MANDELL, IIJIMA-MARTIN FLOURISH IN BOG 2K/5K

The 2019 Bank of Guam Ifit 2k/5k run was quite the celebration Saturday evening as the annual running event, which in recent years has turned into a big block party. The evening run around Hagatna ended in a big block of food trucks and music in Chamorro Village.

Finishing first overall in the 5k was Derek Mandell with a speedy 16:36. Mandell already holds the course record for the event, but the BOG run has been dominated by Derek in recent years. Ben Middlebrooke finished 2nd place for the male overall.

Finishing first overall for the females was professional athlete Manami Iijima-Martin with a strong 18:51 time. Manami has been going through intense training in preparation for her first professional races of the year in the Ironman 70.3 in the Philippines on March 25th and the Tagaman in Saipan a week later. That, and Iijima-Martin also admitted to running with her monthly visitor, wanting to spread the word that athletes can still get the job done while fighting off period cramps. Genina Criss took the second spot in the 5k top female finishers.

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