Velasco, Remillosa top 2024 Pedal for Health

Menace on two wheels Arvin Velasco and Fred Remillosa topped their respective categories in the Pedal for Health 2024 Saipan Unity Lions Club Year-End Bike Race held last Sunday, Nov. 24.

Velasco won the road bike division after deftly negotiating the course from Banzai Cliff, to Tanapag Mobil, Suicide Cliff, Bird Island, Grotto, then back to Banzai Cliff in 1:08:49. He was followed by Jay Ar Barrios and Joel Buca with times of 1:10:40 and 1:11:25, respectively.

“The course was the same from previous SULC races with a long flat at the beginning then uphill. The weather was perfect. It was raining in the early morning bit it was sunny most of the race.”

The 31-year-old nurse at the Commonwealth Health Center dialysis unit said the hardest part of the race was the flat part of because of the headwind.

“I broke away from the group at Kilometer 8 and had to do solo for the rest of the 28 kilometers. The easiest part was when I started to see the finish line as my suffering was almost finished,” said Velasco.

He then dedicating his win, first and foremost, to God and his family for always supporting him.

Men’s age group winners in the road bike division include Paulo Pepito in the below 40 (1:12:43), Lo Manalo in the 40-44 (1:13:34), Elmer Esdrelon in the 45-49 (1:14:31), Ricky Suba in the 50-54 (1:15:08), Bernard Laborce in the 55-59 (1:24:32), and Norlo Jacosalem in the 60-64 (1:19:26).

In the women’s category, Kimiko McKagan won the race after crossing the finish line in 1:24:18, followed by Robyn Spaeth and Heather Brook with times of 1:25:15 and 1:28:23, respectively. Kathy Ruszala was the lone competitor in the women’s 40-44 and finished with a time of 1:30:32.

Remillosa, meanwhile, took the MTB division with a time of 1:29:22, followed closely by Leo Baetiong and Nap Dizon in 1:29:25 and 1:29:27, respectively.

The 43-year-old Commonwealth Utilities Corp. power generation electrician said he likes the course very much as there was not much vehicles on the road and the weather conditions were almost perfect with just a drizzle of rain.

He said the hardest part of the race were the ascents, while the easiest part was the flat course from Banzai Cliff to Seafix. Remillosa them dedicated his win to his wife, Lanie, and their three children—Andrea, Jacob,and Joaquin.

Other age group winners in the MTB division were Mike “Hokage” Lagunay in the below 40 (1:35:05), Hernando Cristobal in the 45-39 (1:38:56), Nelson Pagaduan in the 50-54 (1:33:08), Diony Valdisimo in the 55-59 (1:59:47), and Watty Alvarez in the 60 and above (1:45:30).

The winners of the short course road bike race from Banzai Cliff, to Tanapag Mobil, and back to Banzai Cliff were Mark Louie Oria in the below 40 (0:56:47), Jay Rivera in the 40-49 (0:49:54), Nestor Corotan in the 50-59 (0:50:13), and Ronnie Santos in the 60 and above (0:49:53).

In the MTB division, the winners were Aldrin Robles in the 40 below (0:56:45), Ariel Domingo in the 40-49 (0:57:34), Erwin Calage in the 50-59 (0:52:08), Rico Manungay in the 60 and above (0:58:39), and Nicole Mascarinas in the women’s below 40 (1:08:04).