Prizes galore at Run Saipan Half Marathon, Atkins Kroll 5K

This Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 is the annual Run Saipan Half Marathon and 5K Fun Run presented by Atkins Kroll. The race will start and finish at American Memorial Park across from the Hyatt. In addition to a finisher shirt and medal and a lunchtime awards banquet at Crowne Plaza, each runner will receive the chance to win numerous raffle prizes including special prizes from Atkins Kroll, membership at Gold’s Gym, coupons from Tapped Out, Prizes from MarPac and a grand prize of $500 cash.

For the under 18 runners, there are also some hydro flasks and insulated water bottles from the Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools. And the number keeps growing.

In addition to the personal prizes, Hong Ye Hardware will be offering a $1,500 prize to the school that has the most participation.

The course for both the half marathon and the 5K is an out and back and there will be a band playing at the finish line to help cheer the runners in. This promises to be a lot of fun for everyone. Don’t miss out.

Please join us for this great event. It’s not too late: https://raceroster.com/events/2023/70413/2023-run-saipan-holiday-half-marathon-and-ak-5k-fun-run.

Last year, high school students from Agape Christian School finished 1-2-3 in the inaugural Run Saipan Holiday Half Marathon 21K course that snaked from Sugar Dock in Chalan Kanoa and ended at Banzai Cliff in Marpi.

Racing past 68 other half marathon runners, Samuel Zhu, a 16-year-old sophomore; Stephen Chen, an 18-year-old junior; and Jireh Wang, a 16-year-old sophomore, were the Top 3 finishers after all three crossed the finish line under two hours.

Zhu won gold with his time of 1:51:07, followed by silver for Chen who clocked in at 1:51:46, and right at his heels a few seconds later, Wang came in for bronze with a time of 1:51:54.

The women’s overall winner was Savannah Grant who clocked in at 2:05:56, while silver went to Rosemarie Chisato at 2:10:32, and Emma Pang came in third with a time of 2:12:59.

Pony Tang and Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez—both high school student-athletes—dominated 290 other runners in the 5.5K Fun Run presented by Atkins Kroll and Run Saipan in celebration of AK’s 55 years of service also in Marpi.

Tang, a 16-year-old from Marianas High School and member of the MHS Run Club, raced through the finish line first overall with a time of 23:03, while Chavez from Saipan International School clocked in first in the women’s division with a time of 25:09. (PR)