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Bikers to face Hell in Marpi
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Posted on Dec 07 2006
Local racers got a dose of Tough Love in October when some of the top two-wheeled athletes pedaled their way to the top of Mount Tapochau the hard way and this weekend they will have a slightly easier challenge in Marpi with the Hell of the North Mountain Bike Race.
With little more than three months remaining before the XTERRA Saipan Championship, the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation is hosting its latest race to give the hometown riders an edge in March.
According to race director Nate Hawley, the race will not be as vertically taxing as Russ Quinn’s brainchild Tough Love event, but it will have all of the pulse pounding action fitting of a mountain bike race.
This Sunday, Dec. 10, racers will mount their bikes for a four-lap journey from the Last Japanese Command Post that will take them north toward the landfill, curve around the Cowtown Raceway to the Banzai Cliff seaside trail, past the monuments and new CNMI Veteran’s Cemetery, and back.
Those not looking to go it alone can team up with a partner, but Hawley said that the race is a “flat low tech course” and that “there are no excuses” not to grab your bike and set course for Hell.
Race day registration for the new event begins at 6:30am followed by the punctual 7am start. The cost to participate next month’s race is $15 for NMITF members and $20 for non-NMITF members.
