan’s wild and scenic north—from the Grotto entrance, to Bird Island Lookout, Kalabera Cave, and back.

Wang was the fastest runner as he zoomed into first place with a time of 42:07. Second was Jody O’Sullivan at 43:48, and third place went to Chad Taflinger at 46:07.

Miller’s time grabbed her first place in the women’s division at 46:37. Second to her was An Bang at 56:11, and third place went to Shawna Brennfleck who clocked in at 57:23.

For Wang, 18-year-old Agape Christian School incoming senior, this is the second Grotto 10K he’s joined. He said it was challenging, but called upon “Lord Jesus to help me finish the race.”

Toward the end of the course, he said that the second-place runner, O’Sullivan, was a few meters behind him but that he gathered his strength and pushed to the finish line to claim first place.

Miller, for her part, said, “It’s been a while since I last ran a race in April. I only did easy jogging for the last two months, but I decided to run a race to keep my motivation.”

In the beginning of the course, she said, “Running up that steep hill was hard on my legs and breathing, but I’m happy with my result.” She added she’s also happy that there were a lot of runners, especially young athletes who joined the race.

“Thank you to Run Saipan and all volunteers for organizing the event,” she added.

Results of the age divisions will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

The sponsor of the race was AP Group LLC., which includes DreamPlay, Napu Brewing Co., Tapped Out, AP Energy, AP Solutions, NF-Xpress, along with IT&E and Run Saipan partners Northern Marianas Athletics and Saipan International School.