Jody, Tania bursts into first place

Chef Jody O’Sullivan and multi-awarded track star Tania Tan burst onto the scene of the new 4th Annual 4th of July Independence Day 2-Mile Race even before the start of Liberation Day festivities early yesterday morning.

The new course was from the Smiling Cove Marina parking lot to a little past the newly paved Industrial Road along the Gov. Eloy S. Inos Peace Park in Puerto Rico.

O’Sullivan got up and decided to set a new course record of 11:11 flat, even before the start of his work day. Second place was Heimanarii Lai San at 11:40, while 10th Micronesian Games silver medalist Simon Tang was just a few seconds behind at 11:47.

In the women’s division, birthday girl Tan rushed into first place at 12:38. Second place was Krista Hawley at 16:00, and third was Leilani Ruszala with a time of 17:15.

O’Sullivan, who now works at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan after the permanent closure of Hyatt Regency Saipan, said that the race made him really tired. “Jordan [Ruiz] flew off and I was like well I better stay within touching distance of him. That was way too fast because I almost died in the corner there,” he said.

Even with that, he was happy with the result. “It was a nice way to start the day,” he said. O’Sullivan was also first in the Run from 2023 Mile Race last New Year’s Eve, so he said he knew it was going to be downhill. However, “Coming back, it felt more downhill in December than it did this time. There’s less wind this morning.”

For Tan, who celebrated her birthday last July 1, she said it’s her first time on island during the July 4th weekend since she was a child.

The now 23-year-old actually spent her birthday traveling and now that she’s back home, she said she decided to join the July 4th race for the first time as a kind of celebration. “I guess this could be the actual party and celebration for my birthday with a medal, so happy birthday to me!” said Tan.

“It was fun and that’s all that matters,” she added of the race. After her record-breaking stint in the 10th Micronesian Games last month, she said she actually hasn’t run since then.

The turnout of 38 runners was a really great turnout, according to Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr.

“It’s amazing because anytime you have a holiday race, it’s really hard for people to wake up on a midweek day off and run a race at six in the morning, so I’m very happy with the results,” he said.

This is the third time they’ve switched their course, as last year, they ran up north and back from the Garapan Fishing Base, while the original course in the first two races ran south and back from the Garapan Fishing Base.

With that, Dela Cruz said it’s for the runners’ safety due to the Beach Road construction. “We might just keep it here at Industrial Drive… People have fun having the road to themselves this early in the morning versus running on the sidewalk… This place is actually where they do the U.S. Army Reserve Fitness test course—the only difference is Run Saipan blessed it with a certified course.”

He added that Run Saipan’s goal is to certify their courses for the sake of sports tourism in the CNMI and bring in elite runners from around the world.

This race is sponsored by Latte Built and is a sanctioned race by Northern Marianas Athletics.

It was inspired by the U.S. Army Combat Physical Fitness Test, in which they do a 2-mile run among other workouts.

Dela Cruz then thanked Latte Built and owner Derek Cutting for their continued support and sponsorship, the race participants, IT&E’s Rob Harrell, the Department of Public Safety, Saipan Tribune, and Marianas Variety.