Kaike racer reports on Tagaman

Without all of the marketing power and presence that Team Unlimited offers the CNMI and the XTERRA Saipan Championship, the organizers of the 17th Annual Tagaman Triathlon took matters into their own hands by sending a representative from Saipan to last year’s 3-kilometer swim, 145-km bike, and 42.195-km run Kaike Triathlon in Japan.

The plan was simple enough—to form a bond with the race in Japan’s Tottori Prefecture and start an exchange program of sorts between one of the longest races in Japan and one of the longest races on Saipan.

The partnership began to pay off this past weekend when top amateur finishers Toshio Okazaki and Naomi Onishi took leave of their hometown multi-sport association to join some of the world’s top endurance aficionados for Saipan.

Okazaki and Onishi challenged Tagaman’s 2-km swim, 60-km bike, and 15-km run with great success as Okazaki finished ninth in the Open Division with a time of 3:22:27, while Onishi took sixth in the Women’s Open Division with a time of 3:44:33.

“I really enjoyed the race, but I didn’t do enough training. It was very hot so it was difficult to give my best,” said Okazaki.

Onishi also said that she enjoyed the race and that the temperature played a part in her finish because the climate in her town along the Sea of Japan has not yet warmed up to Saipan standards.

“I really enjoyed the race, but I haven’t had enough training because it’s very cold at home,” she said.

While they performed admirably on the local course, the duo has faced greater challenges at home in Japan. Every year more than 1,200 hopeful triathletes attempt to gain entry into the Kaike Triathlon, but only 800 are able to challenge the 3-km swim, 145-km bicycle, and 42.195-km run course through the mountainous Tottori countryside.

Okazaki placed 26th overall in last year’s race, while Onishi was the women’s 15th finisher, and 201st overall.

Last year, Taga Inc, PDI, DFS, and the MVA sent a triathlete and a three-member support staff to the Kaike Triathlon to help spread the word about Saipan’s longest multi-sport event. Aside from meeting with event coordinators and government officials, the presence of a local competitor enabled the ambassadors to develop relationships that helped to make this visit possible.

This July, the organizers of the 26th Annual Kaike race will once again be hosting multi-sport athletes from the CNMI.