Saipan Marathon 2024 early bird deadline on Dec. 31

The early bird registration deadline is Dec. 31, 2023, for Saipan Marathon 2024, slated for March 9 in The Marianas.

A certified measured course by World Athletics in cooperation with AIMS, Saipan Marathon is co-organized by the Marianas Visitors Authority and Northern Marianas Athletics and is sanctioned under the Northern Marianas Athletics rules and regulations.

Early bird rates are $90 for the full marathon, $60 for the half marathon, and $60 for the 10K and 5K. Full marathon participants must be age 18 or older. Half marathon participants must be age 14 or older. With valid photo ID, students ages 18 or younger by Dec. 31, 2023, may register for 10K or 5K for $40 through Dec. 31, 2023. Fees increase incrementally beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, and again on Feb. 1, 2024. The deadline to register is 5pm ChST on March 7, 2024, and participants may register at www.raceroster.com.

A new course highlighting iconic sites from The Marianas’ rich history awaits full marathon runners. The road race will traverse sites from the various eras of Marianas history, including pre-history, the Spanish administration, the Japanese administration in the early 1900s, World War II, and modern history as a U.S. Commonwealth.

“Although The Marianas are small in size—Saipan is only 13 miles long—we have a rich and diverse history, and the remnants and influences of that history can still be experienced today. Our full marathon course this year will give runners a chance to see that for themselves,” said MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion. “We look forward to welcoming all runners to our beautiful shores in March 2024 and to sharing our island history and our way of life.”

The start and finish line for all courses of Saipan Marathon will be at American Memorial Park, a U.S. national park honoring those who gave their lives during the Marianas Campaign of World War II. The park includes a visitors’ center, several memorials, and WWII artifacts. The marathon start and finish line are at Micro Beach, also known as Ppiyal Ooláang, a site where traditional indigenous navigators observe the heavens, winds, and ocean at sunset to predict sailing conditions in a tradition of sailing across the Pacific using indigenous navigational skills based solely on natural phenomena, a practice still seen in The Marianas today.

The full marathon course will pass a hospital and pharmacy from the Japanese period in the first half of the 1900s which now house the Northern Mariana Islands Museum of History & Culture. Also along the way is Sugar King Park honoring “Sugar King” Haruji Matsue who developed a thriving sugar industry in The Marianas during the Japanese administration. The park includes a statue of Matsue, a locomotive engine from the era, and Kattori Shrine, named after the famed Shintō shrine in the city of Katori in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The full marathon course will also take runners into the lush and quiet roads of Marpi in northern Saipan and pass two significant World War II sites, the Last Command Post and Banzai Cliff.

Cash prizes will be awarded for top finishers and by age division in the marathon. Participants will receive a limited edition official Saipan Marathon T-shirt, official Saipan Marathon medal, Certificate of Completion and one entry to the awards banquet, also on March 9.

For more information, visit https://raceroster.com/events/2024/78587/saipan-marathon-2024 or www.mymarianas.com or contact MVA Community Projects coordinator Ed Diaz at (670) 664-3210 or ediaz@mymarianas.com. (MVA)