Pony, Rex tie for 1st, Akiko tops Rotaract 5K

In what seems to be the first time, there’s a tie in the men’s division of a foot race—with friends Pony Tang and Rex Pixley running together into first place in the Rotaract Club of Saipan 10 Years of Service 5K Fun Run last Saturday morning at the Garapan Fishing Base.

Tang and Pixley finished at a time of 18:39.22 each, while Akiko Miller topped the women’s division by just under 19 minutes at 18:59.33.

Second to Tang and Pixley is Kosuke Sato who clocked in at 18:59.91, and third place was Jordan Ruiz with a time time 19:57.17

Rosemarie Chisato claimed second place after Miller with a time of 24:25.30, and third was Krizelle Tuazon at 25:31.52.

Tang and Pixley, both seniors at Marianas High School, said they just wanted to finish in a deadlock. Throughout the race, they took turns with the lead and decided at the last minute to reach the finish line together as they’ve “been teammates for a while now and it’s just a fun run,” they said.

Pixley said of the race, “I like the pathway runs because they’re pretty fast. There’s not much hills,” while Tang said, “the weather was great for running.”

Miller, for her part, said that her target time was less than 22 minutes and felt happy with her time. “I was in the lead the whole time and the beginning was too fast for me, but I kept the same pace. It was windy so it was a little bit hard.”

As for the event, she said, “It’s very good. I love the shirt and I enjoyed the race.”

TurnKey Solutions’ Billy Grow said after the race that the sponsorship was spontaneous but was glad Rotaract reached out. “We wanted to sponsor the event… I’m just glad that everybody is having a good time.”

“We’re a sponsor cash-wise, Rotaract is doing everything. “Richard [Baleares] is doing an awesome job and Ed [Dela Cruz] from Run Saipan. Ed and his team were clutch for this whole thing as well,” said Grow.

Rotaract Club of Saipan president Richard Baleares said the turnout was great and the event successful, with over 100 runners that participated.

“If it wasn’t for TurnKey Solutions, Run Saipan, and other Rotaractors, I don’t think it would’ve been as successful as it is,” said Baleares. He added that he won’t be the president for a fourth term as he wants another member to step up and see what they can contribute and offer to the club.

“This whole event is my swan song. It’s very special to me because in a way it’s like my farewell as president,” he said. “It’s just a great way to gather the community together—build goodwill and better friendships just like the Rotary four-way test, and just take care of our cardiovascular health and promote healthy living.

Rotaract Club of Saipan was chartered in 2014, then rechartered in 2021. According to Rotary International’s website, Rotaract “brings together people ages 18 and older to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service.”

Rotaract Club of Saipan 10 Years of Service 5K Fun Run Presented by TurnKey Solutions sponsors were bronze sponsors D&Q Saipan, Latte Built, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Coral Ocean Golf Resort, Yaong Corporation, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Gold’s Gym Saipan, D & W Corporation dba Highway Express, McDonald’s of Saipan, Spicy Thai Saipan, and MEGAbyte of Saipan.

Silver sponsors were Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell/ Marianas Fast Food Inc, Docomo Pacific, Micronesian Brokers Inc., and Northern Marianas College.

The gold sponsors were Marianas Variety, Paradise Dental Spa, IT&E, Bridge Capital, and JVR Media.