Hugh Kent and Manami Martin win Guam Ko’ko’ Road Race

The Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) and the Guam Running Club (GRC) finished with an epic Ko’ko’ Weekend as 587 runners descended into Governor Joseph Flores Memorial Park (Ypao Beach) this morning for the 13th Guam Ko’ko’ Road Race. The GVB signature event has returned after a long six-year hiatus.

Completing the new course in 34 minutes and 23 seconds, Guam’s Hugh Kent became the new overall 10K winner for 2023. South Korea’s Youngho Kim placed second with a time of 34:36, while Guam’s Ryan Matienzo finished in 35:09.

Manami Iijima Martin won the women’s 10K race with a time of 38 minutes and 9 seconds, over second place winner, Sharon Hawley, who finished in 43:02. Yumika Sugahara came in third overall with a time of 43:56

Runners from 11 different countries participated in the GVB signature event to include Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, New Caledonia, Mexico, Guyana, Canada, Russia, and the US mainland. All participating runners received a finisher’s t-shirt, event bag, towel, post-race breakfast, and refreshments.

GVB President and CEO Carl T.C. Gutierrez said, “We congratulate our 10K winners and the nearly 600 runners that made it a very special international race weekend. Many thanks to Governor Lou Leon Guerrero for her support and blessing of this cultural event. Un dangkulo na si yu’os ma’åse’ to our sponsors, partners, volunteers, first responders, visitors, and most especially, our community, for their support in the revival of the Guam Ko’ko’ Road Race and Guam Ko’ko’ Kids Fun Run. These events were created to give our residents and visitors a chance to experience our håfa adai spirit together.”

“This year’s turnout was fantastic and broke the record for being the largest 10K event we’ve recorded in recent years,” said Race Director Manny Hechanova. “We have enjoyed partnering again with GVB to support their vision of sports tourism and bring awareness to the plight of the ko’ko’ bird. We hope you all can join us for the 2024 Ko’ko’ Weekend on April 13-14, 2024!”

OFFICIAL RACE RESULTS

10K MALE
1st	34:23	Hugh Kent
2nd	34:36	Youngho Kim
3rd	35:09	Ryan Matienzo

10K FEMALE
1st	38:09	Manami Iijima Martin
2nd	43:02	Sharon Hawley
3rd	43:56	Yumika Sugahara

*All division winners and race results will be available at visitguam.com/koko.

Ko’ko’ Kids bring the energy

The 14th Guam Ko’ko’ Kids Fun Run kicked off Ko’ko’ Weekend with 483 runners under the age of 12 at Governor Joseph Flores Memorial Park (Ypao Beach) on Saturday, April 15.

The top three male and female winners were awarded division medals for the 3.3K (10–12-year-olds), 1.6K (7–9-year-olds), and .6K (4–6-year-olds) races. The Ko’ko’ kid participants received a finisher’s t-shirt, event bag, towel, snacks, and refreshments. Free games and activities were also provided after each race for parents and children to enjoy.

OFFICIAL RACE RESULTS

3.3K MALE
1st	11:56	Ronin Jolley
2nd	11:57	Yuya Toraiwa
3rd	12:04	JP Killoran

3.3K FEMALE
1st	12:20	Vivienne Roedema
2nd	12:33	Aeva Sablan
3rd	12:45	Jasmine Belyshev

1.6K MALE
1st	6:02	Luck Cruz
2nd	6:09	Skyler Duenas
3rd	6:12	Rio Reyes

1.6K FEMALE
1st	6:01	Katie Adzhigirey
2nd	6:31	Ketelea Jean-Paul Ennis
3rd	6:40	Lyndon Fulkerson-Smith

.6K MALE
1st	2:50	Princeton Adzihigrey
2nd	2:52	Lenox Reyes
3rd	3:01	Hendrix Eldrige

.6K FEMALE
1st	2:57	Zayla Labrunda
2nd	3:04	Phoebe Mutuc
3rd	3:06	Truman Fulkerson-Smith

*All division winners and race results will be available at visitguam.com/koko.

Community Support

GVB thanks the sponsors of the Ko’ko’ Kids Fun Run and Ko’ko’ Road Race: Guam Running Club, Three Squares, Run Guam, Vince Jewelers, Micronesia Mall, and Pay-Less Supermarkets.

The Bureau also gives special thanks its partners: the Offices of the Governor & the Lieutenant Governor, Guam Legislature, Department of Agriculture Division of Aquatics and Wildlife Resources, Department of Public Works, Department of Parks & Recreation, the Mayors Council of Guam, Guam Fire Department, Guam Police Department, Visitor Safety Officers, Coca-Cola Beverage Co., Foremost Foods Inc, Glimpses of Guam, Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, Pepsi Guam Bottling Co., and Pomika Sales.

GVB additionally thanks the volunteers who supported Ko’ko’ Weekend to include Urban Fitness, Macy’s Guam, Tourism Awareness Group, International Friendship Club, Tara Tydingco and the JFK Track & Field Club, Guam Islander Softball Association for men and women, Guam Badminton Federation, and the Guam Rugby Club.

Full race results will be on visitguam.com/koko. Runners can receive future event updates by also following the Ko’ko’ Road Race (@guamkokoroadrace) and Ko’ko’ Kids Fun Run (@guamkokokids) on Facebook, as well as GVB on Facebook (@guamvisitorsbureau), Instagram (@visitguamusa) and Twitter (@visitguam).