Ortizo says goodbye to Saipan

Run Saipan veteran Jessica Ortizo will leave Saipan today after deciding to rejoin her children in Washington state.

The 53-year-old administrative assistant has dominated her age group in many running races on Saipan and also played for TanHoldings FC.

While she is changing addresses, the native of Davao City, Philippines said she will continue her membership with Run Saipan, which she shares memorable runs with.

On the top of Ortizo’s memorable running events on Saipan was the exhausting Trinity Run.

“The three-day event of running is a killer and challenging and the beer mile because I had so much fun with my friends. I will definitely miss everything like the year-round of running events and the rest of the Run Saipan family,” she said.

Ortizo said she only started running competitively due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After the pandemic when there’s no soccer, I started to look for other sports that I can do alone as my daily exercise. So, I started running along the pathway like almost every day. Since then, I never stopped. I remember my first race was the 10K jungle run which I enjoyed so much.”

She said her next running goal is to join a full marathon once she settles in her new home in the West Coast.

“To my fellow members of Run Saipan, I had a great time running with you all in every race that we had. Thank you to president Edward Dela Cruz Jr., secretary/treasurer Dr. Ron Snyder, and board member Robin Sapong for making Run Saipan a family of runners. Wherever I go, I will always be a proud member of Run Saipan. I hope I can be a lifetime member,” she said.

Aside from her Run Saipan family, Ortizo said she will also absolutely miss Saipan’s stunning natural scenery.

“Most especially the beaches, the peaceful and simple life, no traffic, hearing those bird sounds while running in the pathway, the north side of Saipan which we do our long run every weekend. I’ll also miss my running buddies, my soccer family, and all my friends here.”

She also made special mention of Northern Mariana Islands Football president and TanHoldings president Jerry Tan for helping her family out during their most dire moment.

“A special thank you to Mr. Jerry Tan, who helped our family during Typhoon Yutu when we lost our house. He gave us shelter for three months until we were able to build our house again. His generosity is beyond compare.”

Dela Cruz said Run Saipan will miss Ortizo greatly.

“Jessica is one of our dedicated and loyal members. No one can question her commitment to the roads. The club and the running community wish her safe travels as she embarks in a new chapter in her life. She will always be a member of our run club and Saipan running community,” he said.